Park Board seeks input on major new park at Granville Bridge's south end

Vancouver Park Board seeks public input on new city block-sized park near Granville Bridge's south end

ite of the future Burrard Slopes Park. (Vancouver Park Board)

There is renewed momentum to finally establish a new city block-sized public park near the border of Vancouver’s Kitsilano and Fairview neighbourhoods.

Vancouver Park Board has commenced the initial public consultation process towards creating a detailed design for the new Burrard Slopes Park.

The new park will be located immediately west of the Fir Street off-ramp of the southern end of Granville Street Bridge. The future park site, an entire city block, about 2.5 acres in size, is framed by Fir Street to the east, West 5th Avenue to the north, Pine Street to the west, and West 6th Avenue to the south.

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This will be one of the largest new additional public parks within the City’s Broadway Plan area, but the project long pre-dates the 2022-enacted area plan.

Public park, open spaces, and green spaces strategy within the Broadway Plan. The future Burrard Slopes Park site is shown. Click on the image for a larger version. (City of Vancouver)

Site of the future Burrard Slopes Park. (Vancouver Park Board)

Site of the future Burrard Slopes Park, showing its existing uses. Click on the image for an expanded version. (Vancouver Park Board)

The land assembly process on this specific block for the purpose of establishing a park first began in the late 1990s, after Vancouver City Council’s 1993 approval of the Burrard Slopes Plan that laid out how the area would transition from an industrial district to a residential neighbourhood.

Four parcels on the block acquired by the municipal government in 1982 were originally intended to be held for investment purposes by the City’s Property Endowment Fund (PEF). In 2021, the City transferred $41 million from the Vancouver Park Board’s 2021 capital budget for park land acquisitions to the PEF for the purpose of advancing Burrard Slopes Park. Most of the parcels were then transferred out of the City’s investment portfolio.

While one small parcel at the northeast corner of the block remains as private property, solely because the owner has refused to sell it to the municipal government, enough parcels have been formed to advance the project to the design and planning stage. The holdout 7,600 sq ft private property of 1606 5th Avenue is occupied by a two-storey commercial building, and it currently carries an assessed value of $7.1 million.

Three other parcels on the block were previously acquired by the Park Board’s capital fund in 1998, 2001, and 2014. Two of these parcels are already used as public parks, including the 2014-created park space at the block’s southeast corner with a playground and open space, and the 2016-created, pop-up park space at the northwest corner of the block.

Other City-owned parcels on the block are currently occupied by low-storey commercial/industrial buildings.

The existing park space at the southeast corner of the Burrard Slopes Park site. (Google Maps)

The existing pop-up park space at the northwest corner of the Burrard Slopes Park site. (Google Maps)

The private property at 1606 5th Avenue on the northeast corner of the Burrard Slopes Park block site is holding out from the City’s land assembly acquisition. (Google Maps)

Site of the future Burrard Slopes Park. (Vancouver Park Board)

The existing Arbutus Greenway cuts through the entire west-east length of the block. It should also be noted that the permanent design plans for the greenway call for a potential future streetcar line alongside pathways for cycling and pathway, and other park-like spaces.

The Broadway Plan also prescribes a “partial closure” of Pine Street between West 5th Avenue and West 6th Avenue on the west side of the park, and a potential rerouting of the Arbutus Greenway’s pathways to the north side of the park fronting West 5th Avenue.

The Park Board’s current public consultation seeks input on the types of uses, amenities, and features that should be considered for Burrard Slopes Park. An online survey is open until October 15, 2023.

This feedback will then lead to the creation of detailed design concepts later in 2023 and early 2024, followed by more public consultation before a concept plan is created by Summer/Fall 2024. Park Board commissioners are expected to consider the final concept plan in late 2024 or early 2025.

When built, Burrard Slopes Park will directly connect to the Granville Street Bridge’s future pedestrian and cycling pathways (Granville Connector) via a short Arbutus Greenway extension along West 5th Avenue towards Granville Street.

Site of the future Burrard Slopes Park, showing its existing uses. (Vancouver Park Board)

Artistic rendering of the Arbutus Greenway’s future permanent design with a potential streetcar for the area next to West 6th Avenue within Fairview. (City of Vancouver)

Scope of work for the first phase of the Granville Connector’s pedestrian and cyclist pathways, including the new on-bridge traffic signals, with the pathways directly linking to the Arbutus Greenway. (City of Vancouver)

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