Millennium Line - Broadway Extension: Planning & Pre-Construction

[SpongeG]

I think they assume the station will be used mainly by people transferring within the station (Broadway-City Hall) never having to leave or go outside.

[officedweller]

The staging areas will probably be the sites of emergency exits or ventilation shafts, which may be at the opposite end of the platform from the station entrance.

Interesting that the NE corner of Cambie and Broadway is marked for staging.

Here's the Fairview-VGH and Arbutus pics.
Note the "bus loop" label for Arbutus.


https://bc.ctvnews.ca/these-are-the-finalized-locations-for-6-broadway-subway-stations-1.4599021


https://bc.ctvnews.ca/these-are-the-finalized-locations-for-6-broadway-subway-stations-1.4599021

Also of note from the graphics -
The line goes under Brunswick St - not Prince Edward:


https://bc.ctvnews.ca/these-are-the-finalized-locations-for-6-broadway-subway-stations-1.4599021

[Migrant_Coconut]

Must've overlooked those. Thanks.

... Jeez, getting buses into that loop is going to be a headache for everybody. Ditto the eventual streetcar crossing/station (unless there's plans for a tunnel between 6th and 16th?).

Hope there's a direct connection from the Laurel concourse to VGH, too. Wouldn't want to limp or wheel up several escalators and up a hill.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Hope there's a direct connection from the Laurel concourse to VGH, too. Wouldn't want to limp or wheel up several escalators and up a hill.

Would be ideal but too expensive I think.

[Tvisforme]

Originally Posted by Krissy

I was hoping there would be a station at Oak (especially since the COV owns the SW property), but I suppose Laurel would do. I wonder where the staging area would be for that?

It's a little hard to see on that particular image, but the staging area is immediately around the station location. As for Laurel vs Oak, the writeup suggests that they are looking at convenience for the hospital. That being said, they could always consider rerouting the Oak Street route(s) to loop past the station on Laurel ie Broadway - Laurel - 10th - Oak.

[officedweller]

Doesn't the Oak St bus head downtown via Broadway?
That'll be an easy bus stop at the station - eastbound Broadway on the station doorstep,
and westbound Broadway across the street (and the bus is then free to move to the middle lane to turn south at Oak).

[Metro-One]

I can confirm single entrance for City Hall.

This is not cheapening out by Translink but is being dictated by the City of Vancouver and their philosophy that single entrance points are safer.

I am also disappointed. At minimum a second entrance should be added on the north side of the street.

Write your emails to the city of Vancouver on this one.

[s211]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

philosophy that single entrance points are safer.

It'd be good to hear a lucid argument in support of that. Am I missing something?

[scottN]

Originally Posted by Krissy

I was hoping there would be a station at Oak (especially since the COV owns the SW property), but I suppose Laurel would do. I wonder where the staging area would be for that?

Full details are here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/broadwaysubway/stations/

I think putting the VGH station at Laurel is the right move. It has better pedestrian access to VGH and to False Creek via the Laurel overpass over 6th Avenue.

Also since the #17 Oak turns at Oak & Broadway, Laurel makes a perfectly good transfer point

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

This is not cheapening out by Translink but is being dictated by the City of Vancouver and their philosophy that single entrance points are safer.

How many idiotic philosophies can these guys at city hall come up?

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

How many idiotic philosophies can these guys at city hall come up?

that depends, how much time ya got?

this is such a stupid idea, maybe back in 1989 it was true, but not 2019. this station is already too busy for only FIVE fare-gates. it is going to get insane with both the Canada-Line and Millennium-Line sharing 1, small entrance.

they must be betting on the fact people wont need to enter/leave the station with the 99 going away.

[Firebrand]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

How many idiotic philosophies can these guys at city hall come up?

None of the above.

The real reason for single entrance points is because CoV wants to shove pedestrians into the streets to give it a "European feel", which is just bullshit coming out of their mouths.

[Metro-One]

There is that policy too.

Vancouver has a lot of questionable limiting policies.

One would hope in the very least they will widen the current entrance so our major hub isn’t equipped with only five fare gates...

[officedweller]

The question is how the new station will connect to the old station
- if escalators come up to the east end of the mezzanine (from the east)
and there's a wider entrance to the street (on that empty lot) - that could work.

The worst thing would be a platform to platform routing underground
where M-Line passengers have to walk along the Canada Line platform to get out.

I highly doubt that will be the case though, since the Canada Line is under the concession agreement and operated by InTransitBC
- so they will want to keep TransLink operated areas (new M-Line station) separate and distinct from InTransitBC areas (Canada Line station) - sort of like the separation at Waterfront Station.

[Firebrand]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

One would hope in the very least they will widen the current entrance so our major hub isn’t equipped with only five fare gates...

I wish of that too, but remember that this is BC, where value engineering trumps over actual engineering (I'm looking at you, Massey Tunnel).

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by Firebrand

None of the above.

The real reason for single entrance points is because CoV wants to shove pedestrians into the streets to give it a "European feel", which is just bullshit coming out of their mouths.

Presumably, if they think ahead in advance enough, the building space on the immediate opposite side of the station could be designed to have a second entrance.

I much prefer the "4 corners" approach to subway stations where the station is built underneath an entire city block, and the stairways/escalators are at the ends of both blocks at opposite sides of the street, thus "level 1" of the subway also acts as a way to cross the street without having to enter the subway platform, and to switch platforms. "Level 2" ends up being the platform level. That said, this approach is more climate-appropriate in Toronto and NYC.

Metro Vancouver, due to the lack of foresight on the Canada Line, didn't make the train line up at Granville or Burrard, so people have to travel all the way to Waterfront to switch, or they have to go back up to the road level and negotiate traffic again. Stupid, but there IS a way to get from Granville to Vancouver City Center without going back up to the street level in the rain, you just have to hope that Pacific Center Mall is open, which it's never open early enough to use it as a commuter shortcut.

When the Broadway extension opens, that will shorten the amount of transit users that need to go all the way to Waterfront to switch to the Canada Line to switching at Broadway/Columbia and then going to (South Granville) Broadway-City Hall. At least if people want to shave some time off the trip.

Students going to UBC will no doubt benefit by having the traffic congestion moved from Broadway to Arbutus, but hopefully that isn't the end of the line. I don't forsee Arbutus being the terminus for long, so I don't expect it to become a bus loop.

I hope that the City hall station is actually designed with a food court/development at the concourse level (Eg people waiting for trains can drink their coffee or whatever), since it's bound to be a busy transit hub.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

There is that policy too.

Vancouver has a lot of questionable limiting policies.

One would hope in the very least they will widen the current entrance so our major hub isn’t equipped with only five fare gates...

Everyone knows "necessity is the mother of invention." Shortly after opening, when people are crushing, bruised, through the gates, like sardines, they'll build more. They'll have to. No fear.

[Bdawe]

So are the 8 and the 19 going to have to divert to Main & Kingsway for transfer rather than taking Kingsway all the way?

[ilikeredheads]

Having a only single exit at Boadway/Cambie is pure stupidity. It's already packed during rush hours. Even though people that normally get off here for the 99 won't have to exit the station, it's still a major exchange hub. You need more than just one entrance and 5 gates.

Vancouver is still very old-minded when it comes to scale and crowd control.

Metro Vancouver, due to the lack of foresight on the Canada Line, didn't make the train line up at Granville or Burrard, so people have to travel all the way to Waterfront to switch, or they have to go back up to the road level and negotiate traffic again. Stupid, but there IS a way to get from Granville to Vancouver City Center without going back up to the street level in the rain, you just have to hope that Pacific Center Mall is open, which it's never open early enough to use it as a commuter shortcut.

I think initially there was a plan to link granville with VanCityCentre together but the distance is too far apart AND the Bay is in the way. (you don't ahve to walk through pacific centre. you can just walk past tim hortons and into the bay and go down 1 level.)

[Feathered Friend]

I'm not sure why everyone is blaming the city (or TransLink) for this. My understanding is the station selection process was taken out of their hands sometime ago. Tonight, there's probably many in the engineering and planning departments that are feeling equally frustrated by some of these choices.