I took this shot a few hours ago from the upper deck of Science World:
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It lines up exactly with Georgia Street – as architect Bruno Freschi intended when he designed the Expo Preview Centre, with the Lost Lagoon Fountain as the western end of this visual axis.
Once the viaduct is demolished and a ramp dropping down to the creek provides straight-ahead continuity, this exercise in City Beautiful urban design should make a lot more sense. Not a big deal – but a nice touch.
Well, the difference between the previously proposed “Georgia Steps” and the newly proposed “Georgia Ramp” is that you’ll be able to drive farther along that axis.
The previous plans would have been for pedestrians only whereas the new plans occupy some of the space with a 4 lane roadway.
There may be more opportunities for the roadway to become a “fan zone” (closed to traffic like Beatty Street before and after games) since a road is paved – but the slope of the road may prevent that. If you look at the Georgia Steps schemes in the link below, 2 of them have elevators.
One interesting point I read in a Vancouver Sun article today – Concord is planning a Granville Island-like market area at the wharf. Hopefully the building at the foot of the ramp will step back to preserve the full width of that sightline.
One question is whether the foot of the new ramp and access to the wharf and market areas can be pedestrian friendly with all the traffic expected.
You can see renderings of the new scheme and the old schemes here:
New Scheme:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=7191243&postcount=4248
Old Scheme:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=7192723&postcount=4268
The manner in which the boosters of the demolition have presented their case does focus on the incremental differences between old and new schemes – they just focus on the outcome of the new scheme – which in some case (such as the extension to Creekside Park , the wharf and the Georgia Steps, would have happened anyways – but with an incremental difference.
So I suspect that they’re playing on people’s lack of knowledge to generate support (with the implicit suggestion that all these elements are “new”).
Correction – all 3 have an elevator.
and another correction…
“…doesn’t focus on the incremental differences…”
Where is the subway, LRT or elevated magnetic levitation pods from downtown through E-Van to Burnaby, then onto N-Van if these viaducts are taken down ? We have to provide RAPID alternatives to cars, not just slow wobbly buses !
One option here: http://www.tramwaypods.ca .. now in prototype mode, but soon available as a very cost effective, green and FAST alternative to very costly to build subways, LRTs or SKyTrain .. at 1/20th to 1/50th the build cost, yet quiet, faster, greener !
WOW !
Thomas you should google Skytran, very interesting.