City as Workout: The Oakridge Proposal

Our culture has spent most of the last century designing physical activity out of the built environment: no need to use your legs to travel, or even to climb stairs.  In an age of cheap energy, free parking, elevators and escalators – well, no wonder sweating is considered unnecessary, if not in bad taste.  We’ve even partitioned off exercise as something done exclusively in a purpose-built environment – the gym – that you drive to in order to use an exercycle.

Result: Fat people – especially kids.

Consequence for the future: Health-care armageddon.

Solution: Design in opportunity for physical activity as part of the public realm and day-to-day transportation.

Example: The proposal for the rebuilding of the Oakridge Shopping Centre.

The rezoning for the redevelopment of this city’s oldest shopping centre has had a fair amount of coverage – and no wonder.  It’s a dramatic proposal.

Current:

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Proposed:.

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But the most interesting part, to my eyes, is not the rebuilding (and doubling) of the mall, nor the 13 towers that accompany it, but the space on top and in between.

They call it “The Commons”:

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The Commons consists of nine elements – passve and active, private and public – but the key one is the “Central Active Area”:

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To read the details more clearly, go here.  But the name says it all.  From Tai Chi Plaza to Juice Bar to Children’s Play Area to Cloud Walk, it’s meant to attract a diversity of users – especially to the “Rec Room”:

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The Commons is just one element of the rezoning proposal.  Richard Campbell took a closer look at the cycling impacts:

The proposed redevelopment plans for Oakridge include many excellent measures for cycling including:

– Separated bike path on the new street

– No on-street parking on the new street

– A ped/bike high street

– Automated bicycle parking

– A residential bike valet (could be great it they allowed shoppers to use this too)

– In-suite bicycle parking

– On-site bike share for residents with a variety of bikes (kids, mountain, road, trailers)

I’m not sure I could even think up anymore good bikey ideas. All that is really needed is separated bike lanes along Cambie, 41st and 45th and that is the city’s call.

The rest of the development is rather interesting as well. It is the first proposed development in the region to escape from the automobile oriented “new” urbanism that has been practiced around North America for the last 20 years to a more European like design that really focuses on pedestrians, cyclists and transit. This is witnessed by the ped/bike car free high street, the elimination of on-street parking on the new road and no internal surface automobile access. Cars will be at the edge and underground.

Hopefully we will see many more such developments and many of these measures will become standard on such developments.

Parking, though, could use some work:

The residential seems to be in the right direction: 1,300 spaces for 2,800 units and 4,800 residents – less than .5 per unit. 100 car share spaces.

Over 3,000 residential bike spaces.

The retail is 5,200 which seems rather high although this is a large mall in the middle of the car-centric part of the city. Give experience other places in the city near rapid transit, it would not surprise me if these spaces will be rather empty if all 5,200 are built.

This could be the city’s parking standards that are the issue. Could also be the retailers that are used to the car-centric model.

There are only a couple of hundred bike parking spaces for the retail and I think most are for employees. The city really needs to update their retail parking standards. The developer may have also miscalculated the requirements. I suspect the High Street will require more bike racks.

UPDATE: City of Vancouver Open House

The City of Vancouver’s Planning Department would like to invite you to join us at any of our first open houses to learn more about the Oakridge redevelopment proposal and how you can stay involved in the process. City staff and representatives from the owner and the developer will be at the open houses to answer questions and hear your comments.

Oakridge Centre Auditorium 
650 West 41st Avenue (41st and Cambie)

–       Thursday, November 15, 5-8 pm

–       Saturday, November 17, 10 am – 4 pm

UPDATE: From Richard Campbell –

Here is the feedback form for the development

More info here.

The biggest issue is the lack of bike parking for the retail. Only one rack (6 spaces) is know proposed plus 200 or so secure spaces I think are intended for employees. It would be great if shoppers could use the valet and the automatic parking. The main problem here is the city’s bike parking standards for retail that are embarrassingly low.