The clasp hasn’t quite shut, but the Green Necklace is almost complete.
City of North Vancouver council voted 4-3 to spend $1.95 million on the West 21st Street portion of the cycling/hiking/strolling/rolling trail.
The leg runs east to west along West 21st Street between Jones Avenue and the Harry Jerome recreation centre, eventually joining Grand Boulevard.
The project is something of a “Gordian knot,” according to Coun. Don Bell.
“There’s too many issues that are not addressed,” he said, citing Carson Graham traffic jams and a cul-de-sac proposed for Jones Avenue that needs to be “fleshed out.”
However, the majority of council authorized staff to refine the project, working with residents on issues such as street trees before putting shovels in the ground
this summer.
A host of West 21st Street residents favoured moving a portion of the trail to West 20th Street.
A staff report identified West 21st Street as “the existing demand line.”
If staff put a cul-de-sac on Jones Avenue, the residents of West 21st Street will see their block transform, according to Mayor Darrell Mussatto.
“You can have kids playing street hockey again, you can do those kinds of things again that I think streets should be used for in low-volume areas,” he said. “It will help us change our automobile-oriented culture to something more sustainable.”
Coun. Rod Clark remained unconvinced, questioning staff’s reasoning for running the “much ballyhooed” Green Necklace through West 21st Street as opposed to West 20th Street, which is about four metres wider.
The difference in space is not critical, according to project delivery section manager Lisa Parker.
“Both 20th and 21st have the room for a trail like this, so it’s not really a matter of not having enough space,” she said. “If we went down through (West) 20th you would … be close but not quite to Carson Graham.”
Clark also blasted council for voting to approve funding before finding common ground with the neighbourhood.
“Is council loading the gun and saying, ‘We’re going to do this and we’ll talk to you afterwards?’” he asked, describing the trail as “the black necklace.”
Focusing on the colour of the path is “missing the point,” countered Coun. Linda Buchanan.
The trail connects residents to parks throughout the city while encouraging people to walk or cycle, she said.
“I think the Green Necklace is a good name for what it does.”
Buchanan championed running the path along West 21st Street, which she called: “the path of least resistance.”
Approximately 45 per cent of Carson Graham students walk or bike to school, while 30 per cent drive or are driven, according to city statistics.
As the parent of Carson Graham students, Buchanan said she’s seen parking problems up close.
“On occasion, I do drive them and it’s a nightmare.”
Coun. Pam Bookham disagreed, suggesting council was putting too much emphasis on incorporating Carson Graham.
West 20th Street is likely a “better long-term transportation corridor,” Bookham said.
With the cost of the penultimate Green Necklace segment estimated to be approximately $2,875 per metre, Bookham suggested pushing the project off for a year or two.
“I think we’re rushing this,” she said, suggesting taking a slower approach on Grand Boulevard might have yielded a more thoughtful design.
The project won support from Laura Brousseau, director of Housing for Young Adults with Disabilities located on Chesterfield Avenue. The trail will benefit the 14 residents of HYAD.
“It will give them the accessibility and encouragement they need to continue to participate in their community and to explore areas that they may not have felt safe travelling to before,” she wrote in a letter to council.
The impasse between city staff and the residents of West 21st Street can be resolved, according to Coun. Holly Back, who said the neighbours weren’t “over the moon upset.”
Most residents just want a compromise on dealing with trees, street lighting, and Carson Graham traffic, according to Back.
“I truly believe and really hope that you guys will be as happy as the people on Grand Boulevard at the end of the day,” she said, addressing the West 21st residents who attended the meeting.
Coun. Craig Keating concurred, noting many residents who were opposed to the Green Necklace later reversed their positions.
The final segment of the Green Necklace is slated to connect East 23rd Street with Grand Boulevard. Construction on the $2.8-million portion of the trail is pencilled in for 2018.
