CITY OF VANCOUVER

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON
TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC

SEPTEMBER 15, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Tuesday, September 15, 1998, at 11:45 a.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall, following the Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic meeting, to consider the recommendations of the Committee.

PRESENT:	Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor George Puil Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Sick Leave) Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Civic Business)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Tarja Tuominen

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Price,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the chair.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic
September 15, 1998

Council considered the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in the following clause of the attached report:

Cl.1: East First Avenue - Traffic Review

Clause 1
MOVED by Cllr.Price ,

THAT the recommendation of the Committee, as contained in Clause 1 of this report, be approved.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Price,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Price,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

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

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Council adjourned at 11:50 a.m.

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REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
ON TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC

SEPTEMBER 15, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on Transportation and Traffic was held on Thursday, September 15, 1998, at 9:30 a.m. in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall.

PRESENT:	Councillor Gordon Price, Chair Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor George Puil Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Sick Leave) Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Civic Business)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE:	Tarja Tuominen

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic meeting of July 28, 1998, were adopted.

RECOMMENDATION

1. East First Avenue - Traffic Review File: 5762-1

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report, dated August 20, 1998 (on file), in which the General Manager of Engineering Services recommended a number of measures to reduce the negative impacts of traffic (i.e. noise, pollution, and vibration) on residents adjacent to East First Avenue.

Mark Zaborniak, Engineer, with the aid of a slide presentation, presented an overview of the traffic impacts on East First Avenue and the measures recommended in the Administrative Report to reduce the negative impacts.

Mr. Zaborniak, Elizabeth Ballard, Traffic Management Engineer, and Constables Jim Rexin and Paul McLelland, Vancouver Police Department, responded to questions on the use of First Avenue by BC Transit, Greyhound Bus Lines and trucks; traffic enforcement issues; new photo radar technology; and potential for local parking.

The following area residents generally supported the proposed recommendations but felt they did not go far enough:

· Margaret Eberle
· Bryden Green
· Susan Smith
· Bruce Cullen
· Joe Pugliese

The speakers' points are summarized as follows:

· If resident parking is not added now, the City will never be able to add parking to First Avenue;
· A third lane dedicated to parking will not remain only for parking very long;
· The report recommends a budget of $50 to $70,000 for noise reduction measures; how much does that buy?
· Residents need to be consulted before any road is made into a Major Road; the consultation process should be similar to that of a Public Hearing;
· Any road becoming a Major Road needs to be in the line-up for mitigation measures;
· Resident parking should be implemented for weekends only and the results monitored;
· Parking will reduce vehicle speed which will reduce noise;
· Parking will make First Avenue a less desirable route for illegal truck use, and for BC Transit and Greyhound;

· Parking will allow for photo radar by giving an area for the van to park and will also allow the Police to pull over speeding cars;
· The residents on First Avenue are entitled to parking the same as residents in other areas of the city;
· By-laws for truck speeds should be enforced;
· A resource centre with personnel to assist residents to make homes more livable is needed; much contradictory information on soundproofing and livability issues is out there;
· Need to look at long-term mitigation; residents hope something concrete will be done.

Mike Hall and Glen Broad, Greyhound Canada, distributed information on Greyhound Canada Vancouver departures and arrivals using East First Avenue (on file). Greyhound Canada operates 14 eastbound and 14 westbound schedules using First Avenue, generally with one bus per schedule. Greyhound Canada likes to think it is part of the solution to give the public transportation choices. Greyhound can take passengers downtown and adjacent to SkyTrain. To change routing from First Avenue would make the service more expensive to operate. First Avenue is the most direct route. Routing to other streets would create safety issues, add to congestion on the streets and at intersections and add to running times.
Liz Haan expressed disappointment in the report. Ms. Haan expressed concern with the proposed pilot project and questioned if it would give a meaningful result. It is important to show the actual numbers of vehicles using First Avenue, and not just percentages. People have to be separated from busy streets. Noise mitigation needs to have real target numbers identified. Parking should be reinstituted in the evening and off hours. Ms. Haan questioned whether there should be highways in the City and should people be living on them?

The Chair noted that due to time constraints and Committee members having other commitments, the Committee would be unable to make a decision on the Report's recommendations this morning.

The following motion by the Mayor was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT a decision on the recommendations contained in the Administrative Report dated August 20, 1998 be referred to City Council's meeting this afternoon under Unfinished Business.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The meeting adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver