VANCOUVER — Vancouver City Council has approved a budget and phased plan for building the new Granville Bridge Connector (GBC) and improvements to Drake Street.
The first phase of construction will be an interim design which will create safe and accessible walking paths on the west side of the bridge by reallocating two of the eight existing traffic lanes, adding a concrete barrier and adding signals to the crosswalks at the Fir and Howe ramps.
It will connect to the Arbutus Greenway on the south side of the bridge through modifications to the loop at Granville Street and 5th Avenue.
A new protected bike lane on Drake Street between Hornby Street and Pacific Boulevard will connect to the downtown cycling network by converting Drake Street to a one-way for vehicle traffic from Hornby Street to Hamilton Street.
“The pressures on the city’s budget due to the effect of the COVID pandemic are substantial and yet the improvements to the Granville Bridge and Drake Street identified in this first phase are critical to Vancouver,” Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said in a statement.
“Providing safe, sustainable, and accessible ways to cross the bridge is essential, particularly in light of a growing city and region facing a climate crisis.”
Funding for the first design and construction phase has been reduced to $12.5 million due to the ongoing financial pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, a City of Vancouver release stated. The capital budget had previously put aside $25 million for the first phase.
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