BC Hydro giving $8M to Vancouver Park Board for downtown substation
The Vancouver Park Board will receive millions of dollars from BC Hydro for allowing construction under a downtown green space.
The park board says it approved a request from the utility to have property rights in part of Nelson Park for its West End substation project. For that approval, BC Hydro is giving the park board $8 million, which it says will be used to improve parks in the neighbourhood.
"Knowing the substation project at the Lord Roberts Annex property adjacent to Nelson Park was moving ahead meant shifting from our more familiar role as those who build and maintain parks and public amenities, to ensuring the least amount of disruption possible to the park," said Donnie Rosa, general manager of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, in a news release.
"Another aspect of our role in this was to ensure reasonable compensation from BC Hydro on behalf of the park users who will be impacted by this project."
The board calls Nelson Park "critical access to nature" for residents in the West End, adding that 20,000 people live within a 10-minute walk of the park.
Work on the substation is expected to begin as early as 2024 and is estimated to be finished in 2029. Power line construction under the park will happen over the course of one or two winter months, when fewer people are using the green space.
"We're committed to delivering safe and reliable power to our customers in downtown Vancouver," said Chris O'Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro, in a news release.
"The rights of way access in Nelson Park is an important component for a new underground substation in the West End that will serve the downtown core for generations to come."
The new substation will replace the Dal Grauer substation, which was built more than 70 years ago.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.