The City has just repaved the road lanes in the 800-block Robson, using asphalt to raise the roadbed to sidewalk level, creating a constant surface for this now car-free plaza.
And yet, pedestrians largely stick to the sidewalks. That’s the way we’ve been trained since childhood: see asphalt, stay off. It’s only for cars.
That will likely change when the asphalt is painted another colour, street furniture is replaced, performances and demonstrations occur, and more people use the space. But even if we’re not quite conscious of it, something will feel not quite right until the surface design of the plaza is reconfigured from the standard road-and-sidewalk layout.
I run a group on flickr for pictures of streets where cars have been banned. There were so few in Vancouver, I felt the need for pictures of places that have made this strategy work.
That is a fascinating link, Stephen. Are some of those excellent photos available for copying / linking with attribution? Thanks.
I don’t think it is accurate to call it a pedestrian only plaza. It is a motor vehicle (or car) free plaza.
In addition to walking, cycling (at pedestrian speeds) is permitted. The two adjoining blocks of Robson have had cycling infrastructure added, making bike permeability even more important for this space.
Great cyclists and pedestrians on an unmarked surface. How long till something like this happens:
A cyclist who knocked down a pedestrian on a busy London street, later blamed his victim saying people have “zero respect” for those riding bikes, a court has heard.
Charlie Alliston, who was aged 18 at the time of the accident, was said to be going nearly 20 mph, when he ploughed into mother-of-two, Kim Briggs, 44, as she crossed the road during her lunch hour February 12 last year…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/14/cyclist-killed-pedestrian-high-speed-crash-said-people-had-zero/
Your rationale for posting about an obscure incident on the other side of the world is not clear.
The proposal isn’t for a separated bike lane through the plaza, or a road (as described in Bob’s link). It is for a mixed use plaza. Instead of signs with speed limits (which are difficult to enforce with bicycles as they are not required to have speedometers) the suggestion is to use signs such as “Walking Speed” or words to that effect.
I think the plaza will look a lot better when the interim paving is painted, as it will look less like a road.
pedestrians largely stick to the sidewalks.
yes absolutely.
That’s the way we’ve been trained since childhood: see asphalt, stay off. It’s only for cars.
That is an original theory (why it doesn’t work on Arbutus where your colleague Ken, among other, is worshiping blacktop?): other people have noticed the same before (people sticking to the edge of an open space) and ,noticed also that asphalt seems to have negligible impact on it…so it must be another reason… and some people have came to explain this behavior by relying on anthropology bringing us “defensible space” (Newman) or “prospect-refuge” (appleton) theories and that is also the reason why the “eye on the street” (Jacobs) theory works….
When you add the fact that the said “square” is accessible only of its sidewalk (with dominant E-W travel direction making “desire line” keeping on the sidewalk), there is absolutely no surprise to the above.
Sprinkle cyclists, which will find natural to ride in the middle, and then whatever you will do like spelling “this is not a street”, people will read the place as a street because it is its natural function (as part of Robson) and not a square (when Viva, installed its stuff, it fuelled many conflict between pedestrians and cyclists).
as noticed by Jeff, speed sign will not work for cyclists… but any other sign neither…europeans have found only active measure can slowdown cyclists: cobblestone pavement becomes then a prime choice for such location…
…and of the above observation, Europeans also know that transit could have not only coexist into the mix…but also activated the space by bringing more people here
Well, there is simply nowhere else to cycle in the area. There should be an attractive cycling alternative close by so that when the plaza is busy people can take that. There is nothing like that here. You have to go two blocks north or three blocks south to find a street that’s okay to cycle on. Much too far.
And why wasn’t there a protected cycle lane included in the design of the north end of the art gallery along Georgia? It would only have been a block long but would have been useful and could have easily been added. A missed opportunity there.
the nort hend plaza is not on the cyclists desire path, so it could n’t help, and just have detracted the design of this plaza.
what is indeed needed is recognizing the cyclists will bisect the “robson square” so the design should recognize the cycling desire to mitigate that as much as possible
(activey control the speed and trajectory of cyclists thru the square)
sent the previous comment too soon:
the north end plaza is not on the cyclists desire path, so it could n’t help, and just have detracted the design of this plaza.
what is indeed needed is recognizing the cyclists will bisect the “robson square” so the design should recognize the cyclists desire lines and mitigate it as much as possible
(actively control the speed and trajectory of cyclists thru the square)
I disagree that the north end would not be useful. It would go straight to the Canada Line station from Hornby.
I agree that some sort of delineation on 800 Robson would be good. If there was a coloured stripe down the centre with bike symbols on it, it would help people when walking, know to expect bikes there. If you don’t, then some of them might get the mistaken impression that bikes are not allowed there and get bent out of shape.
Ultimately, it’s a good safety precaution not to wander willy nilly onto paved areas – whether for cars or for bikes.
Personally, in my view, the City has had so much time to plan the proper resurfacing of the roadway that the paving should have been unnecessary.
It should have ordered pavers to match the adjacent Robson Square paving and simply installed them instead of the make work project that it has now created:
– putting down a temporary surface,
– then removing the temporary surface,
– then laying the permanent surface.
This story on the new plaza is from December 2016:
http://urbanyvr.com/new-robson-street-plaza
Wow … a WHOLE block of pedestrian zone .. why not all the way from stadium to Stanley Park as a green / shopping street ? Like Arbutus Greenway, it would be a tremendous hit for shoppers, walkers, outdoor cafe enthusiasts, retail therapists and landlords / property owners !
A connecting subway below to Stanley Park (eventually to W Van and E-Van with continuation to N Van via Second Narrows) would be beneficial too and then a removal of 50-90% of cars downtown Vancouver in short order ! That would be a “Vision” Vancouver I could support !
Baby steps .. baby steps I guess .. one block for pedestrians per decade ? Maybe by 2145 we have the whole Robson Street ped friendly ??
An elevated skytrain along a |Robson mall & over the Lions gate bridge would be a good start
Maybe in one of the parallel and usually ugly backalleys with entrances from the pretty side. Or this here, lighter, faster, green & QUIET: http://www.skytran.com
I guess Bob Tanner suggestion was tongue in cheek…
For Robosn, no need to resort on new intrusive infrastructure…
the below could be perfectly adapted to Robson street/square
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QdRscCUClqM/maxresdefault.jpg
and it is in service/test as of today in Sion Switzerland, Lyon France, Paris…and much more cities…
Somehow just bikes& buses won’t cut it folks …
That’s a cool idea. A walking and cycling strip from Stanley Park right through the centre of downtown.
If they did one block per year, at some point businesses would demand that the progress be accelerated.
I’d say just do it as business volume would swell. It would be a major regional tourist destination. Restaurants, buskers and retail stores all would sell more.
Canada Line or Skytrain stop nearby and parades plentiful downtown within 3 blocks.
Up next: Denman.
I see a photo of people passing through an unactivated, urban dead space, neither truly a park nor a square, on their way to their real destination – the successful, highly activated, fine-grained edged, mixed-car/walking Robson High Street.