Viaduct tear down a concern for the DVBIA
Posted June 28, 2013 2:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The push to tear down the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts does have some opposition.
Charles Gauthier with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association points to a survey conducted last year that found congestion was one of the main irritants that kept shoppers out of the downtown core, and he worries losing the viaducts will only make that worse. “They will think twice about coming downtown if congestion is going to add to their travel time. We have to do everything possible to eliminate congestion or manage it.”
“If this proposal worsens gridlock than I think council has to give it a thumbs down. If it’s neutral or makes traffic less congested, than I think they can give it a thumbs up and we’ll move closer to the side of saying we’re in support of this,” he explains.
However, SFU planning expert Gordon Price thinks the difference will be negligible, while one Surrey city councillor feels it will help drive business south of the Fraser.
The City of Vancouver is spending two years and just over $2 million studying what to do with the structures.
