Beyond Downtown

On Public Transit
N eighbour hoods , Par ks ,
P lan n ing and Tr ans por t at ion

liv e
abl ur
e cit fut
y • sustainable
What You’ll See

This tour of Vancouver on public transit outside the

downtown core takes you around several Vancouver
residential neighbourhoods. You’ll see some of the
results of the City’s community and transportation
planning, as well as a transit-oriented development and
several City parks. The main section of the tour,
between the Arbutus Neighbourhood and Collingwood
Village, takes about 3.5 hours, including travel time
and strolling. This brochure also describes some side
trips you can take in addition to the main tour.
Taking the Streetcar to Growth
Getting Started Vancouver’s population ballooned from about 5,000 in 1887
The tour starts at the Arbutus Neighbourhood. From downtown, to 100,000 in 1900. The streetcar routes, nearly invisible today,
take bus #16 Arbutus and get off at Broadway and Arbutus. played a vital role in how the city grew. Streetcar expansion
You can also start the tour at any one of the sites throughout and residential development often went hand in hand. As rail
the tour. Just follow the transit directions from where you start. lines pushed into the forest, they allowed average citizens
to buy lots at affordable prices beyond downtown and still
commute to work. Along with local routes, North America’s
See centrefold for map.
earliest Interurban line opened in 1891, connecting downtown
Vancouver and New Westminster. The Interurban opened vast
tracts of land for agricultural and residential development.

The first transit portion of the tour takes you along the old
Broadway streetcar route and part of the old Interurban route
to Collingwood Village. Electric trolley buses began replacing
the streetcar system in 1948. Today, Vancouver is one of seven
cities in North America still operating quiet, pollution-free
trolleys. The regional transit authority, TransLink, has committed
to fully replacing the aging trolley fleet with zero-emission,
low-floor trolleys by 2007.
 Site 1: Arbutus Neighbourhood
• From Broadway, walk two blocks south along Arbutus Street
to the W. 11th Avenue greenway and park, a focal point
for the community. This 10-hectare (25-acre) site originally
contained a brewery and factories. Today, it is a medium-
Planning on Display
density, low- to mid-rise residential precinct that will eventually
This tour will show you how planning has helped shaped house 2,100 residents. About 145 non-market housing units
Vancouver’s residential communities. The City’s planning (10 per cent of the total units on the site) are fully integrated
programs include area planning and Community Vision with market housing. City-required amenities provided by the
implementation. In 1995, CityPlan was adopted as a broad developer include a seniors’ housing project, the retention of a
learning institution, and one hectare (2.2 acres) of park.
vision for Vancouver. Community Visions bring CityPlan policies
to life at the neighbourhood level. You will see examples of the Wayfinding: Walk back north along Arbutus Street and
City’s general policy directions for communities, such as turn right at W. 6th Avenue. Walk one block and turn left
strengthening neighbourhood centres, reducing reliance on the at Maple Street.
car, increasing housing variety and affordability, and involving
residents in planning their communities.
• The community gardens next to the railway tracks along
W. 6th Avenue are a few of many throughout the City that
CityPlan: Directions for Vancouver (1995) showcase gardening’s recreational and community building
value. Community gardening brings people together for a
• Create and strengthen • Increase the variety and
neighbourhood centres affordability of housing common purpose, raises environmental awareness and
teaches people valuable skills. Local residents volunteer to
• Improve safety and better • Define neighbourhood character plant and tend these gardens.
target community services
• Diversify parks and public
• The Vancouver Compost Demonstration Garden at 2150
• Reduce reliance on the car by places
Maple Street showcases a variety of “green technologies”
locating jobs, shops, and
• Involve people and redirect that city dwellers can use for food, waste and water
services near housing
resources conservation. This public garden includes a large organic
food and flower garden, a composting system, a waterwise
garden, rain barrels, a compost toilet, and sustainable
buildings including a cob shed. Funded by the City, the
garden embodies Vancouver’s support for environmental
conservation. Staff are in the garden Monday to Saturday
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but you can enter the side gate and
tour the site anytime. www.cityfarmer.org
 Side trip:

In transit: At Broadway and Arbutus Street, take the #9 or #17

bus west along Broadway to Macdonald Street and transfer to the
#99 B-Line westbound to UBC.

University of British Columbia Note:

• The lane east of Maple Street, between W. 5th and 6th
(UBC) (#99 bus stop: UBC)
Avenues on the City Farmer property, is one of the City’s #99 B-Line: a popular route that
earliest examples of sustainable “country lanes.” Two narrow Founded by the provincial cuts cross-town travel time
bands of hard surface are surrounded by a structural compo- government in 1908, UBC
The #99 B-Line express bus
nent that can support vehicles as well as accommodate topsoil consistently ranks among the
service travels along Broadway
planted with grass. Country lanes absorb rainwater thereby top 50 universities in the
between UBC and the Commercial
world. A research-intensive
helping to reduce surface runoff and associated discharges Drive SkyTrain station. Launched
university, UBC has more
into the City storm/sewer system. They are an innovative in 1996, this limited-stop service
than 50,000 undergraduate,
alternative to asphalt lane paving. has become heavily used, with
graduate and international
ridership increasing from 10,000
students and has an economic
passengers daily in 1996 to over
In transit: At Broadway and Arbutus Street, take the #9 impact of $4 billion on the
30,000 passengers daily today.
or #17 bus east to Granville Street and transfer to the local economy.
Many of them are students
#99 B-Line eastbound. Get off at Cambie Street.
UBC is evolving from a travelling to UBC. A universal
traditional “commuter campus” transportation pass program
• As you ride along W. Broadway, take note of the housing into a more self-contained called U-Pass encourages
above the shops in these commercial districts. Designed to “University Town.” The university students to take
be compatible with the commercial uses, the dwelling units university is engaging the public transit. Students pay a
campus community in a mandatory fee with their tuition
contribute to the city’s sustainability by being close to shops
planning and visioning process in exchange for unlimited transit
and services.
to help create a sustainable services in the Greater Vancouver
new mixed-use community. Regional District.
This, in turn, supports and www.translink.bc.ca
strengthens the university’s
Trips on buses, rapid transit,
academic mission.
SeaBus and the West Coast
Attractions at UBC include the Express account for approximately
Museum of Anthropology, the 20 per cent of all trips within the
Chan Centre for the Performing City of Vancouver.
Arts, and the Japanese Nitobe
Memorial Garden. Spectacular
views of the Gulf Islands can
be seen from the Rose Gardens
at the intersection of Main Mall
and Chancellor Boulevard.
www.ubc.ca
 • The tree-lined streets south Side trip: City Square is located
of Broadway contain many on the northwest corner of
examples of infill housing, W. 12th Avenue and Cambie.
This development exemplifies
in which smaller houses
urban design strategies including
are built behind existing
heritage preservation, tree
houses to add residential
retention and architectural
density while respecting the character while adding density to
neighbourhood’s character the site. Two turn-of-the-century
(e.g. 2632 Alberta St., 174 school buildings are integrated
W. 11th Ave.). Appropriate with retail, office and educational
setbacks and use of the roof facilities. Pedestrian linkages
space over carports create throughout connect people to
opportunities for open space project components as well as
and sunlight. Many homes in to the surrounding community.
this area are on the City’s heritage register. The new
houses reference the older houses in their massing and
architectural form.
Site 2: Broadway and Cambie
(#99 bus stop: Cambie) • Vancouver’s public streets are lined with more than 124,000
boulevard trees that are cared for by Vancouver Park Board
• This intersection is the location of a future station for the
staff. Arborists at Vancouver’s own tree nursery grow and
Canada Line (rapid transit), to be completed by 2009. The
plant thousands of new trees each year to enhance and
Canada Line will reduce travel time between downtown
diversify the urban forest. In this Mount Pleasant community,
and the airport and Richmond to 25 minutes. It will serve
you will see species ranging from oaks and maples to the
one-third of the region’s workforce and 20 per cent of its
Japanese flowering cherry. The Vancouver Tree Bylaw limits
population. The station at this intersection will serve those who
tree removal on private properties and mandates that
live and work around City Hall, Vancouver General Hospital
replacement trees be planted whenever trees are removed.
and the Broadway corridor. www.canadaline.ca

Wayfinding: Walk up Yukon Street (one block east of

Cambie St.) and turn left on W. 10th, 11th, 13th or 14th
Avenues.

• Vancouver City Hall will be on your right as you walk up

the hill toward W. 12th Avenue. Opened in 1936 and
designated a heritage building in 1976, the building’s style
stands at a transitional point between the vertical, highly
ornamented Art Deco style and the simpler, more horizontal
Moderne.
CITY OF VANCOUVER
 Wayfinding: Continue along E. 10th Avenue to Windsor
Street and turn left. Walk to E. 12th Avenue. Return to
the bus stop at Clark Drive.

• Between E. 12th and E. 41st Avenues on Windsor Street is the

• The City’s Green Streets Program offers Vancouver residents
an opportunity to become volunteer street gardeners in their Windsor Way Blooming Boulevards Demonstration Project.
neighbourhoods by sponsoring a traffic circle or corner bulge More than 40 residents have helped beautify Windsor Street
garden. This creates not only a more colourful and interesting by planting gardens in the area between the curb and side-
street and a more personalized neighbourhood, but also walk. Launched in 2001, the Blooming Boulevards project is
encourages and promotes a sense of community pride and partially funded by the City through the Park Board. City staff
ownership that ultimately benefits the entire city. Examples of coordinate the project and arrange for the delivery of City
Green Streets projects are found at the intersections of Alberta compost. Community members promote the project and
and W. 10th Ave., Ontario Street and W. 16th Ave., and residents maintain their own gardens. This demonstration
Quebec and W. 10th Ave. project is an example of the Community Visions Program
bringing to life some of the goals identified in CityPlan. The
success of Windsor Way has led to policy changes that allow
Wayfinding/In transit: You can either walk back to
residents to garden boulevards throughout the city.
Yukon Street to catch the eastbound #99 B-Line at
Broadway, or continue walking several blocks east along • Vancouver has developed many policies that encourage
the landscaped streets to catch the #99 B-Line at Main walking and cycling. Vancouver’s city-wide network of
Street and Broadway to Clark Drive. commuter and recreational bikeways is an example of how
such policies can help produce results on the ground. Here
Site 3: Blooming Boulevards on Windsor Street – a recent addition to the bikeway network
(#99 bus stop: Clark Drive) – you’ll see traffic calming measures and improvements to
traffic signals that help improve the environment for cyclists
and discourage non-local drivers. These include curbside push
Wayfinding: From the bus stop, walk west to Clark Drive.
buttons at pedestrian/cyclist signals, painted bicycle logos on
Cross Clark and walk one block south. Turn right at E. 10th
Avenue to get to China Creek Park. the roadway, traffic circles, diverters and medians.

• China Creek Park takes its name from the creek that once ran
through the area. Named for Chinese pioneers who farmed
here in the 1880s, the creek was home to coho and chum
salmon. It was given to the City to settle an unpaid tax bill
in 1923, though construction of the park did not begin until
1951. The park has one of the region’s oldest skateboard
bowls, while on the north side of Broadway, the King Edward
campus of Vancouver Community College sits on the site of
the velodrome built for the British Empire Games of 1954.
 Site 4: Broadway/Commercial SkyTrain
Station (#99 bus stop: Commercial Drive;
SkyTrain stop: Broadway/Commercial)
• The Broadway/Commercial SkyTrain Station is a terminus
for the #99 B-Line bus service and a major transfer point for
people going to and from downtown on SkyTrain. Plans to
City Policies to Promote Walking and Cycling
improve this “Transit Village” are underway through the
• A walkable and accessible • Share the road network: Allocate Urban Transportation Showcase Program, a partnership
Central Area (Central Area space for cyclists and improve between the City, the federal government, the regional
Plan, 1991) pedestrian comfort and safety. transportation authority and other municipalities. The project
(Vancouver Transportation Plan,
• Transit, walking and biking as will integrate the two SkyTrain stations and improve safety,
1997)
a priority (CityPlan, 1995) circulation, and access for pedestrians, passengers, and
• Promote a walkable downtown – cyclists. It will also determine how new development and
• Expand opportunities for
"Pedestrians First Policy" – and commercial activity around the stations can support even
urban recreation and the
create a network of downtown higher transit use and provide ongoing benefit to the
experience of nature and city
bike lanes (Downtown community. www.translink.bc.ca
life (Vancouver Greenways
Transportation Plan, 2002)
Plan, 1995)

Wayfinding: From the bus stop, walk north to Grandview

Highway North and turn right.
In transit: From Clark Drive, take the #99 B-Line east
to Broadway/Commercial Drive. The Broadway/Commercial
SkyTrain Station is a terminus for the #99 B-Line bus • From where the bus stops, you have a good view of the
service and a major transfer point for people going to Grandview Cut, a manmade ravine that runs parallel to
and from downtown on SkyTrain. Grandview Highway North. When the Great Northern Railway
dug the Cut in 1913, it used the excavated material as fill
under rail tracks in the eastern basin of False Creek. The City
bought the north and south banks of the Grandview Cut in
1990 as a transportation corridor. Burlington Northern Santa
Fe Railway owns the land at the bottom of the ravine. Its
trains, along with those of VIA Rail and Amtrak, still run
through the Cut today.

• The first phase of the Central Valley Greenway runs along

Grandview Highway North between Commercial Drive
and Slocan Street. Greenways are linear parks or street
improvements that favour cyclists and pedestrians while
discouraging motor vehicles. The multi-use, landscaped paths
 Site 5: Collingwood Village
(SkyTrain stop: Joyce-Collingwood)

Wayfinding: Leave the SkyTrain station, walk to the

southeast corner of Joyce Street and Vanness Avenue,
accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and other wheeled users. then walk east to the Collingwood Village development.
Narrow street widths and other traffic calming measures
contribute to a pleasant walking and cycling environment.
• Originally settled by farmers and orchardists in the 1880s,
When complete, the Central Valley Greenway – one of
Collingwood is a long established community. Collingwood
sixteen routes in the city – will span four Lower Mainland
Village is a prime example of transit-oriented development in
municipalities following the SkyTrain Millennium Line from
the City of Vancouver, focusing residential, commercial and
Vancouver to Coquitlam. Walk two or three blocks to view
recreational uses within easy walking distance from a rapid
the various treatments along this greenway.
transit station. The developer assembled about 11 hectares
(27 acres) of former industrial land that was comprehensively
In transit: Catch the SkyTrain at Broadway Station east-
rezoned in 1993. The City required the developer to provide
bound in the direction of King George. (From Commercial
Station, walk up the stairs to Broadway Station.) Ride a range of amenities, including a Neighbourhood House, a
three stops to Joyce-Collingwood Station. community gymnasium, a childcare facility, an elementary
school and 3 hectares (7.4 acres) dedicated to public open
space.
• SkyTrain travels along much of the route of the original 1891
Once completed, Collingwood Village will be home to
Interurban line between Vancouver and New Westminster.
about 4,500 new residents in an active, pedestrian-friendly
From the train there are good views to the north of the
environment. The housing mix combines affordable market
mountains, downtown and Burrard Inlet.
housing and rentals, with 20 per cent of all residential units
designed for families with children. Housing types include
townhouses, mid-rise apartments and high-rise towers to a
maximum of 26 storeys.

The tour ends here.

Take the SkyTrain back downtown (Expo Line westbound in the

direction of Waterfront), or to Broadway/ Commercial Station
where you can hop on the #99 B-Line bus westbound back to
UBC. Or, take a side trip.
 a natural area, lake and forest. Year-round uses such as a
skateboard park have also been added. The City continues to
work on accommodating the annual fair, sports (the park is
home to the horse racing industry in Vancouver), and special
events within the park while providing a green space for the
Side Trips neighbourhood. www.vancouver.ca/pnepark

You may choose to take the following side trips. From Renfrew and Hastings, Note: The Vancouver Park Board
walk down Renfrew Street to manages Vancouver’s parks and
1. Metrotown. From Broadway/Commercial SkyTrain Station, recreation system. The Park Board
McGill, head east and look for
ride SkyTrain eastbound two stops to Metrotown in the City of is one of the only elected bodies
the parking lot signs pointing
Burnaby. Metrotown is one of eight regional town centres that, of its kind in Canada. The Board’s
to New Brighton Park. Follow mission is to provide, preserve
along with the Metropolitan Core of Vancouver’s Central Area,
the road under the rail tracks. and advocate for parks, open
help to create a compact, livable metropolitan region. Town
Set on the waterfront, the park spaces and leisure services
centres feature a concentration of jobs and housing, a variety of to enhance the well being of
has great views of downtown
shopping, services and community facilities, and serve as hubs individuals and communities.
and the working harbour. The
for road and transit connections to the rest of the region. The Since Stanley Park became
Port of Vancouver, with one of Vancouver’s first park in the late
province’s largest retail and entertainment centre, located next
the world’s best natural har- 1800s, the parks and recreation
to the SkyTrain station, is the heart of the Metrotown regional
bours, is the largest in Canada system has grown to include
centre. www.gvrd.bc.ca/livablecentres/metrotown.htm
and one of the busiest in North more than 200 parks (1,298
To view the region, continue riding SkyTrain to Surrey. On hectares) with community centres,
America.
swimming pools, skating rinks,
the way back, you can take the Millennium Line past
golf courses, food concessions,
Lougheed Mall and through Central Burnaby to Broadway marinas and street trees among
and Commercial, where you can transfer to downtown. its many features.

2. Hastings Park Area. From the 29th Avenue SkyTrain Station,

look for bus #16 Arbutus. Ride the #16 north to Hastings Park In transit: It is about a ten-block walk south through the
at Renfrew and Hastings. The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) Beacon Hill neighbourhood (Renfrew or Kaslo St.) to return
to Hastings Street. On Hastings, the #10 Granville and
at Hastings Park is a Vancouver institution dating to the late
#16 Arbutus buses westbound will take you to downtown.
1800s. It is one of North America’s few remaining urban
agricultural summer fairs. In 2004, the City of Vancouver
acquired responsibility for the fair and the grounds. Significant
greening of the property has taken place with the creation of
 453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4

For more information on any of the topics below, visit

vancouver.ca/ourcity
• Blooming Boulevards
• Country Lanes
• Cycling
• Green Streets Program
• Greenways
• Hastings Park
• Parks and Recreation
• Planning
• Tree Bylaw
• Urban Design

Printed on recycled paper

Other self-guided tours in this series:
• Coal Harbour
• Downtown
• Downtown Eastside
• False Creek