Central Waterfront District | Waterfront Station - CRAB Park

[deasine]

Originally Posted by Jacques

I stopped by the Open house at the VPL and I wasn't impress when one the speaker told us that the buildings to be added at the back of the LANDING Complex was aimed at being solely parking space and that the two forefront mid-rise office also were to have a large podium but underneath more parking spaces otherwise it would not meet the building cost as so he stated!
I asked about the WhiteCap Stadium that was accepted by public consultation to be built on top of the Seabus terminal and they stated it wasn't feasible so they told me that VPA has being in talks to have the stadium built on the adjacent parking lot now occupied by Heliport terminal or even further east side by side to Crab park.
A few people were also upset that they even didn't put forward space for bicycles and electric car stalls.
maybe be I am wrong but the speaker who talked to us, truly didn't make this venture very appealing, it all suggested more vehicles in this hub, when asked about a future extension EAST for the Skytrain, literary a resounding NO.
As for the build of Offices, their suggestion of mid-rise didn't add up, I suggested 800 meter and bulldozed the Vancouver sun and Sear tower and built a more suitable building that would stands a an Icon for the city, after all the Shangri-La has stamped our future as unique and awesome why not proceed in that manner.
I gather that by the end of the open house , hopefully they will listen to the suggestions and make some amendment, so far it is not green as environmentally as it ought a be, it is more green with the dollars in mind and how much money can they make out of this stagnant plot of land.
Overall, few tweak here and there and they could make it more pedestrians friendly have a defined streetcar line in place ( because that was not even in the agenda )
and have plan to extend Skytrain to the north shore by 2020 isn't unreasonable n my views.
MYO
cheers

There will be no SkyTrain by 2020 and there will be no city worker can tell you anything about SkyTrain to the northshore. I don't think there is a need YET for SkyTrain. SeaBus is adequete and should be alright for at least another 15 years; especially when they purchased a new SeaBus. By 2020 however, I think we should study this possibility of extending SkyTrain network to Gastown, then to Northshore. I'm actually doing a research on transportation around the Metro and planning for Transport 2040.

I'm not excited about the parking thing either. But the plan did include bike storage although that part was a little sketchy.

[officedweller]

Here's an analogy - the City worker telling you about long term plans for Skytrain to the North Shore is like a City worker telling you about the tunnelling technique for the Canada Line. It's the wrong person to ask.

[Jacques]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Here's an analogy - the City worker telling you about long term plans for Skytrain to the North Shore is like a City worker telling you about the tunnelling technique for the Canada Line. It's the wrong person to ask.

the people who are promoting the transit HUB that represent Translink WTF are they there for to Annoy
the living daylight out me!
I get your message too many chiefs not enough indians my mother would often tell my father for some reason when it came to handling the family business and its affairs.
SAME with This consultation

[worldwide]

mrX... i disagree that the north shore busses are useless. they are all timed to the seabus so you never wait more than a minute or 2 once you get there. same goes for phibbs exchange and the 28/210 busses across the bridge

[G-Slice]

Originally Posted by worldwide

mrX... i disagree that the north shore busses are useless. they are all timed to the seabus so you never wait more than a minute or 2 once you get there. same goes for phibbs exchange and the 28/210 busses across the bridge

I have always found the scheduling of North Shore busses incredibly irritating. Take Lonsdale, for example. You go 25 minutes without a bus, and then get two (or more, depending on the day) busses in quick succession because they both meet up with the Seabus.

Obviously it's the North Shore's own fault for not accepting a new bus depot, but man, it would be nice to be able to up the frequencies to the point where you don't really have to time the busses to meet up with each other or the Seabus.

[AKA-007]

All the bus stations on the north shore are on a half-hour schedule, with a few busses every fifeteen minutes (239). If you time everything right, you can travel relatively quickly. The only problems occur when busses are late and you miss a connection, but there generally are a few minutes to make the transfer.

[jlousa]

I'm curious about how close the COV's vision for the hub and Translinks vision are. Not sure why they seem to be working seperate from each other when it's obvious this should be done hand in hand.

[Rusty Gull]

Originally Posted by worldwide

mrX... i disagree that the north shore busses are useless. they are all timed to the seabus so you never wait more than a minute or 2 once you get there. same goes for phibbs exchange and the 28/210 busses across the bridge

If only the wait were in fact 1 or 2 minutes.

Most times at Lonsdale Quay, many of the bus drivers are guilty of standing around, shooting the breeze, lining up for coffee/hamburgers -- well after the Seabus has arrived and the buses are fully boarded.

I can't understand why most TransLink passengers tolerate waiting at the Quay bus loop for 10 minutes extra while the drivers enjoy some small-talk or another cigarette.

[SpongeG]

what if they were to keep sea bus as is and run an LRT/skytrain from park royal to deep cover in a tunnel to port moody side and than hook up with coquitlam and the evergreen line?

that would be nice

[Nutterbug]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

what if they were to keep sea bus as is and run an LRT/skytrain from park royal to deep cover in a tunnel to port moody side and than hook up with coquitlam and the evergreen line?

that would be nice

Welcome to sprawl, Electoral District A.

[SpongeG]

[AKA-007]

You'll service all 5 people east of the second narrows.

Room for progress over there tho.

[AKA-007]

I could possibly see a skytrain connection going to Lonsdale and up. As for an East/West line, A seperate line could be created or even an extention from the evergreen line if the forest area east of Indian Arm is ever developed. This is more like "transport 2060" though.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by Jacques

the people who are promoting the transit HUB that represent Translink WTF are they there for to Annoy
the living daylight out me!
I get your message too many chiefs not enough indians my mother would often tell my father for some reason when it came to handling the family business and its affairs.
SAME with This consultation

No they represent City of Vancouver. There is no TransLink logo placed on any of the display boards. All the workers there were from the City of Vancouver, either engineers or urban planners. This is City of Vancouver's vision, not TransLink or the Province of British Columbia.

[Jacques]

Deasine, thanks for the information, now I get why its mostly hear say, vision or not, it is bad planning same as politics, they don't listen to what people are telling them they ought a do, but they think with what money it can bring them despite whatever opposition it may create, my opinion

[Hed Kandi]

Downtown waterfront gets reborn
Area could be world-class development
Cheryl Chan

Province

Sunday, April, 27, 2008





Vancouver’s concept plan for the downtown waterfront includes transportation, restaurants, hotels and offices.






An ambitious vision of Vancouver's downtown waterfront area was on display to the public yesterday.

The concept plans of the Central Waterfront Hub, a major redevelopment of the area north of Cordova Street roughly between Granville and Richards Street, included a world-class transportation concourse and new developments chock full of retail and office spaces.

The goals of the plan are two-fold, said city planner Matt Shillito at the open house at the central library.

"The first goal involves the waterfront as a unique place in the region to bring all the transportation modes together," he said.

The heart of the redesign is a concourse, a civic space located below street level behind the heritage Waterfront Station building.

It will have access to the SkyTrain, SeaBus, West Coast Express and buses as well as the future Canada Line and potential ferries and a downtown streetcar.

The concourse will have a glazed roof to let natural light in. Some of the proposed elements include airport check-in, cafes and restaurants, and a "bikeade."

The second goal is to "extend the city to meet the water and to create new development sites in the area," said Shillito.

Granville Street would be extended past Cordova to a new road, Canada Place Extension. A new seawall will be built on the water's edge.

The plan also involves creating six new developments that would house hotels, restaurants, office towers and retail and recreational spaces.

Planners still need to conduct technical studies to examine the plan's economic and structural feasibility and its impact on transit and traffic.

Derick McNeil, a Vancouver resident who came across the exhibit yesterday, liked the "exciting" proposal.

McNeil noted Vancouver has a lack of public spaces for concerts compared to other cities like Montreal and said he'd like to see a cultural space in the development plans. "How amazing would it be to see a jazz concert overlooking Burrard Inlet in the sunset?"

© The Vancouver Province 2008

[Jacques]

BTW: did they also told you that all the light brown spaces you see here are to be parking complex beneath, if it is supposed to be a transit hub, why more cars, no input on alternative such more bicycles stalls and electric cars and vespas, no extension of skytrain east, and lastly potential I repeat to be clear potential STREETCAR but nor definitive, where is the view on pedestrians friendly when all is merged together, its designed to accommodates more gas guzzlers IMO

[jlousa]

Pst by Allen moved here.

Central Waterfront Hub Study & Whitecaps Stadium Review
NEW: Open Houses

Thursday March 5, 3pm - 7pm at Waterfront Station
Saturday, March 7, 10am - 2pm at Central Public Library Atrium


The City of Vancouver is finalizing a Framework to guide future development of the Central Waterfront Hub area around Waterfront Station.

The Framework sets out an exciting vision for a world-class transportation interchange and dynamic extension of the downtown waterfront.
Review and comment on the draft Framework at one of our open houses. City and TransLink staff will be present to hear your feedback.

Download the flyer [4mb PDF]
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/currentplanning/whitecaps/hub%20open%20house.pdf


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 1st 2007 Council approved terms of reference for a planning program to create an Urban Design and Transportation Plan for the Central Waterfront Hub area around Waterfront Station. To view the Program Report, click here.
The main objectives of the Central Waterfront Hub program are to:

• Create a transportation hub which better integrates the many transit modes which converge in this area –
Skytrain, Canada Line, West Coast Express, Seabus, Helijet and numerous bus lines.
• Establish planning and urban design guidelines for the various development sites which exist in the area.
• Introduce measures to enhance the public realm – streets and open spaces - in this important location.



The early stages of the Hub program also involved a review of the proposal by the Vancouver Whitecaps to build a 15,000 - 30,000 seat soccer stadium on the site of the existing seabus terminal.

Open Houses in March 2007
The City of Vancouver held a series of open houses in March 2007 to gather comments on the initial Hub program work and the early proposals for the stadium.

You can read a summary of the feedback in this pdf
View the presentation materials from the Open Houses




[IMG]

Open House images from 2007


Central Waterfront Hub Study Update - April 2008
Planning work for the area surrounding Waterfront Station has continued since the Open Houses in March 2007. City staff are developing conceptual plans for the area to:

• Create a dynamic public transit interchange which integrates the many different transit systems (road, rail, water and air) and includes comfortable waiting areas, places to eat, clear signage, and amenities such as public washrooms and cycling facilities.
• Extend the Downtown business district to the water in this area to provide new development such as offices, shops, restaurants, hotel and public facilities; as well as public streets and spaces which capture the magnificent water and mountain views.
Hub Concept Plans April 2008

[ click the above for larger images ]

The City held public open houses on in April, 2008 in Waterfront Station and the Central Library to obtain feedback on the draft concept plans developed by staff for the Central Waterfront Hub. The open houses were well attended. Staff are reviewing feedback received during the events and will continue to further refine the concept for the area over the next few months.

Presentation materials available here



Open House images from 2008, see more...


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Whitecaps Stadium Update – July 2007
In February 2007 Council authorised staff to carry out a review of the Whitecaps’ proposal to develop a stadium on the site of the existing SeaBus terminal. Since February, representatives of the City, Whitecaps, Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) and Translink have investigated several options to locate the stadium on this site. These detailed technical investigations have not resulted in a stadium proposal that can work within the VPA’s operational requirements, SeaBus safety and service needs, and the City’s urban design objectives for the Central Waterfront Hub.
The Whitecaps and the VPA are now considering an alternative siting which addresses the technical constraints facing the SeaBus terminal site. This would involve some of the VPA-owned land between the SeaBus terminal and Crab Park (see figure below) and would enable the SeaBus to remain in place. This area is anticipated for mixed use development by the Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement (1994) and any proposal would need to be considered in that context.




The Whitecaps and VPA are currently investigating whether this site could meet their needs and aspirations. If the Whitecaps and VPA decide to pursue the development of the stadium in this location, they will need to develop a proposal and submit it to City staff for evaluation and consultation with the public and interested parties.
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All images are from: http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/currentplanning/whitecaps/

[jlousa]

This review will be for the Waterfront hub only, there is no more Whitecap stadium.

[LeftCoaster]

Well that's hardly fair... there still is a Whitecaps Stadium it just wont be there anymore.