West Broadway merchants fear Cambie Street-like chaos
BY BY GERRY BELLETT, VANCOUVER SUNAPRIL 16, 2009 5:02 PMBE THE FIRST TO POST A COMMENT
VANCOUVER -- After seeing what happened to Cambie Street, merchants and residents along West Broadway say they don’t want a SkyTrain extension through the area to serve the University of B.C.
The provincial government’s 2008 transit plan calls for a new $3-billion rapid transit system to UBC along the Broadway corridor to be built by 2020.
But more than 150 residents and merchants who attended a public meeting in Kitsilano this week voted unanimously to tell TransLink and the provincial government that they don’t want an overhead SkyTrain system, nor one that runs underground.
“We want them to get the message that the people just don’t want it,” said Donna Dobo, owner of Just Imagine, a clothing store on West Broadway.
“We are in favour of improving rapid transit, but it has to be sustainable, affordable, and community-friendly, which basically describes the Portland system of light-rail trolleys that use overhead power,” Dobo said.
The $3-billion price tag is a giveaway that the government wants to extend the SkyTrain system along the length of Broadway, she said, as the other options would be far cheaper.
“We want a system that will have many stops along Broadway that will serve our community, too, not just something to bring people from Coquitlam to UBC,” said Dobo, who is a member of the West Broadway Business Association.
The meeting was organized by community activist Mel Lehan, who is the NDP candidate in the Vancouver Point Grey riding now held by Premier Gordon Campbell.
Lehan said the number of people who turned out showed the level of concern.
“They don’t want something imposed on them. They’ve seen the chaos caused on Cambie Street (by the Canada Line). Broadway, as it is, would never survive that. It would no longer be the kind of neighbourhood we would want to live in,” Lehan said.
Dobo said the WBBA wants assurances from the government that merchants would be compensated for loss of income as a result of any rapid transit system being built.
“We need to be able to survive it. We don’t want to end up like Cambie,” she said.
Merchants along the street have begun amending leases when they come up for renewal so they won’t be stuck with long-term leases in the event that protracted construction closes Broadway, Dobo said.
“Cambie merchants were caught flat-footed. They lied to them about what was going to happen. Now no one trusts TransLink. That’s why everyone is shortening their lease,” she said.
“I’ve gone from a five-year to a two-year lease because I can’t afford to lose my home or my business. It’s a question of, either you help us survive or we’ll have to leave.
“And if that happens, the whole thing that people love about this area will fall apart,” she said.
TransLink official Ken Hardie said it was premature to say what sort of system will be built.
This week, TransLink commissioned British transportation consultants, Steer Davies Gleave, to produce a report on various rapid transit options for the UBC link.
“There are some misconceptions that are causing undue anxiety,” Hardie said, “for one, the idea that there will be a cut-and-cover operation similar to what occurred on Cambie.
“No decision has been made on the technology, the route or if the system is to be above ground or below.”
He said a number of types of rapid transit could be used on the route besides SkyTrain.
Hardie said expects the Steer Davies Gleave report to be completed by September.
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G'ah! Ignorance! I hate it.
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