Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by mukmuk64

If we followed this line of thinking that you suggest, keeping the amount of road space slightly larger than traffic, we'd always be gradually increasing the amount of road space. Of course in reality Vancouver has had a consistent decades old policy of not increasing the amount of road space for cars whatsoever. This has been incredibly successful and has resulted in the fact that the vehicle volumes entering the downtown core have not increased since the mid 1960s!

Correct, because the City's generally followed a policy of Transit Oriented Design: identify the busiest corridors between downtown and the various town centres, connect them with rapid transit, and densify accordingly. It's part of the reason why the Expo Line is one of the few public rail lines in North America that actually turn a profit.
Even then, traffic outside downtown is getting worse.

The reality is that people's behaviour adjusts with the amount of road space available. People don't just give up and sit in traffic, they seek out other transportation alternatives. Don't get me wrong, we still need places for cars and we still need a robust road network, but the various road closures we've had in Vancouver over the years has proven that our transportation is very adaptable.

Please, I'm sure both of us know at least one person who most definitely will sit there. Many others will find shortcuts around the quiet side streets, which by definition were not built to handle large amounts of traffic. You can't build your way out of congestion, but you can't demolish your way out either; cars don't magically disappear just because the roads aren't there. Neither do freight trucks, garbage trucks, ambulances, police cars, buses, or all of the other vehicles needing road space that cities happen to rely on in order to function.

If you want to replace the car, you need to replace the convenience the car provides. That usually means RRT, LRT, or another fast, reliable people mover. Bikes don't cut it over multiple long distances - plus, you don't have to pedal a SkyTrain.

Roughly 33% of the surface area of Vancouver is roads and I think we've seen a lot of evidence that the city could still successfully operate if that number was lower. It's time to start seriously thinking about how we could be more efficient and repurpose (or shrink) roads that are not that significant to the flow of people and goods in the area.

Given the current state of Vancouver's transit (as progressive as it is for North America), this ratio seems fine. If Vision is determined to become the Greenest City, they should be looking for ways to reduce gridlock, not increase it - after all, most vehicle emissions come from idling engines. Create a comprehensive rapid transit system connecting everything to everything else, THEN think about closing and shrinking roads.