POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE

Date: September 03, 1998
Author/Local: JForbes-Roberts/7205/ FDucote/7795/DRudberg/7300
CC File No. 5558

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of City Plans and General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	ALRT Consultation and Work Program

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council direct staff to undertake planning and community consultation in collaboration with the Rapid Transit Project Team on Skytrain route alignment, station location and station area planning based on the assumption that there will be a successful cost-sharing agreement between the GVTA and Province for the T-line; and

B. THAT, should negotiations between the GVTA and Province prove unsuccessful, Council re-evaluates its participation in a planning process based on the Skytrain technology.

CONSIDERATION

C. THAT Council request staff to report back on the terms of reference and cost of an independent consultant study, reviewing the basic decision of the Skytrain technology and corridor, to be undertaken in parallel with the planning work undertaken in Recommendation A.

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The City Manager RECOMMENDS approval of recommendations A and B. There are legitimate concerns for Council's consideration on the ALRT Consultation and work Program. In supporting recommendations A and B, Council acknowledges that while agreeing to the collaborative planning and community consultation

approach, that at the end of the process the Skytrain technology may not be affordable and that a cost sharing agreement maynot result. Council can then re-evaluate its participation in the process.

COUNCIL POLICY

On April 30, 1998, Council adopted a number of principles to guide planning the light rapid transit system in the Broadway corridor, attached as Appendix A.

On July 21, 1998, Council resolved that: "THAT Planning staff report back with an action plan for the Broadway and Commercial area that identified issues and opportunities for change that could be undertaken in conjunction with the planning process for the new rapid transit line, within the time frame and resources that are available."

On July 30, 1998, Council resolved that: "THAT Council run its own public process regarding the Province's LRT Proposal, and co-ordinate with the Provincial process, and an advertisement be placed advising the public of this decision."

PURPOSE

This report outlines options for a consultation strategy for Vancouver's portion of the Rapid Transit Project, and recommends that the City proceed with a collaborative planning process with the Province to determine route alignment and station locations subject to concerns about cost and phasing being resolved.

BACKGROUND

1. Provincial Rapid Transit Project

On June 24, 1998, the Province announced plans to develop a new rapid transit "T-Line" connecting the Broadway-Lougheed, Coquitlam-New Westminster corridors. Proposed work on the new line has been divided into several segments with phase completion dates as indicated below. (See Figure 1.)

Outside Vancouver:

· the New Westminster to Lougheed Mall segment is underway;
· the Glen/Clark Drive to Lougheed Mall section to be completed by 2001; and
· the Lougheed Mall to Coquitlam Centre segment is to be completed by 2003.

Figure 1: Transit Routes Announced by Province, June 24, 1998

NOTE FROM CLERK: ELECTRONIC COPY OF FIGURE 1 NOT AVAILABLE - ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK.

Inside Vancouver:
· the "accelerated" segment between Boundary Road and Broadway/Commercial (or Vancouver City College) area to be completed by 2001 (this potentially includes up to six station stops);
· the segment between Broadway/Commercial area and the terminus of the T-line (Granville or Arbutus) to be completed by 2003;

· the Richmond/Vancouver route and alignment is not yet determined, but is to be completed by 2010; and
· the status of a connection to UBC is unknown.

The Province has also announced a budget of $1.167 billion for the section from New Westminster to Lougheed Mall to just east of Clark Drive. This is to include the capital cost of the grade: separated guideway, property, vehicles, stations, testings and improvements to the existing maintenance facility.

2. Provincial Project Management and Decision-Making

Technical planning and design for the new ALRT line will be carried out by the Rapid Transit Project Office (RTPO) and its consultants. Various consultant teams have been assigned to different segments of the line. The RTPO reports to the Province through its board of directors LRT 2000.

It is also important to understand responsibilities and the decision-making structure:

· The Province is responsible for delivering the project and is leading the planning, design and project management activities.

· The City has an advisory role on the design and operation of the system and a decision-making role on the land-use decisions around the stations.

· The GVTA will share forty percent of the capital cost provided it agrees with the scope, design and cost of the project, and is to be fully responsible for operating the system. Negotiations will commence soon with the Province on a new funding and governance agreement to address the increased cost of the Skytrain technology. The City has three representatives on the GVTA Board.

DISCUSSION

1. Provincial Project Assumptions

The RTPO is proceeding on the basis of a set of project "givens" which set the stage for their scope of project work and consultation program. The project team and consultants have made it clear that they will not be soliciting or considering public (or municipal) input on these fundamental aspects of the project. They include:

(a) Skytrain Technology and Cost: The same kind of vehicle and train control system will be employed in the Broadway/Lougheed and New Westminster/Coquitlam Corridors as now exists with Skytrain. This technology employs driverless vehicles requiring a fully separated guideway.

Staff note that although Skytrain has performed reasonably well and is generally accepted by the riding public, it can be highly intrusive, particularly if elevated, and it is more costly to build than other technologies.

The GVRD/GVTA identified cost as a major issue given that the overall capital cost is now likely beyond $2 billion for the entire T-line and well beyond the financial projection used in the Provincial/Regional negotiations. The GVTA agreed to pay only forty percent of the project cost, which was then estimated to be $1.15 billion, or $1.5 billion if inflation and construction interest is included.

Regional representatives on the GVTA are now re-entering negotiations with the Province on a new cost sharing agreement, recognising the increased cost of the project and the need to achieve consistency with the original regional cost and revenue projections. Failure to achieve agreement on cost sharing will mean Vancouver runs the risk of an incomplete line, reduced bus service and/or unmet station area commitments to the community. It is important to assure that adequate funding is available to properly address mitigation and other design issues which are important from both the City and community perspectives. Therefore, Council should not accept a general budget parameter until it is more thoroughly evaluated and negotiated through the GVTA, and assurances are given regarding completion of the entire T-line consistent with regional land use and transportation policies. It is also important to protect commitment to upgrade the supply of local and regional services and continuing supply of local and regional bus service. These concerns should be communicated to the public in any consultation program.

(b) Phasing & Schedule: The Province proposes to complete the first phase of the system from Lougheed Mall to the Broadway/Commercial or VCC stationby 2001, and the second phase to Granville/Arbutus by 2003. This very short timeline has resulted in an ambitious planning program with public consultation and decision-making on station locations to be complete by early 1999. This will be followed by station programming and design development through 1999.

The 2001 completion date for the portion east of Commercial Drive is very aggressive, leaving little time for staff analysis and reporting to Council at key stages, and including a meaningful public process around the planning and design issues. Given the short time frame, this needs to be carefully planned and co-ordinated. Staff have put the RTPO on notice that project timelines for station locations and route may need to extend a few months into 1999.

(c) Corridor: The project team has assumed a general corridor within Vancouver along the Burlington Northern Railway Cut from Commercial Drive to where the Cut ends near Slocan, and then east along the Burlington Northern Rail right-of-way to Boundary. From Boundary, the route can either continue on the rail right-of-way into Burnaby, or jog along Boundary to Lougheed Highway. West of Commercial Drive, the corridor is a connection from the Cut to Broadway and then underground to Glen Drive. (Note: specific alignment studies may result in variations from this route.)

If the Skytrain technology is ultimately pursued, staff believe this corridor is generally acceptable since many of the visual, noise and privacy impacts would be reduced significantly. Within the Cut, in particular, there are both vertical and horizontal alignment options which will need to be considered to ensure that the impacts on the Cut are minimized and consistent with future opportunities for expanded passenger and freight service, green space, trails, bikeways, streams, etc.

Similarly, while the station locations have been proposed generally at Glen Drive, Commercial Drive, Renfrew, Rupert, Boundary and possibly Nanaimo, considerable technical work and public consultation is required to confirm the need, the location and basic station configuration and transit interface. Beyond this, considerable work is also required on design, architectural treatment, land use impacts, etc. All of this requires close consultation with the adjoining communities. This is outlined in more detail in the next section of the report.

2. RTPO Consultation Process

The RTPO has begun an information and consultation process based on the parameters noted above. In addition to an information campaign, the RTPO is proposing a three phase consultation program as below:

Phase I involves consultation on alignments and station locations using open houses (to be conducted by the RTPO) and neighbourhood workshops (to be jointly conducted). To be completed by late 1998/early 1999.

Phase II involves consultation on station programs (i.e., what goes in and immediately around the stations). To be completed by Spring of 1999.

Phase III involves station area planning including pedestrian connections, inland use, mitigation, etc. (to be jointly conducted by the City/RTPO). To be completed by 2001.

In the absence of a decision to the contrary, this process will continue and conclude with a Skytrain proposal, including alignment station design and related local area planning for the Vancouver portion of the line. The GVRD/GVTA has said that the complete T-line is required, and that the cost to the GVTA must not exceed the cost under the previous proposal (for LRT) and estimates. However, there remain concerns for the City:

· the Province cannot afford the cost of Skytrain technology and will divert costs to GVTA/local governments;
· funding will be insufficient for quality development and mitigation;
· the possibility that less than the complete T-line is likely to be funded; and
· there is not enough time to do a reasonable job of planning and consultation.

The technology selection and limited review consultation process may lead to major concerns at the end of the process with the initial assumptions being challenged, and Vancouver and the GVTA will be seen to have accepted these initial limitations and therefore complicity in the problems in meeting Citywide transportation objectives and community needs.

Consultation Options for Vancouver

Based on Council's resolution of April, 1998, requesting staff to co-ordinate with the RTPO on a consultation process for the Broadway LRT line, staff have been working with the Province to develop a work program and consultation process. However, given the concerns with the subsequent Skytrain announcement, there are three basic approaches the City could take:

(a) Option A - Continue a Collaborative Planning Process with the Province: Consistent with the principles adopted by Council for the previous LRT program, Vancouver can continue to participate in the planning process with the Province, but register concerns and qualifications about the current assumptions with the GVTA and the Province and the involved communities. At each phase in the process, staff would lead the process of community input and provide reports to Council outlining community input and staff review of

the alignment and station locations, along with cost and mitigation implications. Planning in concert with the RTPO will help assure thatadequate (rather than scheduled) time be allowed for adequate community, staff, Council and GVTA input prior to Provincial decisions on alignment and station locations. (While input from the Broadway/Commercial station area may be achieved by the end of year, realistically, it will take another few months to get community input, report to Council with further citizen input and deliberate the proposed decisions at the GVTA.)

With a clear declaration of concerns up front, and adequate time for Council to respond to community and citywide interests, Council could withdraw support for and participation in the process, if GVTA/Province negotiations are not satisfactory. This will allow Council to be clear with stakeholders and the general public whether community and City interests can be met.

A detailed description of how the phased consultation process could proceed is included in Appendix B. A draft newspaper advertisement announcing the City's participation, as per Council's resolution of July 30, 1998, is also attached as Appendix C.

(b) Option B - A Separate Process to Analyse the Assumptions and Propose Alternatives : If Council is sufficiently concerned about the assumptions on which the Province is proceeding, the City could withdraw from the provincial process on the basis that the time line is too short and the assumptions are too limiting, and run a separate process to evaluate the assumptions. If the City were to undertake an independent review of a Light Rapid Transit System (other than Skytrain) on the Broadway Corridor, some of the basic issues which would need to be addressed include:

· basic system configuration, including equipment, alignment, grade separations and station locations;
· preliminary cost estimates for both capital and operations, including a comparison with the negotiated Provincial/Regional financial plan;
· ridership estimates;
· impact on other elements of the transportation system, including Skytrain, West Coast Express, bus system and roads; and
· assessment of broader project benefits, including consistency with regional and local land use and transportation plans.

This would be a significant piece of work which would require extensive consultant assistance given the specialized expertise required. This work would also have to be undertaken immediately if it is to have any impact on the Rapid Transit project decisions. The cost of this work would be approximately $100,000 or more with funding from Contingency Reserve.

This option would provide an opportunity to review the basic assumptions and analyse alternatives to complete the process underway before the Skytrain announcement, using as criteria City objectives and policies like the Transportation Plan. However, the Province may well proceed with the Skytrain proposal in any case and the City would be left to deal with community impacts and mitigation.

(c) Option C - Pursue a Parallel Process: Another option, if Council wishes to pursue the independent study outlined in Option B, would be to continue to participate in the joint planning process and, at the same time, retain an independent consultant to review the Provincial assumptions for input or before community and City input into station programming decisions are completed. (By the Province's schedule, this would be Spring, 1999.)

This broader review would help to inform Council's, and the community's, input. Based on the results of this work, the City could argue for changes in the assumptions as their implications become clear through the process. It would be important to declare up front to the community that Council is doing the review and that the results will be used at the stage in the process when initial decisions are being made on station locations, alignments and community amenities, etc. to determine if any of it is feasible and in the best interests of the City. However, this will require leadtime and Province is proceeding immediately with station planning. Two independent programs would also be more difficult to stage without confusing the community.

Staff note that these options are based on what we know to date about the RTPO's proposed consultation process and timing. The RTPO has just hired an additional consultant to handle the consultation process for Vancouver portion of the accelerated line and talks are on-going.

Detailed Work Program and Resources

Depending on which option Council chose, staff will report back before the end of September on a detailed work program and resources required for work on the entire Vancouver portion of the line.

CONCLUSION

The Rapid Transit Project Office is embarking on a community consultation process based on the Skytrain technology. There is also a commitment by the Province to complete the full T-line, but this requires a new set of cost-sharing negotiations between the Province and the GVTA. The GVTA is not committed to cost share in the Project unless there is agreement on the scope, design and cost of the Project.

It is recommended that the City participate with the Project Office in the planning for the Project subject to successful Provincial/GVTA negotiations. Through a joint planning exercise involving the public, the City can most effectively bring its agenda to the table. This will achieve a far better product at the end of the day. It is important that the Skytrain alignment and stations are properly integrated into the communities with mitigation of the negative impacts. This was not achieved on the original Skytrain Project.

It is not recommended that the City undertake separate and parallel studies evaluating the Skytrain technologies. It is believed that this will reduce the City's effectiveness in the planning process for Skytrain and send very mixed confusing messages to the communities involved in the planning and design activities. This would be a costly venture drawing limited City resources from the Project activities. There are many unanswered questions on Skytrain, but these are better evaluated by the GVTA or GVRD.

PROPOSED PRINCIPLES FOR LRT PLANNING IN VANCOUVER:

Principle 1: Supply a High Level of Transit Service. The LRT system should provide transit services to meet existing and expected growth, as detailed in the Vancouver Transportation Plan and Transport 2021. LRT ridership capacity and service should be provided to help to meet the mode split targets set out in the Transportation Plan.

Principle 2: Serve the City's Land Use, Not Shape It: LRT should support the planned development pattern and form of Vancouver's Broadway Corridor which already provides for significant residential and commercial development. LRT is not intended to justify significant increases in residential densities or significantly alter the City's
land use pattern along the line.

Principle 3: Provide a High Standard of Urban Amenity: LRT should enhance the emerging urban design character and pedestrian amenity of Central Broadway. It should recognize central Broadway as a "Great Street".

Principle 4: Enhance Local Transit Service: In Vancouver, the transit system should provide a high level of local service to supply sufficient capacity to satisfy demand and to encourage transit use. Upon entering Central Broadway, the system should offer closer-spaced stops to encourage frequent use for all kinds of trips.

Principle 5: Linkage to Transit Services: The system must allow for effective connections with existing and future transit services, including future possible LRT extensions to downtown Vancouver, UBC and southern communities.

Principle 6: Minimize and Mitigate Impacts: Adverse community, pedestrian and traffic impacts should be minimized, and the cost of impact mitigation should be included in overall project costs. Evaluate the magnitude of and rationalize the displacement of local, circulating and through traffic on Broadway and north-south streets.

Principle 7: Provide for Meaningful Involvement of Affected Parties: The public consultation process should address the different ways that communities and other stakeholders may be affected by implementation of LRT in the City of Vancouver.

Principle 8: A Collaborative City Role: The preferred working relationship between the LRT project and the City is viewed as one that will permit timely and thorough City involvement in planning for and review of LRT route options and selection of a preferred option.

Principle 9: Minimize the Impacts of Construction: A project of this magnitude will take several years to construct with the potential for impacts on adjoining land use and traffic. A plan is required to minimize this disruption.

CITY ROLE IN TRANSIT PLANNING AND CONSULTATION PROCESS

[NOTE FROM CLERK: GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE - ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK]

PHASE 1: COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Purpose: to provide basic information to the public about Provincial assumptions:

· system technology,
· corridor,
· phasing and
· cost

Timing: September, 1998 to November, 1998

Format: mall displays, press, open houses

Staff role: monitor Provincial information-sharing; advise community of existing City policies and concerns; conduct community meeting to hear issues, concerns and opportunities; report to Council

City Role: Continue to negotiate cost-sharing, etc through GVTA; challenge Provincial assumptions as required. Province has ultimate decision-making authority over technology, corridor, phasing , etc.

Commentary: The RTPO and its consultants will lead this information phase with a similar format of open houses for the entire line. However, City staff will provide opportunities for concerns, issues to be raised and reported to Council.

PHASE 2: COMMUNITY ADVISORY

Purpose: to elicit public input and preferences into considerations of :

· route options in segments
· alignment options in segments and neighbourhoods
· preferred station locations
· station program - possible amenities that could be located at stations (e.g., coffee shop, community facility, etc.)

Timing: November, 1998 to early 1999 (length of this phase still being determined)

Format: open houses, workshops, newsletters and questionnaires

Staff role: collaborate in information and consultation process providing policy framework and analysis to the community on options

City Role: The RTPO has indicated that decisions about alignment,.station location, program and amenities will be made jointly although in the context of larger route/technology.

Commentary: In this phase City staff will share the lead the workshops with the RTPO to get direct community input on issues and preferred options and will report these to Council with commentary on consistency with City policy, feasibility, cost, etc.

PHASE 3: COMMUNITY JOINT PLANNING

Purpose: to seek community preferences about:

· preferred station fit and look in each neighbourhood
· issues about impacts and mitigation measures

Timing: January 1999 - for up to two-year period

Format: open houses, workshops, newsletters and questionnaires

Staff role: Staff will lead the station area planning process with RTPO liaison

City Role: Council has decision-making authority regarding land use policies and City streets. Staff will report on mitigation measures, land use changes, traffic calming, pedestrian linkages, etc.

Commentary: The City will control this phase of the process but will need to continue to liaise with the RTPO on system station construction, construction mitigation and provision of implied promised amenities by the Province, etc. At this time, it is not clear if the present budget is adequate for mitigation measures, since impacts have not yet been identified.

APPENDIX C

DRAFT OF NEWSPAPER ANNOUNCEMENT

[NOTE FROM CLERK: APPENDIX C NOT AVAILABLE ON LINE - ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK]

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver