City to permanently close Robson block
Buses, other traffic between Hornby and Howe streets will be rerouted
Vision Vancouver councillors voted Wednesday to permanently close a block of Robson Street to cars and buses, despite impassioned protests from seniors and an attempt by opposition party members to send the idea back to staff.
The 800 block of Robson — between Hornby and Howe streets — is typically closed to traffic in summer months to create a public plaza connecting both sides of Robson Square. During those months, one of the few bus routes to and from the West End is rerouted by several blocks, diverting passengers — many of them seniors — away from the downtown core.
Councillors made the plaza permanent after a heated debate that drove one Vision Vancouver councillor, Tim Stevenson, to storm out of the room. In a separate vote, staff were directed to design the plaza, work with seniors and transit users to determine a permanent bus route, and report back in December.
Robson marks the third permanent road closure by the city since Vision Vancouver took of- fice in 2008. It follows the closure of Terry Fox Way, near B.C. Place Stadium, and another road in the East Fraser Lands, according to the city.
Before the vote, Scott Ricker, a member of the West End Seniors’ Planning Table, told councillors the city’s plan was “a disservice to residents of the West End who have mobility issues.”
“You’re making a bus trip into town like an excursion, and I just don’t think that’s right. People that have disabilities with their feet or they have mobility issues are really going to pay a price for this,” he said.
Ricker said his group had battled the temporary closure of the plaza for the past three years because of its impact to the No. 5 Robson bus route. It’s not that they disapprove of the idea of a square, he said — they just want a better transit solution first.
Ricker asked councillors to give the idea a lot of thought before approving it.
“I’m asking council and I’m asking the engineering planning department to do a little more homework,” Ricker said, adding that the city had not consulted with his group on the issue during his 18-month tenure.
Like Ricker, Anthony Kupferschmidt, the executive director of the West End Senior’s Network, said he and his group support the idea, but not a transit arrangement that hinders seniors’ access.
“We think the voices of older adults were not captured in this process,” Kupferschmidt said, adding that some seniors feel alienated from the downtown core. He cited affordability issues for those on fixed incomes, the proposed relocation of St. Paul’s Hospital and now this proposal.
“I think older adults are starting to feel they’re not particularly welcome in the West End. They’re not sure that city council sees a place for them in the downtown.”
Before speakers had their turn, Lon LaClaire, the acting director of transportation for the City of Vancouver, told councillors that well-designed plazas are “people magnets.” He pointed to places like Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square and London’s Trafalgar Square as examples of what the city is trying to achieve. Staff haven’t yet said precisely how the plaza would look, but it could integrate aspects of the redesign of the north plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Non-Partisan Association Coun. George Affleck questioned the need to reroute buses at all, saying many public squares around the world remain open to public transit. He said the staff report did not speak to costs and provided no data on the impact to transit riders and drivers, making it difficult for councillors to decide on the permanent future of the street.
“You’re asking us to decide on the closure of Robson Street and then you’re going to start consulting with the people that are potentially most impacted?” Affleck asked.
He and other councillors moved to send the report back to staff before a vote on the block’s future, but the attempt was defeated.
Charles Gauthier, the president and CEO of the Downtown Vancouver business Improvement Association, said feedback he had received during extensive consultations was positive.
“People said we need to have a plaza in the heart of the city where we can gather for festivals and events, and yes, even protests,” he said. “This is the next evolution. It’s a different time … we need to find a way to make this work.”
The 121,000-square-metre Robson Square complex is the largest public space in downtown Vancouver, aside from the seawall and Stanley Park. When architect Arthur Erickson designed the square in the 1970s, he planned for the entire area to be closed to traffic. Shortly after it opened, buses were allowed and then, a few years later, passenger and commercial vehicles were allowed on the street.