City council has voted in favour of several changes to the space outside Vancouver's largest health precinct, including the removal of dozens of metered parking spots to be replaced with new bike lanes.
The proposal was approved during Wednesday's meeting, with all but two voting in favour of the motion.
Council's decision means bike lanes will be built on both sides of a five-block stretch of West 10th Avenue between Oak and Cambie streets. Full details of the proposal are available in an administrative report posted online.
The area is home to numerous health facilities including the BC Cancer Agency, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, Eye Care Centre and Vancouver General Hospital, but it's also one of the busiest bike routes in the city.
"Over recent years, the experience for all users of 10th Avenue has declined as the street has gotten busier with more people walking, cycling, and driving in the area," the city staff report said.
The idea is not new. Disability advocates spoke out against it last April, saying the plan would make it difficult for those who have challenges walking, are sick or use a wheelchair and need to park close to the building.
But an administrative report issued last week revealed new details of the plan approved on Wednesday.
“Regionally, our population is growing, and with that, so are the demands and pressures to support the movement of more people and more goods,” Jerry Dobrovolny, the city’s general manager of engineering services, wrote in a report urging city council approve the plan.
“With more people leaving their personal vehicles at home and choosing to take transit, walk, or cycle, we are finding an increased need to build infrastructure to support the growth of these more sustainable modes.”
Of the 77 metered parking spaces from Oak to Cambie, only two will remain. Passenger loading zones and accessible parking spaces will increase from eight to 22, while metered parking on nearby side streets would drop from 80 to 62. The report also references a new parking lot at Ash and 10th will add more than 116 new spaces.
NPA Coun. Elizabeth Ball said she had initial concerns with the plan but that the latest version is an improvement.
“Staff have really actually gone down there and seen what it's like to get in and out of a car when you have an issue, and have adjusted the parking for that,” she told CTV Vancouver. “Yes, some places will be lost, but there will be others made available.”
Other recommendations in the $3 million design plan include adding 13 new spaces for disabled parking, turning the stretch between Ash and Cambie streets to one-way westbound traffic, removing 11 mature and healthy trees, adding new bus stops and improved HandyDART access, and reducing residential permit parking from 21 to 17 on-street spots.
The plan includes the removal of 11 mature and healthy trees, but says that approximately 50 new trees would be planted along 10th Avenue.
The report says 10th Avenue sees roughly 4,500 vehicles, 3,000 bikes and countless pedestrians on a busy day. Just under 8,000 vehicles use Ash Street each day. There were 69 vehicle collisions reported on 10th Avenue involving pedestrians or cyclists between 2009 and 2015. Based on ICBC data, the proposed changes might have prevented or mitigated up to 90 per cent of them.
More than 3,360 people completed surveys regarding the plan and roughly 700 attended open houses during the public consultation process. Construction on the first phase of the plan is expected to begin this year and continue to the next.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Maria Weisgarber
