CITY OF VANCOUVER

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

JULY 8, 20, and 22, 1998

A Special Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Wednesday, July 8, 1998, at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Plaza 500 Hotel Ballroom, 500 West 12th Avenue for the purpose of hearing delegations on Vancouver-Richmond Rapid Bus - Priority Measures.

PRESENT:	Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor George Puil Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Lynne Kennedy
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Ulli Watkiss (July 8th)/Denise Salmon (July 20th & 22nd)

The meeting was subsequently reconvened at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Plaza 500 Hotel Ballroom, 500 West 12th Avenue on Monday, July 20, 1998 (with all Council Members present) and Wednesday, July 22, 1998, (with all Council Members present, except Councillor Chiavario (Civic Business).

Although delegations were heard on three separate evenings, they have been minuted concurrently for ease of reference.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Herbert,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the Chair, to consider the Administrative Report on Vancouver-Richmond Rapid Bus - priority Measures.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

1. Vancouver-Richmond Rapid Bus - Priority Measures

Council had before it an Administrative Report dated July 2, 1998 (on file), in whichthe General Manager of Engineering Services recommended a revised series of transit priority measures along Granville Street and in the downtown to facilitate the proposed Vancouver-Richmond Rapid Bus. Other issues that have arisen since BC Transit's presentation to the City in December 1997 were also addressed.

Wayne Pledger, Strategic Transportation Planning Engineer, provided Council with an overview of the report, and details concerning the City's preferred alternative to the Smithe - Nelson portion of the route. Mr. Glen Leicester, BC Transit was then introduced, and with the aid of overheads, presented BC Transit's revised Rapid Bus proposal.

The following delegations spoke in opposition to the Rapid Bus proposal:

George Reilly, Save South Granville Neighbourhood Committee
David Black, Chair, Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners Assoc.
Sam Abraham
Charles Krieger
Ruth Hamilton (brief filed)
Mik Ball, Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners Association
John Clark, Chair, Strata Plan VR90
Margaret Birrell
Dr. David Briggs
Gilda Mahbir
Mr. A. Gercik
Mrs. L. Gercik
Elsie Sands (brief filed)
David Masuhara (brief filed)
Karen Hall (brief filed) Meinhardt Fine Food/Granville Community Assoc.
Beverly West
Virginia Chan
Wayne Lee
Charles Hamilton
Lorraine Shorrock
Ann Mohammed (brief filed)
Pat Andrew (Dr. Briggs on her behalf)
Mike Archibauld
Eleanor Riddell
Patricia Milsom
John Milsom (brief filed)
Sheila Street
Ab Mohammed
Mickey Grosh Soudack
Coco Aders
Pat Aders
Bill MacNeill
Sylvia Blessin
Peter Hebb
Hector Mackay-Dunn
Jan Scott (brief filed)
Stuart Scott
Andrea Molnar
Margaret Robinson
Carol Kirkwood
Erica Poole
Rene Goranson
Stephen Schneiderman
Ian Langmann
Diane King
Diane Cooper
Mary Boni
Hugh Henderson
Michael Macdonald
Liz Haan
Terry Condio
Grace Shaw
Michael Tee
Peter Jeferson
Joyce Cherry
Richard Mulcaster
George Reilly
Jean Hyatt
Charles Scudamore
Jerry Berkson
Sylvain Boulanger, Chairman,
Community Arts Council of Vancouver
Peter Cardew
Rev. Val Anderson
Ron Bergeron
Terry Lashman
Peter Kwok
Amar Children
Scott Riddell, CHAT
John Cluff
Renate Mueller
Ed Desroches
Debra Frass
Bett Lauridsen, Chairperson, Cambie Corridor Consortium
Shirley Klassen
Brian Lock

Summary of points raised included:

a. Granville Street is the wrong location for this system:
· the street already carries too much of the traffic burden (truck route, major route to airport, 1100 buses per day, etc.)
· lanes are too narrow -- the standard is 3.5 m; Granville Street has 3 m- wide lanes and the buses are too wide to safely fit them
· Granville has the second highest traffic accident rate in the City and putting Rapid Bus on it would worsen the problem, and especially impact children and the elderly
· all traffic, including existing buses, travels at excessive speed and this proposalwould improve traffic flow, making it possible for faster speeds -- the 30 kmph average speed predicted for Rapid Bus is not realistic
· Rapid Bus will hasten the destruction of the most majestic entry to the City
· impacts of left turn restrictions have not been adequately assessed
· no impact assessment has been done

b. The proposal would have adverse impacts on the neighbourhood and community:
· Granville Street is a major barrier and running Rapid Bus would make it even more difficult to cross the street, thereby further splitting the neighbourhood
· there is no demand in the community for this service -- improvements to local bus service for residents of the community are needed, not service to and from Richmond
· traffic will likely start cutting through the neighbourhood
· Park and Ride areas will be attractive to criminals and the crime rate will likely increase; proposed bus shelters will obstruct retail outlets
· decrease in property values is likely as a result of the uncertainly around what the Rapid Bus proposal really consists of
· Kerrisdale would also be negatively impacted by traffic spilling over into its neighbourhood, adversely affecting property values there as well
· excess vibrations from ever increasing traffic is killing local vegetation
· no impact assessments have been done

c. Increased pollution by emissions from the Rapid Buses will adversely affect public health and the environment
· so-called "clean diesel" is not "clean" - it emits fine particulates in the form of soot which the Ministry of Health has stated in a letter to one of the speakers can cause cancer -- emissions are known to increase asthma and worsen cardiovascular illnesses
· local vegetation (particularly trees and shrubs) is already dying along Granville Street due to vehicle emissions and additional diesel emissions will worsen the problem
· the proposal will worsen visual pollution by destroying a grand entrance to the City
· consideration must be given to alternative fuel sources for buses
· no impact assessments have been done

d. Public consultation has been severely lacking:
· residents' input has not been sought in preparing the proposal and it is now being presented to them as a "fait accompli"
· BC Transit has not provided requested information about the specific details of the proposal to residents including peripheral items, alternative routes and their possible advantages, and a request by residents under the Freedom of Information has produced nothing more than the imposition of a $3800 fee
· BC Transit has not confirmed what the precise terms of the Rapid Bus proposal are, and whether a 1994 plan is still in effect
· creation of the GVTA could take away all of Council's authority regarding transportation issues and the GVTA might want yet more from Granville Street
· Council has not discussed this proposal with the residents until now

e. The Rapid Bus proposal will not solve the real transit problems that now exist:
· the proposal will not get people out of their cars; a longer term high speed solution is needed to do that
· the proposal could cause local service to deteriorate
· "bunching" of buses along Granville will not be eliminated
· access to and from Arthur Laing Bridge is single lane only
· there is no local demand for this service and in fact the existing Richmond buses are mostly empty
· buses would form a bottleneck at Moray Channel Bridge when open to river traffic

f. The financial impacts have not been determined:
· $78 million is too expensive for a temporary solution
· no economic justification has been given and no business case prepared

g. Priority measures, even in revised form, are unacceptable to the community:
· they represent a precedent and allow for further measures to be taken in the future, leading to the creation of a "Granville Highway"

h. Concerns were raised that the City of Vancouver is solving what is effectively a Richmond problem, and Granville Street residents and merchants are bearing the cost.

i. Alternatives were proposed:
· Rapid Bus should be run along either Cambie or Oak Streets
· the "Cambie Coalition" has requested the service based on the benefit to the large employers on or near Cambie Street, including Vancouver General Hospital, City Hall, Oakridge/Langara Shopping Centre, Langara College, and the Teachers' Federation
· a higher-speed, fuel-less or alternatively fuelled, long term solution is needed
· the City should consider seeking federal funding for an Olympic enhancement project for an underground or other higher speed system
· trolley's should be expanded into the suburbs
· local bus service should be improved and greater efficiencies found in the existing system

The following delegations spoke in favour of the Rapid Bus proposal:

Bev Ballantyne
Ian Fisher, Transport 2000 BC
Jack Naylor, SPEC
Robert Delahanty, Chair, Bicycle Advisory Committee
Colin Brander, Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition
Bruce Wolff
Bob Cowan, Vice-President, Engineering,
Vancouver Airport Authority (brief filed)
Gwendolyn Reischman, Marpole Action Committee of
Marpole Oakridge Area Council Society
Mark Bologna
S. Ressler
Ethel Karmel (brief filed) pro Rapid Bus if divided fairly between Oak, Cambie, and Granville
Lisa Scott, Transit User Group (TUG)
Bob Breen
Janice Fay
Cheeying Ho, BEST (brief and petition filed)

Summary of issues raised in support of the Rapid Bus proposal:

· improved priority transit service to and from Richmond is a priority
· this proposal would put reliable bus service down an existing traffic corridor, and help get people out of their cars
· Rapid Bus is flexible and less costly that SkyTrain and offers a new transportation option for auto users
· South Granville businesses would not be adversely affected because the area works as a result of pedestrians and not cars; neither parking space reduction nor reduced numbers of vehicles in the area would adversely affect the merchants
· Granville Street is the right route because of its historical use as a major connector and its superior bridge connections to downtown
· there are currently over 50,000 vehicles on Granville per day and they need to be severely reduced - this proposal would help do that
· local trolley and other bus service should not be reduced until the impacts of Rapid Bus are understood
· cars and light trucks are responsible for 70% of emissions
· historically, use of single occupancy vehicles has been encouraged, people must be given alternatives, with consideration given to long term benefits
· bike racks on buses will be increased by 50% , which improves intermodal transit
· signage indicating bikes allowed in HOV lanes needs to be installed, especially in downtown areas
· although a rail based transit system is needed between Richmond and Vancouver, Rapid Bus is the best interim measure
· proposed bus shelters could be used for community/public service bulletins
· pedestrian foot traffic is the key to building strong communities, not the automobile; pedestrians should be given priority, with increased numbers of pedestrian controlled crosswalks in Marpole
· without Rapid Bus Granville will become the very highway to which the community is against

* * *

The hearing of the public having concluded, Mayor Owen advised a decision on this matter would be made at the next Regular meeting of Council on July 28, 1998, under Unfinished Business.

* * *

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Herbert,

THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

* * *

Council adjourned at the following times on these three evenings:

July 8, 1998, approximately 11:00 p.m.

July 20, 1998, approximately 10:15 p.m.

July 22, 1998, approximately 11:05 p.m.

* * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver