What is Happening?
On July 8, the Vancouver Park Board will decide whether to grant final approval of Phase 1 of the West End Waterfront Plan - a Road Expansion Project on Beach Ave west of Denman. This may sound innocuous but, trust me, it's not.
The purpose of this Road Expansion Project is to reopen 2-way traffic on Beach Ave west of Denman Street AND widen the lanes to allow large tour buses as well as cars to enter and exit Stanley Park at Beach Ave. In effect, the project advances the interests of motor vehicle and tour bus operators at the expense of pedestrians, cyclists, West End residents, Stanley Park and the environment.
The Road Expansion Project will:
- supercharge motor vehicle access to Stanley Park at the same time that Park Board staff has acknowledged in its Mobility Study updates that managing the increasing volume of private vehicles accessing the park is essential for the future sustainability of Stanley Park;
- cause traffic jams at the Beach Ave/Denman Street/Davie Street intersection and encourage drivers to seek "shortcuts" on West End side streets to avoid the congestion;
- contribute to our city's carbon emissions and local air pollution;
- significantly compromise pedestrian safety by widening lanes, increasing traffic volume, eliminating a curbside sidewalk, and funneling large tour buses through busy crosswalks on Beach Ave and Denman Street;
- remove green space from the foreshore park for a paved pathway to replace the south curbside sidewalk; and
- put the bike lane out of commission for an extended period of time until a new off-road bike lane is provided.
To add insult to injury, the City plans to use West End Community Amenity Contribution funds to contribute millions to the cost of this project —money that should be used for essential community improvements like a new Aquatic Centre.
What Can You Do?
ABC does not have a majority on Park Board. The non-ABC Park Board Commissioners voted to defer approval of this project in the past. Final approval of the project on July 8 is not a foregone conclusion. But we need to reassure them that voters are paying attention and will not be happy if this project moves forward. So please, take the time to join fellow OneCity members, cyclists, pedestrians, and environmental advocates in voicing your opposition.
We know you're busy, so we prepared a draft letter that you can send to the Park Board Commissioners before July 8 to express your opposition to the project. Feel free to modify it to suit yourself.
Here is a copyable list of all of the Commissioners' emails:
[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
In addition, you can attend in person to speak at the Monday, July 8 meeting of the Park Board in person. The meeting will be held at the Park Board Offices located at 2099 Beach Ave. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM. If you want to speak, you will need to register online by noon on July 8 using the online form at the vancouver.ca website; or email your request to [email protected] or phone 604-257-8158.
📨 Write Your Letter
Sample Letter
Re: Imagine West End Waterfront Vision: Phase 1 - Report Back
I am writing to oppose approval of Phase 1 of the West End Waterfront Plan (WEWP). Phase 1 of the WEWP is a Road Expansion Project that is inconsistent with the environmental goals of the WEWP, the goals of the Park Board Mobility Study for Stanley Park, the Park Board's own Mission Statement, the Vision Zero principles set out in the City's Transportation Plan 2040, and the public interest.
The purpose of this Road Expansion Project is to reopen 2-way traffic on Beach Ave west of Denman Street AND widen the lanes to allow large tour buses and cars to enter and exit Stanley Park at Beach Ave. In effect, it promotes more motor vehicle traffic in Stanley Park and the Beach Ave/Denman Street area at the expense of pedestrians, cyclists, West End residents, Stanley Park and the environment.
This Road Expansion Project will:
- supercharge motor vehicle access to Stanley Park at the same time that Park Board staff has acknowledged in its Mobility Study for Stanley Park updates that managing the increasing volume of private vehicles accessing the park is essential for the future sustainability of Stanley Park;
- cause traffic jams at the Beach Ave/Denman Street/Davie Street intersection and encourage drivers to seek "shortcuts" on West End side streets to avoid the congestion;
- contribute to our city's carbon emissions and local air pollution;
- significantly compromise pedestrian safety by widening lanes, increasing traffic volume, eliminating a curbside sidewalk, and funneling large tour buses through busy crosswalks on Beach Ave and Denman Street;
- remove green space from the foreshore park for a paved pathway to replace the south side sidewalk;
- put the bike lane out of commission for an extended period of time until a new off-road bike lane is provided; and
- use West End Community Amenity Contribution funds to contribute millions towards the cost of a road expansion project whose purpose is to increase the volume of motor vehicle traffic in the West End and Stanley Park instead of saving those funds on their intended purpose: providing public amenities to West End residents, like a new Aquatic Centre.
The last minute modifications to Phase 1 of the WEWP proposed by Park Board staff do not adequately address these concerns. As a result, I am asking each of you to fulfill your obligations as Park Board Commissioners and decide against approving Phase 1 of the WEWP/Beach Ave Road Expansion Project, as it does more harm than good.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.