’Car-lite’ Granville Island proposed
Reducing vehicles, creating new activities dominate meeting on future of Vancouver’s ‘creative heart’
As cars carrying Christmas shoppers crawled through Granville Island in search of parking Saturday, the team charged with planning the revitalization of Vancouver’s “creative heart” presented a vision that would in future see fewer vehicles — and parking spaces — on the site.
That idea more than any other — including an elevator from the island to the bridge deck above, a floating park and a “nightlife mayor” in charge of generating more night use — dominated a Q&A panel session following the presentation, with the moderator at one point reminding attendees that panelists were available to speak about issues other than transportation.
“The plan is everything one could hope for,” said audience member Carol Henriquez, co-founder of Arts Umbrella. “But I’m an intrepid market shopper, and I can’t imagine getting all my groceries home without a car.”
That sentiment was echoed by others responding to the draft plan presented at one of three public forums Saturday at the Revue Stage on Granville Island. The plan, created by the Granville Island 2040 team, will be finalized and submitted to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which owns the island, by Jan. 16.
Architect Darryl Condon told the audience “shifting the balance of access” away from cars is supported by many of the artists and businesses on Granville Island.
It is also the key to revitalizing the area. Up to one-quarter of the island is currently used for roads and parking, Condon explained. Making some areas car-free, while creating other ways for people to access to the island, would allow for more pop-up stalls, festivals and public art in a pedestrian-friendly environment. Planners would eventually like to see cars eliminated from the west side of the island all together.
Audience members reacted positively to many of the project team’s ideas to increase access to pedestrians and cyclists, including an elevator from the bridge deck where a bus could stop and let passengers on and off.
Planners also envisioned an increased role for water traffic, as well as a pedestrian bridge over Alder Bay, which would create a more direct link from the seawall to the island.
The presentation included several ideas that weren’t connected to transportation, including the transformation of the public market into a “district” rather than a single building, with stalls that spill out onto the street and take over nearby buildings and public spaces. The public market’s success was recognized as an economic driver that allows much of the island’s arts and cultural businesses to flourish.
Plans to transform one of the buildings being vacated by Emily Carr University into a creative hub with studios, galleries and collaborative spaces were also discussed. A large multipurpose event space, with indoor and outdoor options, was also proposed.
Former Vancouver city councillor and director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program Gordon Price was in the audience and said he wasn’t surprised transportation dominated the discussion.
“In order to keep the island accessible to everyone, including seniors and the disabled and those that need to use cars, we need to get everyone else out of their cars,” he said.
After the presentation Art Umbrella co-founder Henriquez said she was “filled with excitement” about the island’s future.