Nearly a year ago, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority granted a project permit to allow for the expansion of the pier near CRAB Park.

That's led a COPE park commissioner to bring forward a motion calling for an expansion of the Downtown Eastside park and other community benefits.

At the park board meeting on Monday (April 1), John Irwin will ask fellow commissioners to approve sending a letter to the port authority asking for three things:

* extend the leased area for the park by 1.6 hectares to the west to include the nearby parking area;

* dedicate "offsetting funds" from the expansion of Centerm to improving the park with "greenspace enhancements and construction of an arts and cultural centre";

* provide "offsetting funds for funding a new accessible pedestrian overpass" from Columbia Street to the park.

CRAB is an acronym for "Create a Real Beach", which was the name chosen by Vancouver activist Don Larson in the 1980s when he campaigned for a Downtown Eastside waterfront park.

Dubai-based Dubai Ports World Vancouver obtained a project permit in April 2018 from the port authority to expand Centerm terminal 4.2 hectares to the west and four hectares to the east.

This will increase the terminal's capacity from 900,000 containers to 1.5 million containers annually. Construction is expected to begin this summer.

The project will involve dredging approximately 390,000 square metres of sediments at the eastern and western ends of the terminal and another 3,300 square metres between Centerm and the SeaBus terminal.

That will be accompanied by the construction of new rock dykes and infilling areas behind the dykes.

In addition, the terminal and terminal container yard will be reconfigured to establish new storage facilities.

There will also be new terminal fences and vehicle gates, demolition of the existing DP World office building, construction of an overpass to the terminal entrance, and removal of the Heatley Avenue overpass and the Southern Railway rail crossing at Centennial Road.