The Seaside Greenway Completion Project Burrard Bridge to Jericho Beach, submitted by the City of Vancouver, will receive the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) 2015 Sustainable Urban Transportation Award.
This award, which will be presented at the September TAC Conference & Exhibition, recognizes exemplary contributions to the development and enhancement of urban transportation, as well as transferability to other communities.
In 2014, the City of Vancouver completed the reconstruction of the Burrard/Cornwall intersection, the creation of a next-generation local street bikeway on York Avenue, the transformation of Point Grey Road from an arterial to a local street, and the creation of new park space. These changes have substantially improved walking and cycling opportunities, as well as the quality of life for residents of Vancouver’s west side.
“The three component projects (Point Grey Road, York Avenue Bikeway, and Burrard Cornwall Intersection) all encourage more and safer active transportation, resulting in significant social, health, and environmental benefits,” explains Dale Bracewell, Manager of Active Transportation at the City of Vancouver. “By addressing gaps and deficiencies in the existing walking and cycling networks, this project greatly increases the safety, convenience, and use of existing infrastructure.”
Changes to the intersection of Burrard Street and Cornwall Avenue reduced both motor vehicle speeds and the complexity of walking and cycling crossings. The three projects enhanced neighbourhood cycling routes, provided walking improvements at an elementary school, and filled a decades-old gap in the iconic 28-km Seaside Greenway between downtown and Vancouver’s western beaches.
In addition to the transportation benefits, each of the three projects added and improved parks and green spaces. Together, the projects planted 97 new trees, converted 2850 m2 of paved surface to green space, added planted medians on York Avenue, Stephens Street, and Point Grey Road, and extended Volunteer and Tatlow Parks into what was formerly roadway.
“To close this gap in the Seaside Greenway, approximately 10,000 daily motor vehicle trips were redirected from Point Grey Road to parallel streets with spare capacity,” adds Dale. “In addition to physical changes, including the connection of two previously bisected parks, the character of Point Grey Road has dramatically changed as the ratio of bicycle traffic to motor vehicles has increased by 100 times. A typical weekend in August 2014 saw nearly 5000 daily walking and cycling trips along Point Grey Road past Volunteer and Tatlow Parks, while typical motor vehicle volumes are around 500 trips per day.”
Complete Multi-Modal Intersection
The previous configuration of the Burrard/Cornwall intersection was complex and circuitous for people on foot, requiring up to five roadway crossings to cross the intersection. “The new design is a great example of how quality multi-modal design can efficiently and safely incorporate all transportation modes. The intersection protects vulnerable road users using Dutch design principles, which separate people walking and cycling from motor vehicles using corner refuge islands and protected signal phasing for all modes. The result is one of the most complete multi-modal intersections in North America.”
Before recommending the winning proposal to TAC’s Board of Directors, five other nominations were also evaluated: Churchill Avenue Cycle Tracks (City of Ottawa and Novatech); CycleON Action Plan 1.0 – Ontario’s Cycling Strategy (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario); Region of Peel’s Freight Transportation Demand Management Study (Region of Peel); Developing a Travel Demand Management Assessment Tool for Office-based TDM Strategies (Region of Peel) and 7th Street SW Cycle Track: Calgary’s First Centre City Cycle Track (City of Calgary).
All nominees will present their projects during a session based on the 2015 award at the upcoming TAC Conference.
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