REVscene Automotive Forum - False Creek Flats redevelopment. A new East-West Route to downtown Vancouver?

This is an interesting article about redevelopment of the False Creek Flats: 450 acres of prime real estate just east of Science World.

I want to see a new route to downtown developed through this area if the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts get demolished.

What ideas do you have for redeveloping this piece of real estate?

An RS race track? :lawl:

People like the idea of a new east-west route downtown - NEWS 1130

Your drive into downtown Vancouver could include a major new east-west route in the not-too-distant future.

The city is looking at how to redevelop the False Creek Flats — 450 acres of prime real estate just east of Science World — with first public consultation on the planning process wrapping up at the end of August.

Though the area has been pegged as a hub for “green” and high tech industry, transportation is a major issue for many people, especially with the city pushing to demolish the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts.

“I think the ideas we have received are great,” says Brian Jackson, Vancouver’s manager of planning and development, pointing out 1,800 people took part in an open house, workshops and an online survey through the summer.

“Common themes included better connections, both north-south as well as east-west, there were comments about unlocking the economic potential and the creation of improved places and amenities as part of the planning area,” he tells NEWS 1130.

Jackson says the biggest challenge for the redevelopment of the False Creek Flats — bounded by Prior and Venables streets to the north, Clark Drive to the east, Great Northern Way to the south, and Main Street to the west — is the lack of connections.

“People are looking for the eastward corridor from the roads that would replace the viaducts to Clark. It comes down to the design choices — whether it’s National or Malkin or any other possible east-west connector that we are still working on.”

The division of the flats north-south by railyards was also a hot topic during the public consultation.

“We recognize that the tracks will be there for a long time and that they have to be considered in terms of both the type of uses adjacent to the tracks as well as making sure that we have connections. It’s a large area and we have to make sure that there are pedestrian and cycling connections and possibly vehicular connections as well.”

The pending move of Saint Paul’s Hospital to a new location on Station Street was also a major talking point.

“There was some discussion about the new Saint Paul’s and the impact it would have have on the plan but we feel the hospital — in terms of medical uses — is actually not that different from the high tech uses that could have been developed on the Providence site. We don’t see it as a significant issue in terms of what we would have recommended,” says Jackson.

The city will now incorporate the public input as it works on major themes for the redevelopment of the False Creek Flats over the next few months.

It’s hoped a final plan for the area will go before City Council by next fall.