Here’s my latest column in Business in Vanouver (May 1-7, 2007, Issue 914) - to whom I am continually grateful for publishing my comments these many years.
This is the unedited version, and hence a little longer than the published column.
The North Shore is about to lose this game of bridge.
Ever since the 1950s, the North Shore has wanted a Third Crossing. The failure of that project in 1972 was a turning point in this region’s history – and though it may seem counter-intuitive, that is one of the reasons we are such a livable and prosperous city. But those stuck in traffic on the roads leading to Lions Gate Bridge still yearn for something better.
On this side of Burrard Inlet, we’ve pretty much done everything we can to prevent another vehicle crossing. Coal Harbour was designed to eliminate the possibility of a waterfront road; we refused to entertain any more lanes through Stanley Park; we rejected the possibility of an Alberni-Georgia couplet; and we traffic-calmed the West End. Councils across the ideological spectrum have agreed: No more capacity for single-occupant vehicles.
On the other side of Burrard Inlet, most people have come to terms with the situation. In fact, given the modest growth in the westerly part of the North Shore so far, the line-ups to the bridge haven’t really changed that much. The worst traffic is on weekends; otherwise people have organized their lives to accommodate a three-lane reality. (And, counter-intuitively, that’s one of the reasons their quality of life is so high.)
Now things are changing: a faster, wider road and a lot more growth. When the Province announces the widening of a road, real-estate development invariably follows – and that’s what is happening up the Sea-to-Sky corridor. Squamish is closer to Vancouver than Langley, say the ads. The Sunshine Coast is booming. And everyone expects to drive.
What, I remember wondering, do the Province and municipalities think will happen at the intersections feeding Lions Gate Bridge – namely Taylor Way and Capilano Road at Marine Drive – when all that new growth starts funneling cars and trucks into these saturated intersections?
Now we know.
Though it got no coverage elsewhere in the region, the North Shore News reported on the results of a report just released by the Ministry of Transportation.
“Line-ups to the Lions Gate Bridge will quadruple by 2021, causing tie-ups on Highway 1 and major North Shore arterial roads, according to a new report by the province. Evening rush-hour commuters can expect traffic jams four times the current length, regularly reaching half a kilometre along Marine Drive west of Taylor Way and up Capilano Road.”
They had looked carefully at 20 possible improvements, at a cost up to $125 million. Conclusion: none of them will reduce commute times. At best, they would help get line-ups out of the way of local traffic.
Temporarily, that is. “Eventually, those storage areas will be filled over the next 20 years or so,” said the authors. “The line-ups to the bridge will once again extend along Marine Drive, Taylor Way and Capilano Road.”
In the end, the report concluded, the only solution is to get commuters out of their cars with some realistic transit.
This, noted the North Shore News, was something of a wake-up call for West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Ralph Sultan, who had asked for the report. “I, in my naiveté, thought there was some kind of silver bullet,” he said. “To spend a million dollars and not to be given a silver bullet is bit of a disappointment.”
A million? That’s nothing. The Province is spending hundreds of millions to widen the Sea to Sky Highway, apparently without ever thinking through the consequences for Taylor Way and Marine Drive.
Short of building another crossing, acknowledged Sulton, there is no way around it: “We need better mass transit to the North Shore.”
“… Short of building another crossing …” Ah, there it is again: that shimmering vision. Another bridge or tunnel. Another billion or two or ten to get the traffic moving.
In expectation of a renewed call for a Third Crossing, I’ve prepared a few questions to ask of the proponents.
Tell me simply this: where will the bridge or tunnel feed the traffic? I’d appreciate the name of the specific intersection. And then, tell me what you think will happen at that intersection. Or do you imagine a tunnel under the downtown peninsula? To pop up at Granville and Broadway?
What I want to know is what you are going to do with another 2,000 vehicles per lane per hour. And why you think it will be any different from what you already face at Taylor Way and Marine.
And since you now have no idea what you’re going to do there, why would you want to do it somewhere else?
Remember: those responsible for this dilemma are the same people bringing you the Gateway Project. Maybe it’s time the MLAs out in the valley asked for what Ralph Sulton got way too late.
I know. They’ll twin the Ironworkers’ Bridge and widen the Upper Levels Highway.
I’ve always thought they should have a ferry from West Van to UBC.
The redevelopment of the downtown waterfront between Canada Place and Crab Park is a huge opportunity, with or without the Whitecaps stadium. The new guidelines for the area from the City have a transportation hub as a key element of future urban planning (something I pushed for strongly when vice-chair of the planning commission).
The opportunity is in marine transit expansion, with Sydney harbour as the model. Marine connections (passenger-only, that is) are possible to Langdale, Bowen, Squamish, Ambleside, Deep Cove, Belcarra and Port Moody with drop-offs right downtown aligned with three transit lines, buses and the streetcar.
^Oooh that sounds exciting.
The trouble with UBC as a marine destination is that there’s no suitable docking area that doesn’t involve a transfer or a very steep climb.
As for Waterfront Station, there are also connections to helicopters and float planes.
[...] Suddenly, brakes light up in front of us. Must be some competitive type trying to change lanes. Out of the shimmering heat steps a tall man dressed as a waiter with a tray of what… margaritas in little plastic cups with convenient straws? Mirage? No… can’t be because I now have one of these frozen concoctions in one hand and the wheel in the other. I had to ask him where he came from. Earl’s Restaurant, he said and pointed down the street and smiled at me as he went on to the next car. He wasn’t wearing a sign, there were no logos in sight and he didn’t broadcast the restaurant. All around us, people were now smiling, slurping, waving at each other, and yes these were virgin drinks. Rather than raging at each other in the traffic we were rippling happiness. Which was good because the big merge from two lanes to one lane was coming up and boy, do you have to manage your irritation with other drivers at that point on the bridge. (We need a better green solution for transportation here… but that is another story) [...]