Millennium Line - Broadway Extension: Planning & Pre-Construction

[Feathered Friend]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

.... Completely forgot to ask about VGH. My mistake.

If it's any consolation, the Broadway Plan reps were also there, and they said there'll be a viewcone review (with public input) next year. Hold onto your butts?

Sorry we missed you there.

As for the question, Main, Cambie, Granville, and VGH are all being built with knock out panels to provide multiple entrances. As for VGH, It's being left to the city and VGH to discuss when/how they want to implement the underground connection. All of them, including the present day Cambie Station, allow for overbuilding.

Also, apparently the city goofed when it set aside space for station entrances at Whole Foods, and the Industrial Alliance building, and didn't allocate enough room for Translink's purposes.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Guess CityLab's staying, then.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Maybe Jimmy Pattison or some other donor might make a donation to fund it?

I doubt it, pretty low profile. "Pattison tunnel"

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

Also, apparently the city goofed when it set aside space for station entrances at Whole Foods, and the Industrial Alliance building, and didn't allocate enough room for Translink's purposes.

or that is just the excuse they're using.

[deasine]

I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the designs were as basic as the renderings. These will likely be built in a way that allows for future development (e.g. King Edward was a basic box, and the neighbouring redevelopment "built on top" of the station house).

[scottN]

I think they are trying to mimimize excavation within the intersection of Broadway and Cambie. Putting the entrance in the crossroads building would have made that more difficult since the canada line platforms are on the east side of Cambie Street

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Based on the terrain and distance, that would involve a ton of work on both sides (hospital and Translink) and go under more land that is currently privately held.

Tens of millions at least.

I really don't think it is necessary. Its just a short walk to Patterson Pavilion. Besides a lot of people are simply using other hospital precincts, such as Willow eye center, Arthritis clinic.,or Cancer Clinic anyway. Better save money for other usage.

[dleung]

Yes traffic at Cambie/Broadway will be mainly internal, but they should anticipate tons of development at that crossroads, and more than just one entrance!

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by dleung

Yes traffic at Cambie/Broadway will be mainly internal, but they should anticipate tons of development at that crossroads, and more than just one entrance!

Even just for emergencies such busy stations should have a second major entrance point. (Think fire, flooding, earthquake, terrorism, etc...)

Same is true for Vancouver City Centre.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by dleung

Yes traffic at Cambie/Broadway will be mainly internal, but they should anticipate tons of development at that crossroads, and more than just one entrance!

see, one entrance could be okay if it was a large entrance, this has 5 fare-gates with maybe 1 or 2 extras being able to get squeezed in? i really don't think that is enough fare-gates.

they really should put a small entrance at the N/E corner where the Patterson sign is. that is a City of Vancouver owned property.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Which is why, again, there may be K/O panels to connect to the City Hall expansion and the northeast corner at a later date.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Which is why, again, there may be K/O panels to connect to the City Hall expansion and the northeast corner at a later date.

"may be" "late date" so no, and in 100yrs when we are dead.

i know a guy who was hired by the CoV in the 1980's and was told a new city hall expansion would be built within a few years. he recently retired.

[scottN]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

"may be" "late date" so no, and in 100yrs when we are dead.

i know a guy who was hired by the CoV in the 1980's and was told a new city hall expansion would be built within a few years. he recently retired.

I predict that after the new station is done, the city will sell the land to a developer and then negotiate a CAC contribution for an additional station entrance. It could be a significant traffic generator for underground retail in the new building. In this case pretending that a second entrance is not necessary is a smart negotiating tactic.

[TransitJack]

Originally Posted by deasine

I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the designs were as basic as the renderings. These will likely be built in a way that allows for future development (e.g. King Edward was a basic box, and the neighbouring redevelopment "built on top" of the station house).

Interesting fact about the King Edward Station. It was Engineered to support a 3-4 story wood frame building, but the actual building constructed is cantilevered over top, and not actually supported by the station building.

Wish I had photos, but during construction you could see the gap between the station building and overhanging floors above.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

I really don't think it is necessary. Its just a short walk to Patterson Pavilion. Besides a lot of people are simply using other hospital precincts, such as Willow eye center, Arthritis clinic.,or Cancer Clinic anyway. Better save money for other usage.

I'm not sure it's worth it either. The only thing I can think of is the incline can be hard for a lot of people with mobility issues, who might be visiting the spinal center and other places. A direct link from the station might line up with some of the underground areas of VGH and hence elevators.

[officedweller]

WRT VGH, it really depends on how extensive an internal networks of passages VGH and surrounding buildings have.
The other factor is whether the north side of the Pattison Pavilion (?) is designed to be a main entrance for the hospital (whereas 12th is the current main entrance) or whether 100s of people accessing from that side would require reconfiguration of the building corridors in any event (to avoid masses tromping through Emergency). An underground passage could funnel them over to the elevators and the 12th Ave. side underground.

Originally Posted by TransitJack

Wish I had photos, but during construction you could see the gap between the station building and overhanging floors above.

There are some pic back in the Cambie Corridor thread.
Yeah, we saw two long concrete beams cantilever way out over the station.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by officedweller

WRT VGH, it really depends on how extensive an internal networks of passages VGH and surrounding buildings have.

i really don't think it is that extensive. from my under standing there really are only maybe a dozen, at most, just fairly small tunnels connecting the buildings. pretty much for utilities such as elec, steam, heat, comm, any other special equipment they have.

[officedweller]

That's what I was thinking.
But the other factor mentioned - traffic flow through the north side - could be a big factor too.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by officedweller

But the other factor mentioned - traffic flow through the north side - could be a big factor too.

true, it could be. it would probably require quite a bit of money i imagine, those buildings are older as well, so i would be curious to know what their foundations are like.

personally, i am pro direct underground connection. though the 2 agencies that would need to do this, TransLink and Health, both have no money for it so it shan't happen for the near-mid future, if ever.


but a direct connection to all 4 corners @ Cambie & Broadway i think should be a must from the get-go with a no-fare zone concourse access to all 4 corners. closing the surface intersection to pedestrians. there by allowing traffic to flow better, pedestrians to flow better, and increasing pedestrian safety as well.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

true, it could be. it would probably require quite a bit of money i imagine, those buildings are older as well, so i would be curious to know what their foundations are like.

personally, i am pro direct underground connection. though the 2 agencies that would need to do this, TransLink and Health, both have no money for it so it shan't happen for the near-mid future, if ever.


but a direct connection to all 4 corners @ Cambie & Broadway i think should be a must from the get-go with a no-fare zone concourse access to all 4 corners. closing the surface intersection to pedestrians. there by allowing traffic to flow better, pedestrians to flow better, and increasing pedestrian safety as well.

I don't think it's as easy as you suggest at Broadway and Cambie. I'm pretty sure the Canada Line is close enough to the surface to make a pedestrian link above impossible. (Check out the construction images to see how close to the surface the station is). The new extension will be running along the Broadway alignment below the Canada Line, so that will be in the way as well. There would be really complicated and very expensive level changes to allow everyone to cross the street - it would take ages for anyone with a stroller, or any walking disability. The street crossings will undoubtedly stay - the best that might be reasonably be achieved would be an additional exit on the north east corner - and even that would cost more than currently budgeted.

For the hospital connection, underground makes no sense to me as there's a serious rise in elevation from Broadway at Laurel, and the hospital buildings. The Ambulatory Care Building, for example, is 12 metres higher. The costs of linking buildings underground and providing tunnels and escalators and elevators would be tens of millions. That's not likely to be a priority for the health authority. I do think the sidewalks and laneway crossings up to the hospital should be improved at the same time as the work on the construction of the station.