This Week at Council: May 14-16, 2012 – Viva Vancouver, Pedestrian Safety, Bikelanes & more…
A quick round-up of some public space related items appearing in front of City Council this week.
Viva Vancouver – Temporary Public Space for summertime fun
This week’s regular Council begins with a presentation on the Viva Vancouver program (formerly Open Streets/Summer Spaces). Last year, the program was responsible for supporting a range of interventions – including Parallel Park, Liveable laneways, Picnurbia (at the 800-block of Robson) and a number of other projects… including some of the VPSN’s work with Laser Graffiti and Robson Square.
A Call for Proposals for 2012 projects was rolled out earlier this year… and today we learn about the proposed projects that have been identified for 2012. Exciting!
There’s no report online at the moment, but you can read additional details on the meeting agenda! Go Viva! We love this program.
:: Meeting Agenda
Rezoning application for 1401 Comox
The West End has seen a number of development proposals in recent years, some more controversial than others. The proposed 22-storey tower at 1401 Comox Street is one of these.
Council will be considering a recommendation to refer the rezoning application associated with this project to a public hearing. You can read the overview of the project in the associated staff report.
For your interest, the public space component of the development proposal includes “an 8.7 m by 37 m (28.5 ft. by 121.4 ft.) landscaped public open space, which incorporates a children’s play area, a community garden, and an open lawn area with public seating. These areas are to be accessible to the public, providing a useful addition to the public realm.”
:: Read the 1401 Comox Street Report
Pedestrian Safety and Active Transportation
On Wednesday the Planning, Transportation and Environment Committee of Council will be presented with two transportation-related reports.
The first report covers a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan that was commissioned as part of the City’sGreenestCityinitiative. The report notes:
“… that pedestrian safety in Vancouver has generally been improving and that Vancouver performs well compared to peer cities. However, pedestrians are still vulnerable. While pedestrians are involved in less than 2 percent of all traffic accidents, pedestrians account for 45 percent of all traffic fatalities in Vancouver. Of particular note, 75 percent of collisions involving pedestrians occurred at intersections, largely occurring when vehicles turned left or right. Collisions were also more frequent between 3 and 8 pm, and during hours of darkness in the winter months.”
The report looks at the ‘when, where, what and how’ of pedestrian/car collisions that were reported between 2005-2010 and identifies a dozen key issues (including night-time pedestrian safety, street-crossing supports, age-friendly design) that can be focused on as part of future work to improve pedestrian safety.
:: Read the Pedestrian Safety Report
The second report of interest concerns the 2012 Active Transportation Capital projects. Here, the City staff are looking for Council approval for five key projects: (1) the 45th Avenue Bikeway between Ontario and Nanaimo Streets; (2) the Dumfries Bikeway between 37th and 59th Avenue; (3) the Ridgeway Greenway revised plan between Nanaimo and Rupert Streets; (4) the North Arm Trail revised plan between Cambie and Ontario Streets; and (5) improvements to the Adanac Bikeway along Union Street (at Hawks Avenue).
The report also references other potential active transportation projects that might be considered as part of the updated Transportation 2040 plan.
:: Read the Active Transportation 2012 Capital Projects Report.