The City of Vancouver is hosting a series of open houses to gather public feedback on the fate of the Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts, which are travelled by thousands of cars per day but occupy valuable development space between Chinatown and the downtown core.
The viaducts were built in the 1970s to facilitate an extensive freeway network that was never realized, and currently divide lands owned by the city, province and a number of corporations including Concord Pacific and Pavco.
The traffic arteries have been on city council's radar for the past two and a half years, and Councillor Geoff Meggs said it's time to share some of the planning proposals, including the potential demolition of both structures, with residents.
"We're at the point of a historic decision in council, probably at the end of July, and it's time for the public to weigh in on the latest version," Meggs told CTV News.
The plans for the viaducts and their adjoining road network were formed based on consultations with city planning and engineering staff and ideas from an open competition held last fall.
One of the options envisions a combination of Pacific Boulevard and Expo Boulevard to one single road which would climb west up a new ramp to West Georgia Street, leaving opportunities for more bike lanes from Chinatown to False Creek and the seawall.
The city says tearing down the viaducts would facilitate a 13 per cent gain in park areas in that neighbourhood and approximately 850,000 square feet of development potential that could be used for affordable housing.
"It would mean more park, better connections for Chinatown and to some of the other communities coming on, better traffic solutions for Strathcona and Grandview-Woodlands," Meggs said.
The viaducts were designed to carry up to 1,800 vehicles per lane per hour, but council says they serve less than half of that -- about 750 cars per lane -- and it will cost $8 to $10 million to maintain the structures over the next 15 years.
"Up till now it's always been assumed they stay," Meggs said. "Now we're opening the door to the question of ‘well, maybe they should go, maybe that would be better."
