What Broadway as a "Great Street" for pedestrians could look like

June 2024 draft concept for Broadway's "Great Street" transformation. (City of Vancouver)

Just over a year after Vancouver City Council rejected the controversial idea of putting in protected bike lanes on Broadway, staff with the City of Vancouver are now seeking public input on preliminary design template concepts for transforming Broadway into a “Great Street.”

New visuals released for public consultation are highly consistent with the general concepts presented by City staff in March 2023.

Over the long term, Broadway’s existing configuration of six vehicle lanes (three vehicle lanes in each direction) between Vine Street and Clark Drive will be generally reduced to four vehicle lanes (two vehicle lanes in each direction). Curbside vehicle spaces will generally be reallocated for wider pedestrian sidewalks, patios, street furniture, seating, and street trees and other landscaping.

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Some curbside vehicle parking will be retained for short-term needs such as pick-up, drop-off, and loading in commercial areas along segments of Broadway. Additionally, curbside vehicle parking will be retained in residential areas of the street.

Following City Council’s direction, the “Great Street” design template will “future-proof” the potential addition of a bike lane by reserving unobstructed space for such an installation.

The design concept for Broadway will be put in place for the Broadway Subway’s station blocks by 2027, as part of the SkyTrain Millennium Line extension project. Other segments of the street will gradually change through the redevelopment of the properties fronting Broadway and City-led public realm projects.

Broadway Great Street Vancouver June 2024 concept

June 2024 draft concept for Broadway’s “Great Street” transformation. (City of Vancouver)

While bike lanes will not be installed on Broadway, the current Broadway Plan also features significant new and improved cycling routes on parallel streets.

Last year, during the Broadway bike lane debate, City staff presented two alternative options: one that narrowed Broadway to two vehicle lanes (one in each direction) to include protected bike lanes, widened pedestrian sidewalks, and patio opportunities; and another that reduced Broadway to four vehicle lanes (two in each direction) for protected bike lanes and patio opportunities, but without widened sidewalks.

At the time, City staff expressed opposition to any option that would reduce Broadway to just one vehicle lane in each direction due to concerns about traffic congestion, and recommended the option as originally envisioned during the Broadway Plan’s previous public consultation of two vehicle lanes in each direction coupled with widened pedestrian sidewalks and patio opportunities.

Wide sidewalks are a key design feature for Singapore’s vibrant Orchard Road, which is the principal shopping street in the city state. It also maintains its role as a critical arterial roadway. (UV70/Shutterstock)

With vehicle traffic down to a single file, this would especially impact TransLink buses, freight trucks, and emergency vehicles, including the access needs for Vancouver General Hospital. Broadway serves as a major east-west regional arterial route, and recent construction for the subway has already caused vehicle traffic to overflow onto adjacent streets like 12th Avenue, leading to significant congestion on those routes.

Over the coming decades, the area of the Broadway Plan will see a tremendous increase in residents and jobs from high-density tower-based redevelopments. City staff are also currently in the process of considering enabling even more density within the Broadway Plan area due in part to the need to align with the provincial government’s legislation relating to housing.

Moreover, Broadway is also a protected regional arterial route under TransLink’s regional Major Road Network. Any changes to the street require TransLink’s approval, and so far they have only indicated their support for reducing Broadway to two vehicle lanes in each direction.

The current public consultation also seeks input on enhancing other commercial high streets within the Broadway Plan area — busy arterial streets such as Arbutus Street and Burrard Street — and local residential streets to be more attractive for pedestrians.

Map of the areas within the Broadway Plan with the greatest need for new additional park space. (City of Vancouver)

Other than the long-planned future city block-sized Burrard Slopes Park, the Broadway Plan does not provide any specific prescription for major additional public parks. Instead, new public park and open space strategies could rely on reallocating road space on local streets for pocket park spaces, working with developers to incorporate privately-owned public spaces on their development sites, and the possibility of land acquisition of yet-to-be-identified properties for new additional public parks.

However, a potential future major mixed-use redevelopment of the Vancouver City Hall campus reaching West Broadway could provide the Broadway Plan’s commercial core with new major plaza spaces.

An online survey is open through July 14, 2024.

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