For drivers, a straight shot down Grand Boulevard West is about to be a blast from the past.
On July 14, North Vancouver City council narrowly passed a plan that will close the road between 13th and 15th streets, which will connect the adjacent green space on Grand Boulevard to Ray Perrault Park.
Council also voted to direct staff to examine the feasibility of building two tennis courts and one multi-use sport court in the area.
But Couns. Shervin Shahriari, Don Bell and Holly Back dissented on the road closure, saying they were concerned about how the change will affect vehicle traffic in the area. The three called for further consideration of the matter.
Before discussion on the road closure, staff presented an update on the community engagement and planning for what’s called the "eastside connector" – which will eventually create an active transportation route from Grand Boulevard West to the under-construction Casano-Loutet overpass.
Staff said their aim is to create a “safe and comfortable” connection through two corridors: along 17th Street East from Grand Boulevard West to the overpass, and along Grand Boulevard West from Keith Road to 19th Street.
Staff said they are making “good progress” on the design and are currently preparing for the public engagement process, which should happen this fall.
While analyzing the corridor, staff said they saw an opportunity to close Grand Boulevard West between 13th and 15th streets. Currently, Grand Boulevard West only accommodates southbound vehicle traffic, as the northbound lane is reserved for bicycles and other non-vehicle traffic.
Staff said the 1,000-square-metre section of the roadway could be redesigned to stitch Ray Perrault and Grand Boulevard parks together.
That section of Grand Boulevard West offers “limited value” to the roadway network, and removing vehicles from that section would simplify intersections at 13th and 115th streets, making them safer for everyone, staff said.
Current traffic counts are low on that section of road, and there is “adequate capacity” on Grand Boulevard East to accommodate the change, staff said.
Not enough consultation done, councillor says
During discussion, Back said she wants to see a traffic study done in the area because she sees backups every day.
“I don’t want to vote to build a park on that one side and keep it closed when we very much could use that side of the road to for our local traffic,” she said.
Regarding adding tennis courts there, Back said this isn’t the right area for the city to be investing more resources into parks.
“I think there’s other areas in our city that we should put this money to work,” she said. “I don’t like to concentrate it all in one area … and I don’t think that’s fair to some of the other residents in the city.”
Shahriari said he was going to vote against the change not because he doesn’t like the idea, but because there hasn’t been enough consultation.
“We just have not had that,” he said. “I don’t think the community at large is aware of this. I haven’t seen any communication being received by any of the residents nearby or elsewhere who may have some input into this.”
But Mayor Linda Buchanan said that closing the section of road is part of creating a safe public space, and a continuous connection between the city centre and that neighbourhood.
“It is a neighbourhood many people from all across the city come to because of the Grand Boulevard [park],” she said. “And adding assets to it, such as tennis courts and the multi-sport court, adds another element that speaks to replacing what we’ve lost in terms of the development of some of the courts that we’ve seen."
Shahriari also dissented on the tennis courts vote.
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