Category — Transportation

Thanks to Steven Godfrey for pointing out this useful summary of five case studies where freeway removal resulted in tremendous positive benefits, all relevant to consideration of the future of the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts.

Effective today, Vancouver taxis will be able to drive in bus lanes as part of a pilot project to determine whether the new access will improve service.

Taxis may go in bus lanes, but God forbid that they stop.

Drivers have been warned, sometimes in one-on-one sessions, that they will face escalating and expensive suspensions if they are caught loading or unloading in bus lanes. The penalties rise from a four-hour penalty on a first offense to a bruising five days on the fourth violation.

The one-year pilot program is the result of a council motion I proposed in January.

When Vancouver city council voted to double capital spending on cycling infrastructure in 2009, it took only $1.5 million, taken from unallocated funds, to do the job.

This year’s capital spending reflects a wide range of capital planning changes, driven by the Greenest City Action Plan, to focus on “active transportation,” particularly walking, when it comes to priorizing transportation spending. Cycling is still there and the 2012 capital program will put $15.8 million into sidewalk, intersection and street improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

While cycling spending is down a little from last year — the whole capital plan has been reduced since the Olympic spending ended — it remains much higher than 2008.

This year’s cycling work will include the 45th Ave. Bikeway from 37th to 59th and the Dumfries Bikeway from 37th to 59th,  as well as a range of spot improvements. Also on the list this year: the Comox Ave. bike route, in the queue for many years, which is now out for public consultation on final design.

Significantly more spending on active transportation is scheduled for 2013 and 2014 when consultation on the overall plan is complete. All this spending was approved by referendum in November.

Note to drivers: the roads budget, a separate budget line, is $33 million.

With Vancouver city planning staff expecting to bring a report to council before summer on options for the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts, Seattle is well into the $3 billion project to replace its tottering Alaska Way Viaduct with a bored tunnel.

One mile of the Seattle Viaduct came down in nine days last October, without the chaos drivers always anticipate on such occasions. Latest updates from Seattle show the city is moving ahead with new traffic patterns to clear the way for the tunnel, which will ensure good connections remain to the port and other arterials.

But city after city is putting a freeway on death row.

The Seattle project is just one of a wave of removals right across America, homeland of the car. According to this update in Atlantic Cities, the battle is moving to the neighbourhood level, where more and more communities are debating the shape of their future. If a freeway can come down, why not an overpass? Well, in fact, it can.