REPORT

ON
VANCOUVER
(A GREEN CITY)

SUBMITTED BY:-
SHIVANI SHARMA
INTRODUCTION
Vancouver is located on the pacific west coast of canada in the
province of british columbia, known for its environmental appeal.
The city is surrounded by water on three sides and mountains part of
the coast mountain range.

METRO VANCOUVER
Population - 2,590,921
Area- 2,882.55 km2
VANCOUVER
Population- 603,502
Area- 114 km2
Density-5,400 per/ km2
Climate-
• Temperate
• Dry summers
• Rains during winters.
• Avg temp- 22 °c

THE CITY

• High-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban

centres.
• Dense but livable neighbourhoods
• High amenity and 'livable' development
THE GREEN CITY ACTION PLAN:
 1. Climate and renewable

Goal: eliminate dependence on fossil fuels

Decrease in community greenhouse gases since 2007
Target:
• reduce community-based greenhouse gas emissions by 33% from
2007 levels.
Committed to 100% renewable energy by 2050
Vancouver already has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per
capita of any major city in North America, and is projected to have
the fastest growing economy in Canada over the next three years.

Figure 1 CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

 2. Green building

Goal: lead the world in green building design and construction.

Decrease in greenhouse gases from buildings since 2007
Targets:
• require all buildings constructed from 2020 onward to be carbon
neutral in operations.
• reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in existing
buildings by 20% from 2007 levels
Buildings constructed to 2015 requirements emit 30% fewer
greenhouse gases per square metre than those built to the 2007
requirements.

Figure 2 SUSTINABLE BUILDING

 3. Green transportation

Goal: make walking, cycling and public transit preferred

transportation options.
Decrease -in- vehicle km
Driven per person since 2007
Targets:
• make the majority (over 50%) of trips by foot, bicycle and public
transit.
• reduce average distance driven per resident by 20% from 2007
levels.
10% of work commutes are made by bicycle which is as high or
higher than any other north american city with a population over
500,000.
2015-2016 successes:
Introduced a bike-share program
Continued building a safer and more bike-friendly city
Secured the future of the arbutus greenway
Cycling trips across the burrard bridge increased over 30% in the
first year after the south intersection and seaside greenway
upgrades were completed in 2014. Data shows that travel times for
other road users were unaffected.

Figure 3 CYCLING A PRIME MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

 4. Zero wastage

Goal: to create zero wastage.

Decrease in solid waste sent to landfill and incinerator since 2008
Target:
• Reduce solid waste going to landfill and incinerator by 50% from
2008 levels.

Figure 4 REUSING OLD BRICKS

5. Access to nature
Goal: Vancouver residency enjoy incomparable access to green
spaces, including the world’s most spectacular green forest.
48,900 new trees planted since 2010.
Targets:
• All Vancouver residents live within a five-minute walk of a park,
greenway, or other green space.
• Plant 150,000 new trees.
• restore or enhance 25 hectares of natural areas between 2010 and
2020.
•increase canopy cover to 22% by 2050
2015-2016 successes:
Approved biodiversity strategy to support nature across the city
Introduced a new biodiversity gcap target
Restored native trees in our urban forest began .

Figure 5 GREEN SPACE WITHIN NEIGHBORHOOD

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

• Extensive bikeway system

• Buses
• Sky train
• Sea bus
• West coast express
• Car sharing
• Local taxi
EXPLORING VANCOUVER

Figure 6 TRANSIT MODES ROUTE MAP

Public transport in vancouver is excellent, so it’s easy to time your

trips. Tran slink is the main operator, running a network of buses,
rapid transit trains (sky train), commuter rail (west coast express),
and sea ferry (seabus) between north vancouver and vancouver
Since 2015, the compass card has been available across the network.
It’s similar to the oyster card in london, or the leap card in ireland. It
allows passengers to pre-load money onto their cards (known as
adding ‘stored value’), and you simply tap your card on each journey
to deduct your fare. A $6 deposit is required when you buy the card.
Tickets are valid for 90 minutes, and can be used across buses, sky
train, and seabus. This means you can start a journey on one method
of transport, hop off, and complete your journey on a second service,
all for the same fare, so long as it’s within the 90-minute window.
For buses, a single ticket valid for 90 minutes will cost you $2.85 if
paying by cash. Compass card users get a reduced rate of $2.20. The
same fare applies no matter what distance you travel, so long as the
bus is the sole method of transport.

For sky train and seabus, the metropolitan area is divided into three
zones. Your fare will depend on how many zones you travel through
on your journey.
For cash fares, you’ll be given a small paper ticket (known as a ‘proof
of payment transfer’). Remember to take this with you, as it will be
valid for 90 minutes and can be used for further travel.

Monthly passes are also available. They run by calendar month, and
allow for unlimited travel on sky train, seabus, and buses. The cost
$93, $126, or $172, depending on how many zones are required. The
monthly pass can be loaded onto the compass card.
 Figure 7 THREE ZONES OF METRO VANCOUVER

PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES

Existing pedestrian system

The existing pedestrian system in the city of vancouver consists of
on-again/off-again sidewalk network s and other pedestrian facilities.
The city has no specified pedestrian districts or designated
pedestrian malls. In several vancouver locations the pedestrian
system is comprehensive, such as in some areas of downtown and
the fort vancouver area. However, some areas of the city are
characterized by a relatively piecemeal system, with high-quality
sidewalks and pedestrian crossings adjacent to new developments
connecting to inadequate or nonexistent systems adjacent to older
developments.
Classified arterials without sidewalks (or with intermittent
sidewalks) include:
 Lower river road

 Fruit valley road

 Evergreen highway  port

 Way (south of mill plain)

 39th street (west of lincoln)

 Lincoln street (45th – bernie)

 Main street (north of 45th)

 Ross street

 Ne 54th street

 Ne 49th street (ne 15th-st. James and ne 121st-ne 138th)

 “p” street (39th-33rd)

 5th street (east of grand)

 Blandford drive

 Ellsworth road (south of mcgillivray)

 Mcgillivray boulevard/se 10th street (98th-136th)

 Talton avenue

 Se 164th avenue (south of se 34th)

 Devine road (mill plain-18th)

 Ne 65th

 Andresen road (sr 500-fourth plain and macarthur-evergreen)

 Burton road (fourth plain-18th and 87th-98th)

 97th/98th avenue (14th-18th and mill plain-st. Helens)

 Evergreen boulevard (east of blandford)

 Van mall drive (around mall)

 Thurston way (south)

 Ne 9th street

 Ne 18th street (112th-136th)

 28th street (112th-130th and 143rd-162nd)

 138th avenue (18th-ne 49th)

  Ne 122nd avenue (ne 39th-ne 49th)
 Ne 49th street (122nd-138th)

Figure 8 WALKWAYS MAP

Pedestrian needs
the purpose of this section is to evaluate and identify the need
improvements to the pedestrian network in vancouver related to
collector and arterial streets. The first part lists the elements of the
pedestrian network and examines the general attributes of these
elements as they relate to defining improvement needs. The second
part details the specific needs in vancouver and describes how they
have been identified by integrating the general attributes of
pedestrian improvements with data on existing conditions,
pedestrian fatality and injury data, performance measures for
pedestrian facilities, and community input.

Types of pedestrian improvements

A safe and functional pedestrian environment that services demand
and attracts people to walk consists of several elements. At a
minimum, to function, there must be a connected network of
continuous pedestrian ways. These continuous ways, in turn, are
made up of linear elements, such as sidewalks along streets or multi-
use trails, linked by pedestrian street crossings.
The connected network must provide access to the uses that attract
pedestrian travel, such as schools and parks, neighbourhood
shopping, transit stops, and public uses such as libraries and post
offices. To be safe and attractive, pedestrian facilities must be
adequately illuminated, and they may buffer pedestrians from
adjacent traffic and provide streetscape amenities for walkers’
comfort.
This section discusses the types of improvements that can be made
to enhance each of these elements of the pedestrian environment.
Sidewalk improvements the sidewalk is the most obvious element of
the pedestrian network. The sidewalk must have a clear width wide
enough to accommodate the widest mobility device and wide
enough for the expected volume of pedestrian traffic. Further, the
sidewalk “clear zone” must be free of street furniture, sign posts,
sandwich boards, and any other obstructions.
In most parts of vancouver, this would be satisfied by having a
sidewalk wide enough for two people to walk together comfortably,
about 1.9 m. Or six feet wide. In areas where there are businesses or
other pedestrian attractors, the sidewalk should accommodate two
wheelchairs
Travelling together or two people walking together passing a third
person comfortably, a minimum clear width of about 2.2 m or seven
feet. Where high pedestrian use is expected, such as in downtown,
on shared-use paths, around schools, community centers, and parks
10-12 feet is preferable.

It is essential that sidewalk improvements provide accessibility to all

users. For pedestrians who use wheelchairs, this means having a
minimal cross slope along the sidewalk, especially at driveway
crossings, and having appropriate ramps to the street at every
crosswalk. Ramps must have level landings. For pedestrians who are
blind or have low vision, accessibility is enhanced by having a clear
path of travel and tactile warnings at curb ramps. Guidelines for
accessibility are developed and maintained by the federal
architectural and transportation barriers compliance board, better
known as the access board, and are enforced as standards by the
department of justice.

Furthermore, maintenance of the sidewalk system is crucial for

safety and functionality. Residents need a pathway clear of obstacles
such as poles and signs, holes, broken cement, tree roots, overgrown
landscaping or weeds, etc…

Pedestrian crossing improvements street crossings are the critical

links in a connected pedestrian network, yet crossing the street is the
most dangerous aspect of pedestrian travel, and is where practically
all pedestrian-motorist collisions occur. Based on data from 1997-
2000, 53% of the vancouver pedestrian-motorist collisions occurred
at intersections, and 47% at mid-block locations.
Washington law defines a crosswalk as the extension of a curb,
sidewalk or shoulder across an intersection, whether it is marked or
not. Outside of intersections, crosswalks are created by markings on
the road. Under washington law, motorists have a duty to stop and
yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Pedestrians are permitted to
cross at other locations, but must yield to motorists.
In addition to the danger factor for pedestrians, crossing the street
often adds delay to a pedestrian trip. Signals may provide a greater
degree of safety for pedestrians at the intersection of multilane
roadways, but may result in significant waiting or out-of-direction
travel. It is essential for the function of the pedestrian network that
adequate crossing opportunities be provided. The desire to move
traffic without impediment must be balanced against the fact that
pedestrians will tend to take the shortest route if they can.
Streetscape improvements in some areas, a higher level of attention
to the details of the pedestrian environment are justified by
expected high pedestrian use and to encourage pedestrian use.
Streetscape improvements have the potential to change the
relationship between automobiles and pedestrians by allocating
more space to pedestrian travel. Streetscapes where the elements
are scaled to human size rather than vehicle size are attractive to
pedestrians. Amenities such as public art, benches, drinking
fountains, trash receptacles, special transit shelters and pedestrian-
scaled lighting fixtures can all be incorporated into coordinated
streetscape improvements. Discussion of streetscape elements can
also be found in the washington state pedestrian facilities guidebook.

Illumination of pedestrian path of travel good street lighting is one

key to pedestrian safety when the sun is down. Based on data from
1997-2000, 60% of the pedestrian-vehicle collisions in vancouver
occurred at night. Both personal safety and safety with respect to
traffic are improved when proper lighting is provided. Good lighting
of pedestrian facilities also increases the comfort and perception of
personal safety of pedestrian travellers when it is dark out, and these
factors can influence their choice of route or their decision whether
or not to walk.
Accessibility to transit in 1999, c-tran prepared a pedestrian
accessibility program report with the objective of providing c-tran
customers with the safest and most reliable pathways to access bus
stops regardless of personal handicap or injury.” This report reflects
the understanding that all c-tran customers are pedestrians for some
portion of their trip, whether to or from their home or destination to
a transit stop, or just from their car in a transit station area. The
report identifies a series of needed pedestrian accessibility
improvements along eight major bus routes in vancouver:
 3 rosemere-brandt 4 fourth plain 6 hazel dell 25 st. Johns 30

burton 32 evergreen 27 mill plain 71 hwy 99

 Maps of needed improvements are shown at the end of this

section [maps to be added]. Narrative text is available in the c-
tran report.

 Analysis of pedestrian needs in vancouver

 The specific pedestrian needs in the city of vancouver were

analyzed using a combination of community input gathered
through neighborhood plans, bicycle and pedestrian advisory
committee input, and other public outreach efforts, inventory
of sidewalks, and analysis of pedestrian conditions
incorporating safety, access, and conditions of the sidewalk
system.
Figure 9TYPE OF BIKEWAY FACILITIES
PEDESTRIANIZED STREETS:

 Gastown street

 Downtown street
Chinatown

Water street
Granville Street

Terminal Avenue
Marine drive