Roadwork will focus exclusively on the southern portion of 10th Avenue between Oak and Willow streets. Pre-construction work is underway now — moving utilities and fire hydrants — while shovels hit the ground at the end of November. Photo Dan Toulgoet
The roads around Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»General Hospital are about to experience a massive facelift that will stretch until at least June of next year.
The work will focus exclusively on the southern portion of 10th Avenue between Oak and Willow streets. Pre-construction work is underway now — moving utilities and fire hydrants — while shovels hit the ground at the end of November.
Outlined by city staff at a media conference on Friday morning, the project is intended to improve access to the hospital and other health services between Cambie and Oak, better separate vehicle, bike and pedestrian lanes, and improve pick-up and drop-off areas.
Bus stops will also be relocated directly on the corner of Oak and 10th so those with mobility or vision challenges won’t have to navigate the steep hill up from Broadway.
“The street wasn’t working well for anyone and currently isn’t working well for anyone,” said Paul Storer, the city’s manager of transportation design. “What we need to do is find a way to improve, particularly how emergency access works with a real focus on patients and vulnerable pedestrians.”
The portion of 10th between Oak and Willow will be confined to one-way, eastbound traffic when construction starts in late November. Storer noted that 60 per cent of cyclists using the corridor do so in order to access the health facilities between Oak and Cambie. Those who don’t will have the option to re-route along 7th and 14th avenues, as well as Alder and Yukon streets.
McElhanney Consulting Services project manager Rob Bedard said additional traffic personnel staff will be used throughout the process to help with wayfinding and provide advice on traffic pattern changes.
“Already people are getting confused with where to go in the area and we’re looking at improving on that by having staff on the site as work is progressing to control that,” he said.
Other details of the plan include: additional wayfinding materials spread across the area; shorter crosswalks and sidewalk improvements; reserved parking spaces to allow closer access to services and increased parking for Handidart services.
The work will hit a critical decision point in March. At that time, city staff and contractors will assess the progress and decide whether to continue with the north side of Oak to Willow or plan to finish that work at a later date. Weather is the biggest determining factor on that front, as well as the progress made by the contractor.
Issues around parking will play out throughout the process. Short terms drop off and pickup will be maintained, but the parking in the region will decrease.
The first phase of construction through March will cost about $2.5 million and those funds are coming from the city and TransLink. Bedard said all the work will be done during the city’s allowable construction hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A website specific to the construction progress is online .
