The municipality spent its entire session Tuesday discussing a staff report recommending Jericho Station at another proposed location on Sasamat Street in West Point Gray. The station would probably be the last before the line to the university ends. The discussion of the Municipality came after a long series of speakers who criticized the plan, saying that it will lead to further density and increase in housing costs.
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Speakers also criticized what appeared to be a lack of public consultation on a possible Jericho station before the report was released last week, saying it seemed more in line with future regeneration plans for the award-winning First Nation lands in West Point Gray than the SkyTrain extension itself. The story goes on under the ad “I do not see the point in looking at this station when we do not even know if this extension will be approved,” said one speaker, noting the lack of specific funding and approval for the extension of the Millennium line at UBC. “I’m afraid we’re really putting the cart in front of the horse.” The Council adopted an amendment guiding staff to report on ensuring the priority of affordable housing along the expansion path. Another attempt at an amendment to send the entire report back to staff for further consultation was rejected. Staff said in a statement that Jericho Station “performs better than a Sasamat station in strategic objectives”, which includes future redevelopment of Jericho Lands. These redevelopment plans unveiled last fall included a reference to a possible subway station. The staff report heard by the council on Tuesday marked the first indication that such a station is being seriously considered by the city or that it is preferred by city staff over other options. The report also describes what staff say is the preferred route for the proposed extension: continuing along West Broadway past the future Arbutus Street Station to two proposed stations on Macdonald Street and Alma Street, bending slightly north to the proposed Jericho Station and then continuing on to UBC along West Eighth Avenue from Blanca Street. The route suggested by Vancouver City staff to expand SkyTrain to the University of British Columbia at an exhibition on March 29, 2022. Vancouver City The report comes after a public consultation on a possible SkyTrain expansion to UBC last spring, which did not yet include station locations. The story goes on under the ad Staff said the approval of the new plan by the city council would “show municipal support” to help inform future decisions on TransLink expansion and higher levels of government, which have not yet approved specific funding. Trending Stories
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TransLink will publish its own report on the proposed extension, including preferred station locations and route alignment options, later this year. According to TransLink’s currently approved and funded Phase Two of TransLink’s 10-Year Vision, the Broadway subway will only extend to Arbutus Street. This extension from Vancouver Community College is currently under construction and is expected to be operational by 2025.
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According to a TransLink report in 2019, extending the line another seven kilometers from Arbutus Street to UBC would cost between $ 3.3 billion and $ 3.8 billion. This number has not yet been updated, but is believed to be much higher. In July 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trindade said the federal government would invest up to 40 percent in expanding SkyTrain from Arbutus to UBC. BC Prime Minister John Horgan promised that the provincial funding would be commensurate with the money coming from Ottawa. Vancouver City Council voted in 2019 in favor of a further expansion to UBC, with only COPE Coun. Jean Swanson and Non-Party Association (NPA) Coun. Colleen Hardwick voted against it. The story goes on under the ad In 2020, the city struck a deal with UBC and Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations to press senior governments for 80 percent of the funding. 1:48 Historic agreement for SkyTrain to reach UBC Historic agreement for SkyTrain to reach UBC – January 29, 2020
The discussion about Jericho Lands has been renewed
During Tuesday’s meeting, speakers warned that the UBC expansion would only lead to further congestion along the Broadway and in the Kitsilano and Point Gray neighborhoods – including the Jericho Lands themselves. The story goes on under the ad Hardwick also raised the possibility of a referendum to measure public support for the UBC SkyTrain extension, which at least one of the speakers agreed with when asked directly. It has repeatedly urged the council to delay the adoption of the report in order to allow further public consultation, which ultimately failed to gain widespread support among its councils. The 90-acre Jericho Lands development – stretching from West Fourth Avenue to Eighth Avenue and from Highbury Street to the edge of Trimble Park near Discovery Street – has been debated for years. 2:11 The first nations plan to buy the remaining territories of Jericho from the government of BC. The land is currently co-owned by Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations and Canada Lands Company, a federal company Crown, after it was bought by the government of K.X. Last October, the city unveiled two ideas for remodeling the space that would accommodate between 15,000 and 18,000 people in a variety of residential towers and smaller buildings. The area currently houses about 13,000 people. The story goes on under the ad The Council is expected to consider a final staff report on the proposed redevelopment, which will be carried out in cooperation with the three First Nations, sometime this year. Staff say the inclusion of a SkyTrain station in the development will benefit the entire community, as well as minimize construction disruption to other West Point Gray residents. © 2022 Global News, part of Corus Entertainment Inc.
