Guest asks:
Any idea what’s up on Richards Street where a concrete staircase from the office tower has been built that narrows the sidewalk to a couple of feet?
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From mcminsen on Skyscraper Pages:
The mystery steps situation get curiouser and curiouser. I take back what I said about the potted plants being temporarily stored on the sidewalk. They have become the sidewalk. They are planted now in a lovely arrangement that takes up the full width of the sidewalk. Also, the door now has an address… 510 West Georgia.
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UPDATE: From ANM604
The stairs are a temporary measure to allow the base building to get an occupancy permit, which in turn allows Tenant Improvement projects to apply for their occupancy permit. Due to the complexity of the lobby, this will be the building “entrance” until the lobby is complete. These stairs are not permanent and will be removed once the actual lobby is complete.
Looks like a new entrance for 510 W. Georgia Street…
Seriously though, I wonder if removing the sidewalk for a garden is allowed.
I don’t see a 1.8 meter sidewalk clearance which should be a minimal requirement at this location. Certainly the City should be contacted to take immediate remedial action.
Well, they’re not done yet with the construction but what we’ve seen so far is baffling and I think is cause for concern.
One of the things I look forward to when a big construction project is finally finished is the return of the sidewalks, hopefully wider and in new condition. I have walked that stretch of Richards Street thousands of times over the years because it’s my usual route to the Skytrain from my apartment nearby.
We’ve been speculating and hoping that the steps are kind of long term temporary as a way for new tenants to come and go while the main entrance to the new Telus office tower and plaza on Georgia is finished. But when that little garden went in where the sidewalk used to be that seemed to suggest that normal pedestrian traffic will not be going through there anytime soon. Perhaps the idea is to divert people to the walk-through mid block on Georgia where the alley used to be.
If they think that a little garden will stop people, it ain’t gonna happen. I’m imagining some confused tourist who has just arrived on the Canada Line with their rolling suitcase and they’re trying to get to the Kingston Hotel in the middle of that block of Richards. Good chance they’ll step out onto the road, which will be a safety issue.
@ Sandy James
Thanks for that info re: the 1.8m clearance. I finally had a chance to get to the mystery steps today and I measured the sidewalk (under the very watchful eye of the lobby security, lol). It is precisely 1.8m. I’m still wondering about the little garden that blocks pedestrian traffic to the south. Maybe it will be ripped out in a few months?
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=6897520&postcount=1710
The stairs are a temporary measure to allow the base building to get an occupancy permit, which in turn allows Tenant Improvement projects to apply for their occupancy permit. Due to the complexity of the lobby, this will be the building “entrance” until the lobby is complete. These stairs are not permanent and will be removed once the actual lobby is complete.
The little garden is a shot in the eye for the Kingston Hotel which has endured despite years of construction – the garden should be removed and a temporary sidewalk reinstated to the Kingston as soon as possible.
Hasn’t anyone else seen the Kingston signs that direct patrons to jaywalk mid-block to access their business?
Safety is more important than the aesthetics of a temporary garden.
Well, whuddya know… what I saw today was that the little garden has been modified and a new sidewalk is going in. We should be able to walk on a real sidewalk to the Kingston Hotel very soon.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=6904989&postcount=1745