City seeks public feedback on proposed plan for Cambie corridor development
‘In the last 3 years, the plan has taken a massive pivot,’ says assistant director of planning
The Cambie corridor is one of the mostly rapidly changing areas of Vancouver, with the population expected to more than double in the next couple of decades, and city planners are looking at next steps.
The city is holding a series of informational meetings over the next week, starting on Thursday, to share details of Phase 3 of the proposed plan before it goes to council for consideration this spring.
"We are really focusing in this phase on the areas off the main arterial as well as the creation of a new municipal town centre at Oakridge," said Susan Haid, the assistant director of planning for Vancouver-South with the City of Vancouver.
Since the Canada Line turned the corridor into a major transit artery in 2009, houses have come down and condos have gone up. That same year, the city launched a three-phase planning program for the area's long-term growth.
Housing affordability has become an increasingly key focus of the Cambie corridor plan since it was first raised, Haid told Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC's The Early Edition.
"In the last three years, the plan has taken a massive pivot," Haid said.
"During the planning process, the housing crisis has certainly worsened and so a huge, huge focus of the plan is around creating more opportunities for affordable housing."
Heavy lifting on affordability
The plan calls for 14,000 new homes in the area, including projects for secured rental housing and social housing as well as introducing below-market rental housing.
"Those increases in density that we are seeing in the final draft plan only come with really heavy lifting on delivery of affordable housing," Haid said.
The population in the area is expected to increase by an additional 50,000 by 2041, from the current number of about 33,000.
Haid said developing sufficient infrastructure will be key to the plan's success. She mentioned a number of the amenities proposed in the plan, including an enhanced Oakridge Municipal Town Centre, additional child-care spaces, new parks, a youth centre and a seniors' centre.
"Our priorities in the plan are really around creating complete communities," she said.
The information sessions run for a few hours each day from Thursday, March 8 till Wednesday, March 14 and will be held at 5750 Cambie St.
With files from The Early Edition.