CITY OF VANCOUVER

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

NOVEMBER 2, 1999

A Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1999, at approximately11:45 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:	Deputy Mayor Lynne Kennedy 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:	Mayor Philip Owen (Civic Business)
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Denise Salmon

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

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

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

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic
November 2, 1999

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

Cl.1: Bicycle Network Review
Cl.2: Results of the Speed Hump Pilot Project
Cl.3: Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plans - Priorities and Process
Cl.4: Enhancement of Pedestrian Facilities at Richards Street

and Pacific Boulevard

Clauses 1, 3 and 4

MOVED by Cllr. Don Lee,

THAT the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in Clauses 1, 3 and 4 of this report, be approved.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

Clause 2
Results of the Speed Hump Pilot Project

MOVED by Cllr. Don Lee,

THAT the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in Clause 2 of this

report, be approved.

- CARRIED

(Councillor Bellamy opposed to Recommendations A, B and C.)

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Chiavario,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Clarke,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

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

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ENQUIRIES AND OTHER MATTERS

1. Closure of Gas Stations File: 5001

Councillor Chiavario referred to the recent closure of a number of full-service gas stations, their present appearance, and intended future use. Staff were requested to provide details, including location of the closures. The need to keep the public informed of remaining full-service locations was also noted.

The Council adjourned at 11:50 a.m.

- - - - -

REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
ON TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC

NOVEMBER 2, 1999

A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on Transportation and Traffic was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1999, at approximately 9:30 a.m. in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall.

PRESENT:	Councillor Gordon Price, Chair Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Lynne Kennedy Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor George Puil* Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Mayor Philip Owen (Civic Business)
CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE:	Denise Salmon

*denotes presence for portion of the meeting

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic meeting of October 5, 1999, were adopted.

RECOMMENDATION

1. Bicycle Network Review File: 5553

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated October 18, 1999 (on file), in which the General Manager of Engineering Services informs Council about the results of the bicycle network review and presents some preliminary bicycle policy directions.

Ian Adam, Assistant City Engineer - Transportation, introduced Forrest Klotzbach, Neighbourhood Transportation, who provided a PowerPoint overview of the Administrative Report and responded to questions from Council regarding the future of downtown bike route linkages. Note was also made of the lack of accident statistics currently available from ICBC, which previously served as key measures of problem areas.

In response to Council questions related to safety related issues, staff advised education is an important tool; rules of the road are outlined in the City's "Cycling in Vancouver" brochure/map. Staff were requested to include details of an earlier report on licensing of bicycles in their comprehensive bicycle plan report back.

Don Buchanan offered support for the recommendations contained in the Administrative Report, and noted the positive trends linked to crime status and property values adjacent bike routes. He also suggested the City explore creative safety treatments along routes, such as the colour-coding currently used in Portland. A review of the Parking By-law was also recommended.

Richard Campbell, Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, offered support for the program, and its demonstrated benefit to neighbourhoods. He suggested the need to move forward on cycling infrastructure implementation and urged all to work together to make Vancouver the best cycling city in North America. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Campbell provided information on safety issues related to downtown bridges and viaducts.

The following motion by Councillor Chiavario was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

A. THAT staff develop and bring forward a comprehensive bicycle plan for the 2000-2002 Capital Plan based on the results of the recent bicycle network review, generally in accordance with the proposals described in Appendix A of the Administrative Report dated October 18, 1999.

B. THAT the following resolution be approved:

Whereas, one of the most important data bases for evaluating and implementing traffic safety improvements is a comprehensive accident data record;

Whereas, the accident data for the City of Vancouver in recent years has been inadequate and incomplete due to a change in reporting procedures;

Whereas, ICBC has been developing an accident data base which is intended to be available to improve traffic safety through education, enforcement, and engineering; and

Whereas, the development of accident data for municipal use has been delayed;

Therefore, Be It Resolved, THAT Vancouver City Council urge ICBC to give the development of an accessible accident record a higher priority so it can again be used as a tool to improve traffic safety.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

2. Results of the Speed Hump Pilot Project File: 5757

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated October 13, 1999 (on file), in which the General Manager of Engineering Services summarizes the results of the speed hump pilot project and recommends an annual speed hump installation program be initiated.

Ian Adam, Assistant City Engineer - Transportation, introduced Carli Williams, Neighbourhood Transportation, who provided a PowerPoint overview of the Administrative Report and responded to questions from Council regarding the national standards for alerting motorists to speed humps, which include advance signage and triangular markings on the pavement. Effectiveness/cost of various traffic calming measures was also discussed.

Don Buchanan noted the marked improvement in vehicle speeds where speed humps were installed in 50 km/h speed zones; however humps installed in 30 km/h speed zones appeared to have little impact. Engineering staff are currently looking into this matter.

The following motion by Councillor Don Lee was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

A. THAT an annual speed hump installation program be initiated as described in the Administrative Report dated October 13, 1999, using an objective ranking process and resident consultation.

B. THAT a list of the highest ranking street segments for speed hump installation be developed for Council’s review as part of the 2000 Capital Pan.

C. THAT speed humps be added to the Traffic Calming Tool Kit for use in Traffic Calming Plans.

- CARRIED

(Councillor Bellamy opposed to Recommendations A, B and C.)

3. Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plans - Priorities and Process File: 5757

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated October 13, 1999 (on file), in which the General Manager of Engineering Services reports on public input, and recommends a process and method of establishing priorities for traffic calming plans.

Jim Hall, Neighbourhood Transportation Engineer, provided a PowerPoint overview of the Administrative Report and responded to questions from Council regarding the two current processes for implementing traffic calming measures and the number of criteria involved.

_ _ _ _ _

(Councillor Puil left the meeting at 11:05 a.m. and returned during discussion of item 4.)
_ _ _ _ _

Diane King, representing the Working Group, and Neighbour-to-Neighbour Association, stated it was unfortunate the report had not generated more response, and suggested this may be due to the timing of the process. She offered general support for the

report's recommendations, but suggested the criteria is too complicated, and recommended the simplest measures necessary be used to achieve resolution to problem areas. She further suggested a survey to proceed should be undertaken prior to moving to the next stage of any traffic calming program.

Staff responded to questions from Council related to the perceived potential to now classify any street as a collector, and the need to clarify wording in this regard. Traffic circle issues were also discussed.

The following motion by Councillor Chiavario was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

A. THAT the process and method for establishing priorities for traffic calming plans be approved as described in the Administrative Report dated October 6, 1999, on a trial basis with report back on progress after two years, with the understanding that Engineering and Planning (City Plan) staff will work together on the trial and the report back.

B. THAT a work plan of proposed traffic calming plans be developed for Council’s review as part of the Year 2000 Capital Plan.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

(Councillor Puil not present for the vote.)

4. Enhancement of Pedestrian Facilities at Richards Street

and Pacific Boulevard File: 5808

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated October 26, 1999 (on file), in which the General Manager of Engineering Services provides background on the history of the Richards Street and Pacific Boulevard intersection, and sets out alternatives for Council's consideration, with Option 2 (Recommendation A) recommended by staff.

Ian Adam, Assistant City Engineer - Transportation, advised Council had requested a report back on this issue at its meeting of October 19th, and provided an overview of the Administrative Report. In response to questions from Council, staff advised there were trade-offs for both options before Council, with upgraded pedestrian standards offered in each. Mr. Adam advised if the normalized intersection (Recommendation A) were chosen, staff would monitor traffic management measures, including timing on the light, to ensure the intersection operates safely. Consideration B offers a less costly alternative, and retains the right-turn cutoff.

Don Buchanan offered his support for Recommendation A as contained in the Administrative Report. In response to the delegation, staff advised it is not the intent to remove the west sidewalk, and noted any future major changes to this intersection would be reported back to Council. Mr. Buchanan concluded by noting his disappointment other more pressing intersections had not been considered prior to decision on Richards and Pacific.

_ _ _ _ _

(Councillor Puil returned to the meeting at 12:45 p.m.)
_ _ _ _ _

The following motion by Councillor Bellamy was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT the right-turn cutoff on Richards Street at Pacific Boulevard be removed, the intersection normalized, the additional sidewalk area enhanced, and ongoing traffic management measures be applied as discussed in the Administrative Report dated October 26, 1999, at a cost of $150,000, $55,000 funded from the GreenLinks Account and $95,000 from the New Sidewalks Account.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Committee adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver