March 21, 2016

Ohrn Image — Granville St. Underpass

Located at the south end of Granville St. bridge, this underpass gets people on foot safely and quickly from east to west of Granville St.
Granville.Underpass
 

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  1. This tunnel was only required because of the freeway loops at both ends of the bridge. The easterly loop at 5th Avenue was removed and the road straightened out (“normalized”) when the Pacific Press site was redeveloped in the 1990s. It has also been COV policy to do the same with both loops at the north end. Maybe a similar commitment to reconfigure the one at the west side of 5th Avenue can finally mean this underpass will no longer be required and we will finally lose the last vestiges of freeway infrastructure in Vancouver. Assuming the viaducts will go soon, of course, and their new at-grade replacement won’t also be a “traffic sewer”, to quote Brent Toderian.

    1. The pedestrian tunnel is widely used (and required) to pass under Granville Hwy 99 (a road which ends at Calexico at the Mexican border). Pedestrians use it to walk east-west through parkland, instead of going underneath Granville near heavy traffic 4th Ave., (also a truck route) or walking uphill to many minutes to cross (at grade) at 6th Ave. People zipping between bus connections on either side of Granville @ 5th use it.
      That east-west walkway (which is also devoid of bike traffic), crosses 4th at Hemlock (then north to an overpass over the railway) which steps down to Fountain Way and all the Walks along DFalse Creek. It will soon link to the new 2.8 acre park in the block between Pine & Fir.
      The tunnel is staying.

    1. I have taken this tunnel for years. This is the first time there has been no graffiti. They must have painted just before the photo was taken.
      The city has some wonderful “illegal” graffiti. I wish they would leave these murals and just remove the tags. A blank concrete wall shouts “paint me”.
      There are programs for “approved” street art. However, I would love the city to have a vote to keep app. Snap a photo and vote to remove or vote to keep.
      There was a beautiful orca on the tunnel wall in 2011. When it was painted over, a few people wrote “lost whale” and “I miss the whale”.
      Spontaneity + art + tech + democracy to deal with public concrete surfaces.
      Just a suggestion.

  2. “The tunnel is staying”, someone says. Well, that might be the only thing that does. Personally it creeps me out and I’d rather cross at street level any day, as long as it’s safe enough. With the proposed Granville Bridge Greenway and (hopefully) related loop redesigns, this will become a reality.

    1. “Creeps me”? Urbanism designed around someone’s rare fear phobia? Huh. Alleys probably sppok you too. You know, people also used to be fearful of forests in the middle ages, which lead to all sort of fable & fairy tale. But then, they evolved.

    1. i.e. this is what you’d get if you want SkyTrain entrances on all four corners of an intersection – scary or not?

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