MEDIA RELEASE
Live demo Friday the 13th, on 10th Avenue to test safety risks of large trucks versus cyclists before Rize 19-storey tower rezoning decision
(Vancouver, April 12, 2012) Can trucks mix with cyclists and pedestrians on crowded neighbourhood streets? Leading up to the April 17 Council Decision on a rezoning application by Rize Alliance for a 19-storey tower and commercial development at the corner of Kingsway and Broadway, Residents Association Mount Pleasant (RAMP) will hold a demonstration of the risks posed by transport trucks competing for space with cyclists and pedestrians on Vancouver’s most popular bicycle route.
What: Live demonstration of transport truck navigating turns on busy street, competing with pedestrians and cyclists.
Media and observers are welcome, and there will be opportunities to take photos and video.
When: 1:20 – 1:40pm, Friday, April 13, 2012
Where: 10th Avenue, just east of Main Street at Watson Street
A professional driving school has been hired, complete with truck and driver, to demonstrate the challenges facing a driver attempting to deliver produce and merchandise into narrow Watson Street between 10th Avenue and Broadway in the community of Mount Pleasant. The Rize rezoning application proposes to use Watson Street as the only access point for large truck deliveries and for cars going to one of 320 proposed parking spaces on three levels of underground parking. With over 94,000 square feet of proposed retail space on two levels in a 48 foot podium covering almost the entire site, many service vehicles are expected to use the multi-truck loading bay, if the development is approved.
Cyclists and pedestrians would have to navigate this additional traffic and the dangers posed by large trucks turning from 10th Avenue into Watson Street and from Watson Street onto Broadway, an issue raised by a number of speakers during the Rize Rezoning Public Hearing but not adequately addressed by the proponent or City staff. The hazards and impacts of 18 months of cement mixers, excavation trucks and other construction traffic for such a large project on the cross-town 10th Avenue bikeway would also be profound. With this demonstration, RAMP plans to document the hazards of the proposal, for the public record.
Stephen Bohus says “This site is completely unsuitable for large scale commercial retail and for large truck and heavy vehicular traffic on 10th and Watson Street. By removing most of the retail except for a row of stores along Broadway, you can remove the podium, and create a far more realistic development within the current zoning for the property that fits in with the scale and character of the neighbourhood.”
The Residents Association Mount Pleasant (RAMP) is a non-profit coalition of volunteers who recognize the unique character of the community and strive to maintain this special neighbourhood.
The illustrations below show other possible conflicts with 10th Avenue as a cyclist route approximately 18 months of construction traffic. Translink also uses 10th between Kingsway and Main as a short turn route.
Videos of excavation trucks at work: