GVRD REPORT RELEASED

Second Narrows
Bridge widening
takes top priority

THE GREATER Vancouver’s Transportation Task Force
has identified $135 million in North Shore highway im-
provement projects as having high priority in improving
area transportation over the next six years.

Released at a Wednesday morn-
ing Greater Vancouver Regional
District development services
committee meeting, the task
force’s summary report also
recommended several B.C. Transit
improvements for the North
Shore, but made only passing ref-
erence to the Lions Gate Bridge
and a third crossing of Burrard In-
et.

Overall, the report estimated
that $2 bilion.will be needed to

WEST Vancouver Mayor Don
Lanskail .

maintain transportation in the
Greater Vancouver region over the
next [0 years, and it recommend-
ed increased fuel and vehicle licei-
sing levies and a better share of
provincial government revenue as

..the primary: means of ‘raising the

.

needed funds for the region.

“The “cost of projects already

:eommitted for construction by the
province such as the Highway ! in-
terchanges at..Lonsdale Avenue
and Westview Drive were not in-
cluded in the $2 viliion total.
. At.the top of the report’s list
was a recommendation to begin
planning next year on a $55 million
‘project to widen Second Narrows
Bridge from six to eight lanes.

- A-compaaion $20 million pro- |
ject to. widen the Second Narrows

‘north:end access from Keith Road
to the bridge and improve inter-
changes and access. roads between
Lynn Creek and the Second Nar-
rows was also given top priority.
The high priority for both pro-
jects is based, in past, oa the

booming residential development .

“and the projected - population
‘growth in North Vancouver
District’s Seymour area, which is

expected to-jump from 20,000 to J
NORTH Vancouver District

between: 45,000 and 50,020 over

_ the next 20 years. .

A 1991 start on planning for
projects to extend the North
Shore’s Low Level road link from
Main Street in North Vancouver to

west of Park Royal in West Van-.

couver. was also recommended.
The link, according to the report,

’ is vital for improving commercial

transportation to the North
Shore's waterfront industries.

Total cost of the three suggested
Low Level extensions was
estimated at $55 million.

The GYRD report is part of the
provincial goverament’s overall
review of B.C.’s transportation
system, which directed the pro-
vince’s eight economic develop-
ment regions to submit in-depth
transportation studies of their
areas, establish regional transpor-
tation strategies and identify prior-
ity transportation projects.

North Shore projects evaluated
in the report included a third
crossing of Burrard Iniet and
widening of Lions Gate Bridge,
but neither were included in the
final recommendations.

West Vancouver Mayor Don

By TIMOTHY RENSHAW
News Reporter

Lanskail, who is also the chairman
of the Vancouver Regional Transit
Commission, said that though he
was pleased with the report’s em-
phasis on transit, he was concerned
that no recommendations about
the Lions Gate Bridge had been
contained in the summary report.

‘It has to be dealt with,’’ he
said. ‘It’s one of the transporta-
tion issues in the Lower Mainland,
particulasly for the North Shore.
There has got to be a definite
response to it.’”

A recent engineering report on
the bridge commissioned by tiie
provincial government from North
Vancouve’s Buckland and Taylor
Ltd. stated that Lions Gate was
structurally sound, but its traffic
lanes were toc narrow and _ its
sidewalks too narrow and too close
to bridge traffic.

It recommended redecking the
bridge with wider lanes and traffic
barriers to protect pedestrians and
cyclists or transforming it to a
cable-stayed bridge with a fourth
lane as the two best overhaul op-
ticns for the bridge.

The third option outlined by
Buckland and Taylor was to build
a new bridge, ‘‘in which case First
Narrows may not be the best place
for it.”

But no subsequent provincial
government: decision. has been
made on Lions Gate Bridge
renovations. .

North Shore wansit projects
recommended in the GVRD report
as part of the overall GVRD tran-
sit network improvement package
to the year 2001 included adding
another SeaBus to the current
two-vessel fleet, providing park

Mayor Marityn Baker .

and ride facilities at both the
Phibbs and Capilano and Marine
Drive exchanges, and upgrading
bus service on routes to the SeaBus
terminal and Phibbs exchange.

North Vancouver District Mayor
Marilyn Baker said she was pleased
with the recommendation for a
third SeaBus, but was concerned
that, overall, ‘‘1 don’t see a lot of
transit improvement for the North
Shore.”

Subsequent North Shore road
improvements from the years 1997
to 2001 included widening High-
way 1 frum four to six lanes be-
tween Lynn Creek and Capilano
River and constructing a new con-
necting road from Lions Gate
Bridge to the highway.

Improving the Sea-to-Sky
Highway between Horseshoe Bay
and Lillooet via Squamish was also
recommended. :

The report has been distributed
to ail councils for discussion.
Comments will be heard at a July
26 GVRD board meeting.

3 - Friday, July 14, 1989 - North Shore News

soli

photo Tom Burley

MEMBERS OF the Citizen’s Action Group of Lower Lonsdale demonstraied outside North Vancouver City
Hall on Monday night to protest building heights in the community. A policy meeting was scheduled to discuss

updates in the city’s view study.

VIEW STUDY SUBMITTED TO COUNCIL |
Crowd cheers, jeers at City
meeting on height restrictions

PICKET SIGNS telling passing motorists to fight against
highrises in Lower Lonsdale set the mood for Monday
night’s North Vancouver City policy meeting set to discuss
updates in the city’s view study.

And inside council chambers, ci-
ty residents flowed out the doors
and into the hall, hooting, cheering
and clapping as speakers rose to
give their presentations.

Residents were responding to ci-
ty staff's newest propesal to cut
zoning heights to one-third of
limits suggested by city consultant
Aitken Wreglesworth, with pro-
posed heights along Lower Lons-
dale ranging between twenty-five
to forty feet (roughly two to four
storeys), and heights along blocks
east and west of Lower Lonsdale
ranging between forty and sixty
feet (roughly four to six storeys).

But city staff also talked about
instituting higher limits in the Of-
ficial Community Plan (OCP) to
encourage limited highrise devei-
opment aleng city guidelines. OCP
fevels could range between forty to
150 feet (roughly four to 15
storeys) in the areas along and just
east and west of Lower Lonsdale.

City planner Richard White said
it is necessary to mainiain a dif-
ference between the zoning heights
and the OCP heights in order to
put the decision making power in
the hands of the city. Under the ci-
ty’s proposal, developers would
have to make rezoning applications
to the city if they wished to take
advantage of the taller OCP height
limits.

But despite the lower heights
proposed by city staff, several of

By CORINNE BJORGE
Contributing Writer

the speakers said they believed the
city was concentrating too much
on further urbanization, and the
wishes of the developers.

Currently, the zoning is unlimi-
ted in Lower Lonsdale, although
the OCP suggests a six-storey
height limit.

“Developers don’t live here,’’
said city resident Dora Osborne.

“Send them (lawyers and devel-
opers) back a strong letter to tell
them to keep their nose out of
this,’’ said resident Bob Tarplett.

The Citizen’s Action Group of
Lower Lonsdale (CAGILL) said
they did not want any new
highrises to be built, and that the
city should consider other, possibly
more “‘creative,’’ alternatives. :

Dennis Smit brought forward a
CAGILL suggestion to have tiered,
six-storey buildings developed
throughout Lower Lonsdale.

But city staff said the tiered
buildings. created as much view
biockage, and threw more shadows
on the development site than spac-
ed highrises would.

Helen Millard of CAGILL said
the city should clear up confusion
by building a scale model of its
proposals, and then hold a refer-
endum to determine city reaction.

*“(Confusion) comes in part
from our lack of expertise and un-

HEU ratifies contract

From page 1
campaign since their union’s
negotiators reached the tentative
agreement June 26.

LGH president Robert Smith
said the BCNU vote was ‘‘a real
message of confusion’’ and a vote
of non-confidence in the union’s
executive, but added that it pro-
vided an opportunity to reopen
discussion on issues nurses feel
were not addressed in the tentative
agreement.

Wednesday’s BCNU rejection of
its tentative deal follows ratifica-
tion Tuesday by the 25,000
member Hospital Empfoyees
Union (HEU) of its contract with
the HLRA.

While HEU members at LGH
voted 53.1 per cent to reject the
contract, province-wide, HEU
members voted 70 per cent in favor
of the two-year deal that will in-
crease the average member wage of
$12 by 13.85 per cent over this year
and next.

Neil Anderson, HEU repre-
sentative at LGH, said member-
ship at the hospital had run
counter to the provincial average
because such major items as the
practical nursing issue and con-
tracting out were not addressed in
the contract.

The tentative agreements ended
a 17-day strike at LGH and other
B.C. health facilities on June 30.

derstanding,”’ she said.

But city staff members had
earlier dismissed a scale model
because of cost, and because they
said drawings and photographs
were better for representing view
impacts than models.

Ald. Rod Clark said it would de
possible for the city to hold a ref-
erendum, but that it would have to
be city-wide and take into account
the views of ali city residents, not
just those in Lower Lonsdale.

Millard said whether it was held
throughout the city, or only in
Lower Lonsdale, residents should
be given an opportunity to vote.
“This is our community; we are
the electorate; council should
know definitely what we want,’’
she said.

Although city staff's pres-
entation . centered around view
considerations, Millard said most
of CAGILL’s members are con-
cerned about the preservation of
the Lower Lonsdale neighborhood.

“Qur major concern is about the
quality of life,’’ said Millard.
“(Jrbanization is a term we've
been hearing more frequently from
city staff,’’ she said.

Resident Ivan Ekin said he was
concerned that highrises being
built forced current tenants from
their accommedations. ‘Throwing
people out who have lived and
worked there (in Lower Lonsdale)
their whole lives is absolute
nonsense,’’ he said.

City council will continue to
hear presentations from the public
at a meeting to be held next Mon-
day at 7 p.m. at city hall.

Aute..

12224

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