Another piece in the puzzle could soon be in place to allow for development of the Broadway subway.

On Wednesday (May 16), Vancouver city council's policy and priorities committee is scheduled to vote on a key staff recommendation.

It calls for a "primarily tunnelled SkyTrain extension" from VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus Street.

Staff has also recommended that council "authorize the granting of access to City streets and certain City properties to the owner of the Millennium Line Broadway Extension or its delegate". 

In addition, council is being asked to approve amendments in principle to the noise control bylaw. This would permit the chief licence inspector to provide exceptions for the builder of the line.

This is "provided that an acceptable noise mitigation strategy is in place".

A report going to council's policy and strategic priorities committee states that rapid transit along the Broadway corridor has been "prioritized in City and regional plans for over twenty years".

"Following the announcements last month unlocking an estimated $7 billion of regional, provincial and federal funding, TransLink is now developing the Investment Plan required to implement this next phase of the Vision," the staff report states.

Last month, the B.C. and federal governments reached an agreement that will result in $4.1 billion in federal funding coming to the province in the next decade for infrastructure projects.

TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond reacted by saying this "further secures the resources" needed for a Broadway SkyTrain extension, as well as light rail in Surrey and an additional 420,000 addiction bus-service hours per year.

A TransLink report in late April pegged the cost of the Millennium Line Broadway Extension at $2.83 billion.

It noted that this "may be refined through additional technical analysis, public input and design modifications".

The Millennium Line Broadway Extension will have six stations.

In mid-March, the chair of the TransLink Mayors' Council, Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan, announced that a deal had been reached with the province to ensure that the Broadway SkyTrain extension would proceed, as well as two light-rail lines in Surrey.

"This is a huge win for transit users, drivers, cyclists, and for pedestrians," Corrigan said at the time. "In fact, this is the largest transit funding announcement in B.C. history and one of the largest ever across this nation."