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But in a twist of irony, almost everyone along the north side of Point Grey are going to lose those improvements as the city claims back land it owns as part of a road allowance. Trees, hedges, fences, parking places, electronic gates — anything built on city land — is about to go as the city begins a $6.4-million project to create a new sidewalk to complete the 28-kilometre seawall walkway ringing the city.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

That the new connection is being built along Point Grey Road is also because of another quirk; the city has been frustrated in its efforts to build a seawall in front of the expensive properties, both by environmentalists and the property owners who object to their private beach access being interrupted.

With a road allowance of 66 feet, Point Grey is officially as wide as any other major city street. But over the decades, the city built a much narrower road and neighbours fronting it on both sides claimed the unused land. Elsewhere in the city, such property became grassy boulevards between the city’s sidewalks and roads.

But along Point Grey, the sidewalk butts up against the road, and in some places is a narrow pathway squished between the curb and tall, bushy hedges homeowners planted.

Two years ago, residents cheered as Mayor Gregor Robertson’s council closed Point Grey to through traffic, turning it from a busy arterial road used by as many as 10,000 cars a day into a largely bucolic cycling route. In recent times, however, residents have complained about cyclists riding abreast, creating traffic jams and havoc for those with cars.