B.C. government announces locations of six stations on Millennium Line SkyTrain extension
There's been a great deal of speculation over the past few years about where the so-called Broadway subway stations would be placed.
Today, the B.C. government provided more details.
Here are the locations, according to a news release issued this morning, along with the government's stated justifications:
- Great Northern Way—on the east side of Thornton Street, just north of Great Northern Way. This station creates better access to Emily Carr University of Art and Design’s Great Northern Way Campus and the emerging creative economy hub in the False Creek Flats.
- Mount Pleasant—at the southwest corner of Broadway and Main Street, for connectivity to the growing business and residential community in Mount Pleasant.
- Broadway–City Hall—will use the existing entrance to the Canada Line at the southeast corner of Broadway and Cambie Street to ensure a convenient underground connection between the Millennium and Canada lines.
- Fairview–VGH—on the southwest corner of Broadway and Laurel Street, near Oak Street. This location will provide better access to Vancouver General Hospital and the rest of the medical district.
- South Granville—on the northeast corner of Broadway and Granville Street near the South Granville, Burrard Slopes and Granville Island neighbourhoods.
- Arbutus—at the northeast corner of Broadway and Arbutus Street. This station and bus loop will connect passengers destined for the University of British Columbia (UBC), with B-Line bus service between Arbutus and UBC. It will connect with the Arbutus Greenway.
Some of these sites were already expected by those paying close attention to this issue.
The Straight's homeless blogger, Stanley Q. Woodvine, for example, unearthed the architectural plans for a station on the northeast corner of Broadway and Granville Street when he was Dumpster-diving in the neighbouhood.
There had been a great deal of uncertainty about the western terminus. It's not going to be at the Shell gas station or the Fletcher's Fabricare at the corner of Arbutus Street and West Broadway. Rather, it's going to be on the site of a former Rogers video store.
Those who insisted that there would too many issues with toxic soil at the Fletcher's and Shell sites are now in a position to say "I told you so."
The Fairview-VGH station is a bit of surprise, going into the location where there's currently a Mystic Eye psychic shop and an Avis car rental. Some predicted that the station was going to be a block west along Broadway at the corner of Oak Street, possibly in a former Scotiabank building.
The Mount Pleasant location won't come as a surprise to people familiar with the area. There's a Tim Hortons at this site, which is across the street from the Lee Building.
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