$26M in provincial funding boosts City of Vancouver infrastructure projects

$26 million in provincial funding to boost City of Vancouver infrastructure projects

The existing Beatty Street bike lane next to BC Place Stadium. (Google Maps)

Nearly three months after the Government of British Columbia announced its Growing Communities Fund allocations to each municipal and regional government in the province, there is now a better idea of how the largest municipal jurisdiction will spend its one-time grant funding.

On Wednesday, during their final scheduled meeting before the summer break through mid-September, Vancouver City Council approved City of Vancouver staff’s recommendations on how to use $25.5 million or half of the $49.1 million it received in provincial grant funding.

This will be directed towards increasing the 2023-2026 capital budget for new and improved infrastructure and amenities.

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The single largest allocation is $10 million towards converting temporary public plazas into permanently designed spaces with improved functionality, accessibility, lighting, seating, trees, and landscaping. During the pandemic, the municipal government created 22 temporary plazas in partnership with business improvement associations and community organizations.

An amount of $4.5 million will be directed towards the long-planned renovation of the Children’s Library in the basement of Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch.

Fire Hall 2 at 199 Main Street in the Downtown Eastside will receive $3 million for the construction of a temporary annex to address overcrowding issues for staff and the non-optimal strategy of parking one fire truck outside. Expanded funding for this fire hall in recent years has increased its crew size from eight to 14 staff and the number of apparatus vehicles from two to four — all part of the measures to address the Downtown Eastside’s soaring calls relating to overdoses, fires, and other incidents stemming from the area’s social issues.

According to the City, this is the single busiest fire hall in Vancouver and in North America, and is about six times busier than the average fire hall in Vancouver. The creation of the temporary annex will also help support future plans to build a permanent replacement facility.

Another $3 million will go to reintroducing the original scope of the new Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre, which includes an outdoor aquatic centre. The funding currently available and approved for this project is $85 million.

An additional $3 million is eyed for transportation improvements, including $500,000 for speed reduction improvements on Cornwall Avenue in Kitsilano, $500,000 for arterial school zone speed reductions and enhancements to encourage compliance, $450,000 to upgrade nine rapid rectangular flashing beacons, $800,000 for improved pedestrian crosswalks at six locations, $250,000 for 15 additional slow zones in select areas, and $500,000 for one pedestrian scramble as a pilot project.

Separately, $2 million will be spent on a new permanent design for a 350-metre-long, two-block stretch of the Beatty Street bike lane between West Georgia Street and Smithe Street — the segment adjacent to BC Place Stadium. This work includes raising the protected bike lane to the sidewalk level, physically separating the curbs, and providing an improved passenger and coach bus zone for the various hotels. The intent is to perform this work in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to improve pedestrian safety and allow for better use of the street during the tournament.

During the deliberations, City Council also directed City staff to set aside funding for several other existing planned projects, including a new turf field at Moberly Park, a public washroom strategy, and suicide prevention barriers for the Granville Street Bridge.

As for how the remaining $23.6 million of the grant will be spent, City staff will return to City Council with recommendations by no later than the middle of 2024. Potential candidate projects include setting aside $10 million to $25 million for the new replacement Vancouver Aquatic Centre, $3 million to $5 million for new and improved sports fields and diamonds, $2 million to $3 million for public washrooms, and $4 million to $5 million for accessibility and inclusion improvements.

Although the City of Vancouver is the largest municipality in BC based on total population, its grant allocation of $49.1 million is the second largest for any municipality — behind the $89.9 million received by the City of Surrey.

In its rationale for how it decided the allocations, the provincial government stated it used a formula that adjusts for population size and per-capita population growth between 2016 and 2021. As well, each regional district and municipal government starts with a baseline of $500,000, before the formula kicks in to account for population and growth.

The provincial government’s $1 billion Growing Communities Fund to all municipal and regional governments was funded by its unexpected significant 2022/2023 budget surplus. About $400 million was directed to Metro Vancouver Regional District and its municipal governments.

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