VANCOUVER — Vancouver has unveiled its new $200-million plan to demolish the downtown viaducts, but major questions remain about the future flow of traffic to the east.

The city has committed to moving the bulk of vehicles away from Prior Street, where neighbours have complained about increased traffic. But the exact location of a new thoroughfare has not yet been decided and the funding has not been secured, the city's acting manager of engineering, Jerry Dobrovolny, told a media briefing Tuesday.

"As part of the False Creek planning study that's underway, we'll look at whether the proper location for that arterial is either Malkin or National (avenues)," he said.

"With that new roadway, whether it is Malkin or National, it would require some senior government funding, because it involves a significant portion of bridge to get up and over the railroad tracks at Clark Drive."

A report on the viaduct proposal is set to go before council later this month, but approval of the city's plan will not be dependent on securing the cash for the alternate arterial, and the city's current plan still calls for east-west traffic to follow Prior and Venables.

The latest proposal would replace the viaducts with an expanded Pacific Boulevard flowing all the way to Quebec Street, and a Georgia Street ramp that connects Beatty Street with Pacific. The plan also calls for a new 13-acre park created when Creekside Park is extended into Concord Pacific lands on False Creek, as well as an elevated bike route connector.

Critics of the project have argued that the viaducts are necessary for commuters to reach downtown quickly, and that the city is pandering to developers. But the city insists that the viaducts are seismically unstable, and their removal will connect the neighbourhoods of Chinatown, Crosstown, the Downtown Eastside and Strathcona with the waterfront.

City council voted unanimously in 2013 to go ahead with planning for the viaducts' removal, but public outcry about the possibility of increased traffic congestion forced deferral of the final decision for two years. During that time, 12 different consultant studies have looked at a range of concerns from traffic to environmental impact.

Now staff say that only six per cent of trips into the downtown core happen along the viaducts, and that the new routes shouldn't increase congestion.

"We're confident in concluding that the new system will be better," said Dobrovolny.

He acknowledged that the estimated cost of the project has risen significantly in recent years, from early projections of about $115 million. But he said the $200-million figure includes new costs like park construction and other infrastructure.

"We anticipate that there would be offsetting revenues that would be fully covering those costs," he said. That would include revenue from selling off city-owned property as well as contributions from developers.

Alternatively, the cost of strengthening the viaducts to withstand an earthquake is estimated at $65 million.

Dobrovolny also pointed out that removal of the viaducts would provide better access for ambulance traffic when St. Paul's Hospital moves to a new location in False Creek flats.

"Right now, emergency vehicles don't use the viaducts because if there was any kind of traffic delay, they would be stuck in the middle of the viaduct and not able to turn around," he said.

The city is hoping that the project will provide new opportunities to build affordable housing on the two blocks of Vancouver-owned land that will become available if the viaducts come down, as well as in new condo developments from Concord Pacific. Between the developer and the city, an additional 2,500 units of housing for all income levels is expected.

NPA councillor George Affleck attended the technical briefing Tuesday, and said he was still concerned about the impact on commuting times. He also worried about the city finding enough funding to support the project.

"I don't understand how we're possibly going to find $200 million and build a bunch of affordable housing. The math doesn't add up to me," he said.

The current timeline for completion of the entire project is about five years, with construction of the new park as a priority. The plan is to construct the new Pacific-Georgia thoroughfare before tearing down the viaducts.

blindsay@vancouversuncom

Twitter.com/bethanylindsay

with file from Tiffany Crawford



Click here for details of the city's proposal for the viaducts

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