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livable city sus ta ina
blefut
ure
Beyond Downtown
On Public Transit
Neighbourhoods, Parks,Planning and Transportation
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What Youll See
This tour of Vancouver on public transit outside the
downtown core takes you around several Vancouver
residential neighbourhoods. Youll see some of the
results of the Citys community and transportation
planning, as well as a transit-oriented development and
several City parks. The main section of the tour,
between the Arbutus Neighbourhood and Collingwood
Village, takes about 3.5 hours, including travel time
and strolling. This brochure also describes some side
trips you can take in addition to the main tour.
Getting Started
The tour starts at the Arbutus Neighbourhood. From downtown,
take bus #16 Arbutus and get off at Broadway and Arbutus.
You can also start the tour at any one of the sites throughout
the tour. Just follow the transit directions from where you start.
Taking the Streetcar to Growth
Vancouvers population ballooned from about 5,000 in 1887
to 100,000 in 1900. The streetcar routes, nearly invisible today,
played a vital role in how the city grew. Streetcar expansion
and residential development often went hand in hand. As raillines pushed into the forest, they allowed average citizens
to buy lots at affordable prices beyond downtown and still
commute to work. Along with local routes, North Americas
earliest Interurban line opened in 1891, connecting downtown
Vancouver and New Westminster. The Interurban opened vast
tracts of land for agricultural and residential development.
The first transit portion of the tour takes you along the old
Broadway streetcar route and part of the old Interurban route
to Collingwood Village. Electric trolley buses began replacing
the streetcar system in 1948. Today, Vancouver is one of seven
cities in North America still operating quiet, pollution-freetrolleys. The regional transit authority, TransLink, has committed
to fully replacing the aging trolley fleet with zero-emission,
low-floor trolleys by 2007.
See centrefold for map.
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Planning on Display
This tour will show you how planning has helped shaped
Vancouvers residential communities. The Citys planning
programs include area planning and Community Vision
implementation. In 1995, CityPlan was adopted as a broadvision for Vancouver. Community Visions bring CityPlan policies
to life at the neighbourhood level. You will see examples of the
Citys general policy directions for communities, such as
strengthening neighbourhood centres, reducing reliance on the
car, increasing housing variety and affordability, and involving
residents in planning their communities.
CityPlan: Directions for Vancouver (1995)
Create and strengthen
neighbourhood centres
Improve safety and better
target community services
Reduce reliance on the car by
locating jobs, shops, and
services near housing
Increase the variety and
affordability of housing
Define neighbourhood character
Diversify parks and public
places
Involve people and redirect
resources
Site 1: Arbutus Neighbourhood
From Broadway, walk two blocks south along Arbutus Street
to the W. 11th Avenue greenway and park, a focal point
for the community. This 10-hectare (25-acre) site originally
contained a brewery and factories. Today, it is a medium-
density, low- to mid-rise residential precinct that will eventually
house 2,100 residents. About 145 non-market housing units
(10 per cent of the total units on the site) are fully integrated
with market housing. City-required amenities provided by the
developer include a seniors housing project, the retention of alearning institution, and one hectare (2.2 acres) of park.
The community gardens next to the railway tracks along
W. 6th Avenue are a few of many throughout the City that
showcase gardenings recreational and community building
value. Community gardening brings people together for a
common purpose, raises environmental awareness and
teaches people valuable skills. Local residents volunteer to
plant and tend these gardens.
The Vancouver Compost Demonstration Garden at 2150
Maple Street showcases a variety of green technologies
that city dwellers can use for food, waste and water
conservation. This public garden includes a large organic
food and flower garden, a composting system, a waterwise
garden, rain barrels, a compost toilet, and sustainable
buildings including a cob shed. Funded by the City, the
garden embodies Vancouvers support for environmental
conservation. Staff are in the garden Monday to Saturday
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but you can enter the side gate and
tour the site anytime. www.cityfarmer.org
Wayfinding:Walk back north along Arbutus Street and
turn right at W. 6th Avenue. Walk one block and turn left
at Maple Street.
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The lane east of Maple Street, between W. 5th and 6th
Avenues on the City Farmer property, is one of the Citys
earliest examples of sustainable country lanes. Two narrow
bands of hard surface are surrounded by a structural compo-
nent that can support vehicles as well as accommodate topsoil
planted with grass. Country lanes absorb rainwater thereby
helping to reduce surface runoff and associated discharges
into the City storm/sewer system. They are an innovative
alternative to asphalt lane paving.
As you ride along W. Broadway, take note of the housing
above the shops in these commercial districts. Designed to
be compatible with the commercial uses, the dwelling units
contribute to the citys sustainability by being close to shopsand services.
In transit:At Broadway and Arbutus Street, take the #9
or #17 bus east to Granville Street and transfer to the
#99 B-Line eastbound. Get off at Cambie Street.
Side trip:
University of British Columbia
(UBC) (#99 bus stop: UBC)
Founded by the provincial
government in 1908, UBC
consistently ranks among the
top 50 universities in theworld. A research-intensive
university, UBC has more
than 50,000 undergraduate,
graduate and international
students and has an economic
impact of $4 billion on the
local economy.
UBC is evolving from a
traditional commuter campus
into a more self-contained
University Town. The
university is engaging the
campus community in aplanning and visioning process
to help create a sustainable
new mixed-use community.
This, in turn, supports and
strengthens the universitys
academic mission.
Attractions at UBC include the
Museum of Anthropology, the
Chan Centre for the Performing
Arts, and the Japanese Nitobe
Memorial Garden. Spectacular
views of the Gulf Islands can
be seen from the Rose Gardens
at the intersection of Main Mall
and Chancellor Boulevard.
www.ubc.ca
Note:
#99 B-Line: a popular route that
cuts cross-town travel time
The #99 B-Line express bus
service travels along Broadway
between UBC and the Commercial
Drive SkyTrain station. Launched
in 1996, this limited-stop service
has become heavily used, with
ridership increasing from 10,000
passengers daily in 1996 to over
30,000 passengers daily today.
Many of them are students
travelling to UBC. A universal
transportation pass program
called U-Pass encourages
university students to take
public transit. Students pay a
mandatory fee with their tuitionin exchange for unlimited transit
services in the Greater Vancouver
Regional District.
www.translink.bc.ca
Trips on buses, rapid transit,
SeaBus and the West Coast
Express account for approximately
20 per cent of all trips within the
City of Vancouver.
In transit: At Broadway and Arbutus Street, take the #9 or #17
bus west along Broadway to Macdonald Street and transfer to the
#99 B-Line westbound to UBC.
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The tree-lined streets south
of Broadway contain many
examples of infill housing,
in which smaller houses
are built behind existing
houses to add residential
density while respecting the
neighbourhoods character
(e.g. 2632 Alberta St., 174
W. 11th Ave.). Appropriate
setbacks and use of the roofspace over carports create
opportunities for open space
and sunlight. Many homes in
this area are on the Citys heritage register. The new
houses reference the older houses in their massing and
architectural form.
Vancouvers public streets are lined with more than 124,000
boulevard trees that are cared for by Vancouver Park Board
staff. Arborists at Vancouvers own tree nursery grow and
plant thousands of new trees each year to enhance and
diversify the urban forest. In this Mount Pleasant community,
you will see species ranging from oaks and maples to the
Japanese flowering cherry. The Vancouver Tree Bylaw limits
tree removal on private properties and mandates that
replacement trees be planted whenever trees are removed.
Side trip: City Square is located
on the northwest corner of
W. 12th Avenue and Cambie.
This development exemplifies
urban design strategies including
heritage preservation, tree
retention and architectural
character while adding density to
the site. Two turn-of-the-century
school buildings are integrated
with retail, office and educational
facilities. Pedestrian linkagesthroughout connect people to
project components as well as
to the surrounding community.
Site 2: Broadway and Cambie(#99 bus stop: Cambie)
This intersection is the location of a future station for the
Canada Line (rapid transit), to be completed by 2009. The
Canada Line will reduce travel time between downtown
and the airport and Richmond to 25 minutes. It will serve
one-third of the regions workforce and 20 per cent of itspopulation. The station at this intersection will serve those who
live and work around City Hall, Vancouver General Hospital
and the Broadway corridor. www.canadaline.ca
Vancouver City Hall will be on your right as you walk up
the hill toward W. 12th Avenue. Opened in 1936 and
designated a heritage building in 1976, the buildings style
stands at a transitional point between the vertical, highlyornamented Art Deco style and the simpler, more horizontal
Moderne.
Wayfinding:Walk up Yukon Street (one block east of
Cambie St.) and turn left on W. 10th, 11th, 13th or 14th
Avenues.
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C I T Y O F V A N C O U V E R
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The Citys Green Streets Program offers Vancouver residents
an opportunity to become volunteer street gardeners in their
neighbourhoods by sponsoring a traffic circle or corner bulge
garden. This creates not only a more colourful and interesting
street and a more personalized neighbourhood, but also
encourages and promotes a sense of community pride and
ownership that ultimately benefits the entire city. Examples of
Green Streets projects are found at the intersections of Alberta
and W. 10th Ave., Ontario Street and W. 16th Ave., and
Quebec and W. 10th Ave.
Site 3: Blooming Boulevards(#99 bus stop: Clark Drive)
China Creek Park takes its name from the creek that once ran
through the area. Named for Chinese pioneers who farmed
here in the 1880s, the creek was home to coho and chum
salmon. It was given to the City to settle an unpaid tax bill
in 1923, though construction of the park did not begin until
1951. The park has one of the regions oldest skateboard
bowls, while on the north side of Broadway, the King Edwardcampus of Vancouver Community College sits on the site of
the velodrome built for the British Empire Games of 1954.
Wayfinding/In transit: You can either walk back to
Yukon Street to catch the eastbound #99 B-Line at
Broadway, or continue walking several blocks east along
the landscaped streets to catch the #99 B-Line at Main
Street and Broadway to Clark Drive.
Wayfinding: From the bus stop, walk west to Clark Drive.
Cross Clark and walk one block south. Turn right at E. 10th
Avenue to get to China Creek Park.
Between E. 12th and E. 41st Avenues on Windsor Street is the
Windsor Way Blooming Boulevards Demonstration Project.
More than 40 residents have helped beautify Windsor Street
by planting gardens in the area between the curb and side-
walk. Launched in 2001, the Blooming Boulevards project is
partially funded by the City through the Park Board. City staffcoordinate the project and arrange for the delivery of City
compost. Community members promote the project and
residents maintain their own gardens. This demonstration
project is an example of the Community Visions Program
bringing to life some of the goals identified in CityPlan. The
success of Windsor Way has led to policy changes that allow
residents to garden boulevards throughout the city.
Vancouver has developed many policies that encourage
walking and cycling. Vancouvers city-wide network of
commuter and recreational bikeways is an example of how
such policies can help produce results on the ground. Here
on Windsor Street a recent addition to the bikeway network youll see traffic calming measures and improvements to
traffic signals that help improve the environment for cyclists
and discourage non-local drivers. These include curbside push
buttons at pedestrian/cyclist signals, painted bicycle logos on
the roadway, traffic circles, diverters and medians.
Wayfinding: Continue along E. 10th Avenue to Windsor
Street and turn left. Walk to E. 12th Avenue. Return to
the bus stop at Clark Drive.
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In transit: From Clark Drive, take the #99 B-Line east
to Broadway/Commercial Drive. The Broadway/Commercial
SkyTrain Station is a terminus for the #99 B-Line bus
service and a major transfer point for people going to
and from downtown on SkyTrain.
City Policies to Promote Walking and Cycling
A walkable and accessible
Central Area (Central Area
Plan, 1991)
Transit, walking and biking as
a priority (CityPlan, 1995)
Expand opportunities for
urban recreation and the
experience of nature and city
life (Vancouver Greenways
Plan, 1995)
Share the road network: Allocate
space for cyclists and improve
pedestrian comfort and safety.
(Vancouver Transportation Plan,1997)
Promote a walkable downtown
"Pedestrians First Policy" and
create a network of downtown
bike lanes (Downtown
Transportation Plan, 2002)
Site 4: Broadway/Commercial SkyTrainStation (#99 bus stop: Commercial Drive;SkyTrain stop: Broadway/Commercial)
The Broadway/Commercial SkyTrain Station is a terminus
for the #99 B-Line bus service and a major transfer point for
people going to and from downtown on SkyTrain. Plans to
improve this Transit Village are underway through the
Urban Transportation Showcase Program, a partnership
between the City, the federal government, the regional
transportation authority and other municipalities. The project
will integrate the two SkyTrain stations and improve safety,
circulation, and access for pedestrians, passengers, and
cyclists. It will also determine how new development and
commercial activity around the stations can support even
higher transit use and provide ongoing benefit to the
community. www.translink.bc.ca
From where the bus stops, you have a good view of the
Grandview Cut, a manmade ravine that runs parallel to
Grandview Highway North. When the Great Northern Railwaydug the Cut in 1913, it used the excavated material as fill
under rail tracks in the eastern basin of False Creek. The City
bought the north and south banks of the Grandview Cut in
1990 as a transportation corridor. Burlington Northern Santa
Fe Railway owns the land at the bottom of the ravine. Its
trains, along with those of VIA Rail and Amtrak, still run
through the Cut today.
The first phase of the Central Valley Greenway runs along
Grandview Highway North between Commercial Drive
and Slocan Street. Greenways are linear parks or street
improvements that favour cyclists and pedestrians while
discouraging motor vehicles. The multi-use, landscaped paths
Wayfinding: From the bus stop, walk north to Grandview
Highway North and turn right.
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accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and other wheeled users.
Narrow street widths and other traffic calming measures
contribute to a pleasant walking and cycling environment.
When complete, the Central Valley Greenway one of
sixteen routes in the city will span four Lower Mainland
municipalities following the SkyTrain Millennium Line from
Vancouver to Coquitlam. Walk two or three blocks to view
the various treatments along this greenway.
SkyTrain travels along much of the route of the original 1891
Interurban line between Vancouver and New Westminster.
From the train there are good views to the north of the
mountains, downtown and Burrard Inlet.
In transit: Catch the SkyTrain at Broadway Station east-
bound in the direction of King George. (From Commercial
Station, walk up the stairs to Broadway Station.) Ride
three stops to Joyce-Collingwood Station.
Site 5: Collingwood Village(SkyTrain stop: Joyce-Collingwood)
Originally settled by farmers and orchardists in the 1880s,
Collingwood is a long established community. Collingwood
Village is a prime example of transit-oriented development inthe City of Vancouver, focusing residential, commercial and
recreational uses within easy walking distance from a rapid
transit station. The developer assembled about 11 hectares
(27 acres) of former industrial land that was comprehensively
rezoned in 1993. The City required the developer to provide
a range of amenities, including a Neighbourhood House, a
community gymnasium, a childcare facility, an elementary
school and 3 hectares (7.4 acres) dedicated to public open
space.
Once completed, Collingwood Village will be home to
about 4,500 new residents in an active, pedestrian-friendly
environment. The housing mix combines affordable markethousing and rentals, with 20 per cent of all residential units
designed for families with children. Housing types include
townhouses, mid-rise apartments and high-rise towers to a
maximum of 26 storeys.
The tour ends here.
Take the SkyTrain back downtown (Expo Line westbound in the
direction of Waterfront), or to Broadway/Commercial Station
where you can hop on the #99 B-Line bus westbound back to
UBC. Or, take a side trip.
Wayfinding: Leave the SkyTrain station, walk to the
southeast corner of Joyce Street and Vanness Avenue,
then walk east to the Collingwood Village development.
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a natural area, lake and forest. Year-round uses such as a
skateboard park have also been added. The City continues to
work on accommodating the annual fair, sports (the park is
home to the horse racing industry in Vancouver), and special
events within the park while providing a green space for the
neighbourhood. www.vancouver.ca/pnepark
From Renfrew and Hastings,
walk down Renfrew Street to
McGill, head east and look for
the parking lot signs pointingto New Brighton Park. Follow
the road under the rail tracks.
Set on the waterfront, the park
has great views of downtown
and the working harbour. The
Port of Vancouver, with one of
the worlds best natural har-
bours, is the largest in Canada
and one of the busiest in North
America.
Side Trips
You may choose to take the following side trips.
1. Metrotown. From Broadway/Commercial SkyTrain Station,
ride SkyTrain eastbound two stops to Metrotown in the City of
Burnaby. Metrotown is one of eight regional town centres that,
along with the Metropolitan Core of Vancouvers Central Area,
help to create a compact, livable metropolitan region. Town
centres feature a concentration of jobs and housing, a variety of
shopping, services and community facilities, and serve as hubs
for road and transit connections to the rest of the region. The
provinces largest retail and entertainment centre, located next
to the SkyTrain station, is the heart of the Metrotown regional
centre. www.gvrd.bc.ca/livablecentres/metrotown.htm
To view the region, continue riding SkyTrain to Surrey. On
the way back, you can take the Millennium Line past
Lougheed Mall and through Central Burnaby to Broadway
and Commercial, where you can transfer to downtown.
2. Hastings Park Area. From the 29th Avenue SkyTrain Station,
look for bus #16 Arbutus. Ride the #16 north to Hastings Park
at Renfrew and Hastings. The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE)
at Hastings Park is a Vancouver institution dating to the late
1800s. It is one of North Americas few remaining urban
agricultural summer fairs. In 2004, the City of Vancouver
acquired responsibility for the fair and the grounds. Significant
greening of the property has taken place with the creation of
Note: The Vancouver Park Board
manages Vancouvers parks and
recreation system. The Park Board
is one of the only elected bodies
of its kind in Canada. The Boards
mission is to provide, preserve
and advocate for parks, open
spaces and leisure services
to enhance the well being of
individuals and communities.
Since Stanley Park became
Vancouvers first park in the late
1800s, the parks and recreation
system has grown to include
more than 200 parks (1,298
hectares) with community centres,
swimming pools, skating rinks,
golf courses, food concessions,marinas and street trees among
its many features.
In transit: It is about a ten-block walk south through the
Beacon Hill neighbourhood (Renfrew or Kaslo St.) to return
to Hastings Street. On Hastings, the #10 Granville and
#16 Arbutus buses westbound will take you to downtown.
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453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4
For more information on any of the topics below, visit
vancouver.ca/ourcity
Blooming Boulevards
Country Lanes
Cycling Green Streets Program
Greenways
Hastings Park
Parks and Recreation
Planning
Tree Bylaw
Urban Design
Other self-guided tours in this series:
Coal Harbour
Downtown
Downtown Eastside False Creek
Printed
on
recycled
paper
http://www.vancouver.ca/ourcityhttp://www.vancouver.ca/ourcity