Opinion: Even taller towers belong in the Broadway Plan

This is Part 1 of 5 in Daily Hive Urbanized’s incremental series on unlocking the Broadway Plan’s full potential as a successful, high-density, diverse, and transit-oriented community and Vancouver’s vibrant second city centre.

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The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan has the potential to serve as a model of optimal transit-oriented development in both Canada and the United States.

Concentrating the highest densities and diverse residential and commercial uses near rapid transit — the six new subway stations of SkyTrain Millennium Line’s Broadway extension to Arbutus — and close to a metropolitan area’s primary downtown core represents sound urban planning.

However, the current Broadway Plan falls short of fully capitalizing on the potential of this significant extension of the Millennium Line, which establishes a new interchange hub with the Canada Line at Broadway-City Hall Station.

While the area plan introduces new density, particularly through the allowance of residential towers generally up to about 20 storeys in many areas, it misses the mark when it comes to creating truly car-free, pedestrian-friendly, multidimensional neighbourhoods.

Policies favouring slender high-rise towers come with tradeoffs, as these designs are generally less efficient and less conducive to providing floor plans suitable for growing families. Taller towers with larger floor plates — similar to those found in other major cities in the region — could shift the current approach and enable the full optimal use of transit-oriented development sites in Vancouver’s highly central areas.

To truly embrace the municipal government’s of turning Central Broadway into Vancouver’s secondary downtown area, this requires encouraging more height, density, and a wider spectrum of housing options.

If such building forms can be envisioned and constructed in Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Surrey, they should be in Vancouver as well.

Taller towers should be permitted across the Broadway Plan area — not only near SkyTrain’s future South Granville Station (intersection of West Broadway and Granville Street), where there are no height restrictions due to the protected mountain view cones, particularly the city-wide sweeping View Cone 3.0 emanating from the peak of Queen Elizabeth Park.

The fact that PCI Developments — an exceptional leader in well-designed, high-quality, transit-oriented developments with a wide range of uses — was granted approval for a 39-storey tower several years ago, in exchange for providing fully integrated building space for South Granville Station’s main entrance, should not be the only exception for added density and height.

Other areas of the Broadway Plan — not just near South Granville Station, but also near the future stations of Arbutus, Broadway-City Hall, Mount Pleasant, and Great Northern Way-Emily Carr — should have the potential to achieve similar heights, perhaps even higher, so that more growth is not limited to one area.

Understandably, there are stricter height restrictions near Oak-VGH Station (intersection of Laurel Street and West Broadway) due to the federal regulations that protect the helipad flight path for Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). In fact, the height restrictions imposed by the flight path in this area generally take precedence over the less stringent restrictions of View Cone 3.0. But this only adds to the need to enable even greater densities near other future stations to offset the lost density and height potential within the Central Broadway areas near VGH.

Currently, the tallest new towers known to be proposed within the Broadway Plan reach 35 storeys — found within two separate proposals by PCI Developments and Onni Group at Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station, and another proposal by PCI Developments at VCC-Clark Station, which is the current westernmost terminus of the Millennium Line and the starting point of the Broadway extension.

PCI Developments’ South Granville Station tower should not be the sole 39-storey tower along Broadway, as this would effectively constrain Vancouver’s development potential.

Added density through increased height and floor plate sizes can support both residential and commercial uses.

For example, commercial uses, such as hotels, can use the market residential density to help pivot the pro forma of such mixed-use projects into a more positive financial position. Without sufficient residential density, the commercial uses of a development — sometimes even for larger ground-level retail/restaurant uses — often struggle to be financially viable.

Therefore, it is crucial for the municipal government to not only promote mixed-use development, but also provide a path forward for larger buildings.

To their credit, as part of the December 2024 amendments to the Broadway Plan, City staff have included revised policies that enable the consideration of greater density and height to improve the viability of standalone hotel towers and mixed-use residential and hotel towers.

A wider range of mixed uses in such developments would also serve to foster a more vibrant and sustainable community — combining residential, commercial, and cultural spaces.

Portland is one example of how mixed-use neighbourhoods can thrive. The city’s Pearl District has successfully integrated residential buildings, office spaces, restaurants, and art galleries in a pedestrian-friendly environment.

Similarly, in Melbourne’s Docklands district has become a thriving mixed-use community, with significant residential uses, office space, retail, restaurants, and public spaces all within close proximity.

Ultimately, the municipal government should leverage the provincial government’s mandates for higher-density transit-oriented development. Under provincial legislation, all six new subway stations on the Broadway extension have an 800-metre radius Transit Oriented Area (TOA).

While this is a positive step forward, the Broadway Plan needs a more aggressive and future-proof approach to fully embrace the transit-oriented community transformation potential of the areas along this SkyTrain extension, including how people get around within the area.

Rational voices prevailed in the recent debates over whether protected bike lanes should be installed along Broadway. It was the right move to reject bike lanes along Broadway, as they would have either significantly reduced the original “Great Street” concept for wider pedestrian sidewalks — including patio opportunities for restaurants and bars along the street — or reduced Broadway to merely a two vehicle lanes (one vehicle lane in each direction).

With the introduction of added transportation capacity from the subway, the current concept that is proceeding narrows Broadway from its existing configuration of six vehicle lanes (three vehicle lanes in each direction) to four vehicle lanes (two vehicle lanes in each direction), which enables wider pedestrian sidewalks and patio opportunities. This creates a unique street experience that centres more on pedestrians, and reduces the conflicts that cyclists would bring.

Moreover, this selected configuration of two vehicle lanes in each direction also preserves the crucial arterial road function of Broadway.

In a city without any freeways crossing through and with few east-west arterial roads, Broadway serves as a critical east-west route — a westward continuation of the regional Lougheed Highway route, and the primary spine for the Broadway Plan area.

Two vehicle lanes in each direction provide the minimum arterial road standard necessary for optimal freight truck/goods movements, for better ensuring ambulances to VGH and buses are not trapped in bumper-to-bumper congestion, and for serving an area poised to accommodate a combined total of over 100,000 new additional residents and jobs through the area’s densification through redevelopments.

Context and condition matters on a case-to-case basis when it comes to urban and transportation planning; there is no one-size fits all solution. If you are only familiar with one approach or tool, you tend to apply it to all situations, even if it is not the best solution. This highlights the limitation of relying on a single method or perspective for problem-solving.

But that does not mean there are not other opportunities to improve the cycling network in the Broadway Plan area, particularly along streets better suited for such improvements.

As outlined in the Broadway Plan, the City envisions a new and improved network of east-west and north-south bike lanes, including routes that are immediately parallel Broadway to the north and south on local streets.

Fully integrated bike infrastructure should be central to the Broadway Plan area’s buildout, including new bike lanes and secure bike parking facilities.

Cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen have set the gold standard with their expansive network of bike lanes and cycling infrastructure. Separated bike lanes and bike share programs have made cycling accessible to residents and visitors alike, but these cities also have established arterial road infrastructure.

However, while bike infrastructure is essential, the municipal government needs to reconsider its secure bike parking requirements in new developments.

It is ironic that City policies requiring a high ratio of secured bike parking spaces per residential unit turn entire underground levels dedicated to bike parking, yet a significant portion of these spaces for bikes often remain empty.

This surplus of unused bike parking is a waste of valuable space and a contributor to rising construction costs.

Some recent building development applications submitted to the municipal government have resorted to fulfilling the secured bike parking space requirements by dedicating large floor areas not only on the ground level but even the entire second level of a tower — space that could arguably be better used for residential or commercial purposes.

Similar to the approach taken in reducing surplus vehicle parking in new developments, a comparable strategy should be applied to secured bike parking spaces.

By lowering the bike parking requirements in each building, Vancouver can better allocate resources to more practical aspects of development while still maintaining the support needed for cycling as a viable mode of transportation. This approach would help avoid unnecessary construction expenses while ensuring that bike parking remains efficient, functional, and in line with actual demand.

While bike infrastructure is important, the overwhelming focus of active transportation strategies should be pedestrian infrastructure — prioritizing walkability.

After all, walking is the default mode of transportation.

The widened pedestrian sidewalks for Broadway’s “Great Street” transformation will prove to be a fantastic change to the streetscape, promoting greater pedestrian foot traffic over time when paired with high-density redevelopments that introduce active commercial uses for the street front, such as restaurants and retail.

But beyond Broadway, along local streets, there should also be wider sidewalks, pedestrian plazas, and more green spaces.

Cities around the world have successfully integrated pedestrian zones into their landscape. For example, the “Superblocks” of Barcelona — the practice of closing the streets of entire city blocks to vehicles — created pedestrian-only areas with parks, benches, and pop-up retail, food, and beverage vendors. This approach not only improves walkability, but also creates vibrant public spaces that attract people to spend time outdoors.

In another instance, in New York City, the conversion of Times Square into a pedestrian-friendly plaza demonstrated the value of reclaiming space from vehicles. After closing and narrowing the area’s streets to vehicles, one of the most visited public spaces in the world became a safer and more enjoyable environment for pedestrians.

City staff deserve credit again for outlining a strategy in the Broadway Plan to repurpose quieter local streets into linear parks, green spaces, and active transportation corridors. In recent years, some sections of local streets near retail districts across Vancouver have also been closed to vehicles, creating pocket parks and plazas.

When it comes to the need for greenery and parks, Vancouver should take inspiration from how Singapore integrates it vertically through projects like The Gardens by the Bay — a major waterfront attraction — and Parkroyal on Pickering. These are prime examples of how greenery can be incorporated into dense urban areas to help improve air quality, improve building energy performance and provide residents.

There are even some local examples of how green space and parks and be achieved on rooftops, such as the upcoming nine-acre landscaped public park on the rooftop of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park, which opens in Summer 2025.

And within the Broadway Plan area, Reliance Properties’ approved redevelopment of the former MEC Broadway store building into a mixed-use complex with two high-rise rental towers and a base podium containing commercial uses, including a grocery store. On the rooftop of this grocery store is a privately accessible landscaped public space, with a grand staircase to reach this rooftop area directly from West Broadway.

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This is Part 1 of 5 in Daily Hive Urbanized’s incremental series on unlocking the Broadway Plan’s full potential as a successful, high-density, diverse, and transit-oriented community and Vancouver’s vibrant second city centre.

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