Green Gridways

GREEN GRIDWAYS Using the Grid & Autonomous Vehicle Technology to Increase Active Transportation & Public Space in Vancouver

Cail Smith for PLAN 542

GREEN GRIDWAYS Using the Grid & Autonomous Vehicle Technology to Increase Active Transportation & Public Space in Vancouver

Image 1: Automatic rising bollards lower when an authorized vehicle's signal triggers them, but allow active transportation users to pass. (The Hague)

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The City of Vancouver's policies have set forwardthinking goals to increase active transportation and green spaces. As a result, many recent initiatives have focused on the construction of improved cycling and walking infrastructure and networks to better protect active transportation users from motor vehicles and create stronger connections to parks. Currently, these solutions are safe and relatively cost effective.

However, new vehicle and infrastructure technology is emerging which could change more than the form of the city, it could change how residents use existing infrastructure, like the road grid. Taking advantage of these new technologies could quickly bring the City closer to its policy goals.

Transportation 2040 (2012) outlines Vancouver’s targets and policy goals to build a more sustainable transportation system which matches the outcomes of this proposal. These include goals related to increasing active transportation, reducing on-street parking and supporting car share.

Additionally, the Greenest City Action Plan (2015a) and Healthy City Strategy (2015b) also share outcomes with this proposal

to reimagine Vancouver’s grid system as an complete transportation network (See appendix for specific goals).

Gradually laid out and expanding from Burnaby, Vancouver’s grid is actually a series of grids that change shape and form where they meet (Berelowitz, 2005). With service roads behind continuous commercial fronts on arterials, a hierarchy of roads allows residents to live quietly near busy streets. Recent changes to street infrastructure have encouraged through traffic to remain on arterials.

Rather than fight against the grid, planners can use the historical layout for a new purpose with significant infrastructure changes.

The new configuration of the grid this proposal suggests will be made possible by the new class of vehicles know as Autonomous, Connected, Electric & Shared (ACES) vehicles. These vehicles will no longer need parking space immediately in front of homes as they can park themselves and will likely reduce the need for vehicle ownership overall.

Motor vehicle traffic can be further reduced by only allowing street residents and reduced mobility users

(such as seniors, wheelchair users) in smaller vehicles on the east-west streets.

Although this is not common in North America, many cities in Europe already use automatic rising bollards to prevent access for vehicles without authorization (see image 1). They are expensive to install and vulnerable to damage, likely contributing to their rarity in North America. However, ACES vehicles will no longer need physical barriers to enforce street regulations. This could significantly reduce the cost of this proposal to reconfigure Vancouver’s grid.

The Green Gridways program proposes a configuration of the grid which retains continuous vehicle traffic only on northsouth aligned streets. The east-west aligned blocks

between them would no longer allow on-street parking or the majority of vehicular traffic (see image 2). The east-west blocks would be oriented to users of all modes of active transportation (walking, cycling, skateboarding, etc.). This change would increase active transportation volumes and spread it out this traffic over several the other streets in the grid. Back lanes could also be included as active transportation routes, depending on AV parking locations.

Reconfiguring the grid on residential streets would decrease the amount of space needed for traffic, especially the space no longer used for parking.

This public space can become linear gardens, parks and play spaces.

In essence, it would turn

Main St

Cambie St

Broadway

W 12th Ave

Active Transportation Flow All Traffic Flow

Image 2: The Green Gridways proposal to remove the majority of motor vehicule traffic from east-west blocks.

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streets to greenways.

Although it may be too difficult to imagine residents giving up parking spaces now, a shift away from vehicle ownership toward shared vehicles and robust transit system would make this possible.

To garner community support, the proposal should be rolled out using two tactical urbanism methods. First, this project should begin as a series of pilots, either in sets of blocks or linearly across several streets, while balancing the efficiency of scale and the ability to adjust as information arises.

Second, to create public space, the street

furniture pioneered by tactical urbanists should be used to build the initial public spaces. This street furniture is relatively flexible and immediately creates growing and gathering spaces. Residents will immediately be able to see change without feeling committed to the configuration or uses of spaces in pilot.

Through feedback, each neighbourhood will be able to gradually shape their block.

Green Gridways will likely not work in the downtown core because of intensive land use and high traffic volumes. Even in residential areas, vehicles transporting seniors and young childern may need adjusted permissions.

Where Green Gridways can be implemented, they represent a chance to use new technologies to reach the City's transportation and park space policy –goals. A sustainable future for Vancouver will require the harnassing of new vehicle technologies, rather than their wholesale rejection or uninhibited embrace.

Additionally, some neighbourhoods will be ideal for this type of retrofitting, while others will require more consideration because of the street layout and topography (see image 3).

Great Northern Way W 6th Ave

W 12th Ave

Clark St

Fraser St

Main St

Oak St

Cambie St

Broadway

Kin

gs

wa

Commercial Dr

y

W 16th Ave

Ideal Grid Sections Potential Additional Grid Sections

Image 3: Sections of Vancouver that should be considered for the implementation of Green Gridways.

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APPENDIX Policy goals specifically related to the Green Gridways proposal:

Transportation 2040 • • • • • •

Increasing cycling and walking (Targets) Making walking more comfortable and enjoyable (W1) Increasing the amount and use of public gathering spaces (W2) Building a complete all ages and abilities cycling network (C1) Managing local traffic and neighbourhood parking (M1.3, M2.7) Supporting strategies that reduce parking needs (M2.2)

Greenest City Action Plan • Making 50% of trips taken by sustainable transportation methods (G4.1) • Reducing distance driven by residents (G 4.2) • Put all Vancouver residents within a 5-minute walk of a green space.

(G 6.1)

Healthy City Strategy • • • • •

Increasing local food assets Increasing a sense of belonging for residents Encouraging local connections and support networks Put all Vancouver residents within a 5-minute walk of a green space.

Making 50% of trips taken by sustainable transportation methods

REFERENCES Berelowitz, L. (2005). Dream city: Vancouver and the global imagination. Toronto, Ontario: Douglas & McIntyre.

City of Vancouver. (2012). Transportation 2040. Retrieved from http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Transportation_2040_Plan_as_adopted_by_Council.pdf City of Vancouver. (2015a). Greenest City action plan: Phase 2. Retrieved from http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/greenest-city-2020-action-plan-2015-2020.pdf City of Vancouver. (2015b). Healthy City strategy – four-year action plan: Phase 2. Retrieved from http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Healthy-City-Strategy-Phase-2-Action-Plan-2015-2018.pdf

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