The David in this scenario is the produce wholesaler-distributors on Malkin Avenue; the Goliath is the Port of Vancouver, the City of Vancouver and railway companies.
The city is considering shifting arterial traffic away from Prior and Venables streets and onto Malkin or National avenues.
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The city’s plan to replace the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts is only part of the rationale for a new arterial route. In fact, Prior and Venables could be maintained as the main arterial route even after replacement of the viaducts.
“We could replace the viaducts and do nothing,” said Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs. “That wouldn’t please the Strathcona neighbourhood, but it wouldn’t assist or harm them.”
The bigger driver for a new arterial route is the need to improve rail traffic between the False Creek Flats railway yards and the port’s container terminal on Burrard Inlet.
There is currently a single railway line running to the port. Trains must cross several streets at grade, which slows train traffic down.
The city and port have agreed to improve the flow of rail traffic to the container terminals, which will require a new rail overpass to avoid arterial street traffic. The city says that will require shifting arterial traffic off of Prior and Venables.
“The key trigger for this project is when we build the rail overpass,” said Lon LaClaire, director of transportation for the City of Vancouver.
The proposed new St. Paul’s Hospital, which would be located in False Creek Flats on Station Street, is another driver that will require changing traffic patterns in the area.
The city has examined various options and has zeroed in on two preferred routes for a new arterial traffic route: Malkin Avenue and National Avenue.
The National Avenue option is less disruptive, but more expensive, largely because it would require more land assembly. The city estimates land acquisition for National Avenue to be $75 million to $100 million.
The total cost of the new overpass and changing Malkin Avenue into an arterial street is estimated at $80 million to $130 million.
The price tag for National Avenue is estimated at $150 million to $200 million. National Avenue is also longer and would add more travel time to many Vancouverites’ daily commutes.
The big problem with Malkin Avenue is that all of the major produce warehouses have to be accessed from the street. Some semi-trailers need to back in off Malkin Avenue to get into the loading docks.
FreshPoint alone has about 60 semi-trailers going in and out each week, and it is just one of six larger produce wholesalers. There are six smaller ones all concentrated in or near Malkin Avenue.
If Malkin is turned into an arterial, it would increase street traffic by an estimated 20,000 cars per day. That would make it virtually impossible for large semi-trailers to continue backing into Produce Row warehouses.
Meggs agrees that Produce Row is an important part of Vancouver’s economy and food network, and he is concerned about the effect the city’s plans will have on it.
“I certainly completely agree with the Produce Row owners that there has to be a priority in protecting the jobs and the contribution they make to the urban economy, especially our food system,” he said. “It’s not just of city significance – it’s got some provincial significance.”
But none of the options the city has considered is without drawbacks.
“No matter which way you look, there are job impacts,” Meggs said.
The city has made improving rail transportation to the port a priority, so one way or another, a new rail overpass has to be built.
“The overpass and the protection of that rail alignment are a critical part of the city’s efforts to support the port and the trade activities that go through the port because that’s still a vital rail link and we want it to remain so,” Meggs said.
LaClaire said the city has not yet decided which street would become the new arterial. Staff are hoping to get direction from city council sometime this fall.
Should the city decide that Malkin Avenue is the preferred option, LaClaire said, there may be ways to mitigate the effect on some Produce Row businesses. But he admits some of the businesses would not be able to continue to operate.
