Time for Vancouver to Tear Down Its Viaducts?

[Metro-One]

Vancouver sure does know how to pick the low fruit. I am currently in Japan now (again, sorry for always using the Japan reference, but it is something I know personally), and it is amazing being in a city (Osaka) that has been able to thrive and seamlessly integrated thousand of km (I am not exaggerating) of elevated freeways, roadways, metro-guidways, bullet train guide-ways, monorail guide-ways, pedestrian guide-ways and even some elevated biking lanes into the city fabric.

Vancouver has only 1 true kilometre of an elevated road structure, that is actually quite nice looking and elegant as far as elevated structures go (and high), and yet people here seem to find the only solution is to tear it down because they are unable to be creative (o except the fact they live in the heart of a metro-area).

There are so many other solutions present besides tearing it down (which will also be a big waste of money given how much integration has already taken place, such as the stadiums, spectrum, parts of the international village, the skate park and even the dip in the skytrain guideway).

Actually, to me that is the funniest part is even if they take down the two road viaducts, the most intrusive guide-way will still remain, the skytrain guideway. It is much lower and harder to work with.

I dont know, as others on here said, unless it is being replaced by a tunnel or some other guideway the area is going to remain a busy thoroughfare (the ground level even more so with the viaducts gone) so good luck having a quiet greenway street. Instead the will probably simply get a busier stretch akin to Kingsway.

We have presented so many solutions, using he area under the ducts as a OMC for the streetcar, parks, walkway/bikeways that are sheltered from the rain, a multi level stadium parking facility, night market, etc...

That land with the viaducts in place has so many uses it is not funny, and it especially has uses for facilities and functions that would otherwise be to expensive to have due to Vancouver's insane land prices.

Sigh...

IMO Vancouver thinking is very 1 dimensional (figuratively and literally in this case).

Not to mention they would service a new St. Paul's very well (directly landing at the Hospital's base from downtown), and enable the surface streets to be calmer for a neighbourhood and be more easily street calmed.