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The Granville Street Bridge is almost synonymous with the City of Vancouver. Plastered on every postcard and the looming physical entity over the namesake island and public market it spans, it is a definitive icon of the city. Beyond being a city landmark, the bridge provides a critical link for those residing on both sides. On the southwest side, the bridge starts in the South Granville neighbourhood and ends in the Yaletown neighbourhood.
Spanning False Creek, the Granville Street Bridge provides an essential connection for the thousands of car, transit, bike and pedestrian commuters who use it on a daily basis. The current bridge—there were two iterations of it previously—was erected in 1954. Seeing as that was over 60 years ago, the City of Vancouver has determined a facelift is necessary to meet contemporary needs.
A big part of the bridge redesign reflects the commuter patterns that have evolved over the last half-century. In the latter part of the 20th century, commuting by automobile was still very prominent. But as we've entered the 21st century, the City of Vancouver has experienced a rise in both cyclist and pedestrian commuter numbers, facilitating the need for infrastructure that both encourages and protects those commuters.
The redesign features several components, the first of which is a reduction in the number of automobile lanes in both directions on the bridge. The Granville Street Bridge was originally built as a connector for the never-built downtown freeway and therefore spans eight lanes. Demand has never quite matched supply, so the current eight lanes will be shrunk to six. The extra space created by the reduction in traffic lanes will be converted to wider sidewalks with barriers and a two-way bike lane on the west side of the bridge, which will eventually connect with the existing 10th Avenue bike route. Additionally, traffic signals will be added at four off-ramps to enhance pedestrian safety.
$25 million has been allocated by the City to fund the first phase of the redesign, which is expected to wrap up in 2021. The City's capital plan for 2023 to 2026 would contain the remaining funds for future phases of the project.
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