The north-south rail line known in Vancouver as the Arbutus corridor (Figure #1) is
currently under-used but not yet abandoned, and its future use is in debate. As owner of the
corridor, the Canadian Pacific Rail Co. has publicly announced its desire to change the corridor
into a multi-use development. According to the wishes of residents and reflected in the City of
Vancouver's policy, however, the corridor will be preserved for transportation use. An
alternative design solution would be reactivating the rail line as a much needed north-south
transit route, with an adjacent greenway for pedestrian and bike use, as a more responsible and
sustainable vision for this corridor. The feasibility of this design, tested at a smaller scale in
three Kitsilano neighbourhoods, revealed it is a viable solution. The issues surrounding this
case study are the value of a fair public process to ensure a common vision; the validity of the
policy preserving existing transportation corridors in urban areas; and the actual effect of rail
transit and greenway upon the adjacent, as well the regional environs. Future directions are
toward considering transit as a vital element in promoting sustainable communities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/11717 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Maness, Alina |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
Page generated in 0.0023 seconds