A transit corridor: people are not just passing through

By Ron Rapp
August 15, 2022

On June 21, 2022, Vancouver City Council voted in favour of the new Broadway Plan that lays out the nature and direction of development and redevelopment along the Broadway rapid transit line currently under construction. This plan has been in the making for more than four years and will establish a baseline for growth in this area over the next 30 years, bringing in as many as 50,000 new residents.

This plan was controversial, hotly debated, and involved many hours over several days of public hearings to listen to arguments from proponents and opponents. It was also subject to more than 40 amendments introduced by members of council and the mayor. It did pass, and that was absolutely the right thing to do.

Residential density essential

Whether the Broadway line, or the proposed rapid transit links extending south of the Fraser River and into Langley, it is essential that the land adjacent to these transit corridors are allowed to have a significant increase in residential density and retail and commercial use because without this support, the transit lines cannot be financially sustained.
The costs associated with the provision and construction of these transit lines is staggering, requiring financial contributions from federal, provincial, and municipal sources. As well, for it to be paid for and operated successfully, it requires a high volume of regular users. The low populations and density that are often adjacent to these new (and older) transit lines simply cannot provide the required level of support.

The higher densities contemplated will be a springboard for development, but they will also provide much needed housing and an increase in supply to slow the movement to the fringes of our urban areas that encourage sprawl, eat up valuable agricultural lands, and promote a car-reliant and commuting culture. The volume and variety of housing choices planned around transit lines will provide affordable housing options for service workers, the “missing middle” cohort, and offer consideration to renters with significant below-market components.

Time for a change

For too long, we have avoided and postponed efforts to create an accessible, efficient and integrated transit system, and have followed land use and zoning policies that are “exclusionary” in nature, and prioritized lower density housing forms in demand areas. This supply and demand imbalance is at the core of what is driving the housing and affordability crisis we are facing today.

By placing lower density options first, the viability of expanding transit and other civic infrastructure and services becomes questionable and very expensive. In the Lower Mainland, surrounded by a border, the sea and mountains, highly valuable land resources become even more expensive, driving the spiral of rising costs we have witnessed, and setting the stage for conflict between existing residents and proponents of higher densities.

In every major urban centre across the globe where mass transit lines have been established, there has been the building of higher density and mixed-use developments that grow and thrive in a symbiotic fashion with the residents, becoming successful, vibrant, and sustainable communities that complement the existing lower density neighbourhoods adjacent. Change is the only constant, and in this instance, these changes are well precedented, will address urgent needs, and will build sustainable communities to the benefit of all.

About Ron Rapp

Ron Rapp is the interim CEO of the Homebuilder Association of Vancouver (HAVAN)

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