3. 3 D E MO L IT IO N Following Phase 1, the immediate removal of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts, as well as selected trees, will occur. A Desktop Health Impact Assessment completed by Golder Associates in 2015 concluded that the demolition would have neutral impacts on air quality and noise change with proper mitigation measures in place. Planned road development was determined to reduce traffic noise in the area. However, no air quality modelling was completed for developments on site. A Comprehensive Health Impact Assessment MUST be completed for proposed projects onsite to ensure minimal impacts to the existing community.
3.3.1 Vi adu c ts
As mentioned in previous reports, the Viaducts will require $8-10M over the next 15 years in maintenance cost alone. It would cost $50-65M to repair after a major earthquake and $80-100M to replace entirely (Removal of the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts 2015). Both viaducts MUST be dismantled, and their materials SHOULD be salvaged for future works onsite where appropriate.
The D owntown Sk ate b o a rd P l a za
Spencer Hamilton, a local professional skateboarder, believes the current skatepark is successful because it mimics the “different obstacles you’d actually see in the downtown core” of cities like Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He wants to see the Plaza’s street-style design, which skateboarders worked with the park board to design, replicated in a replacement park. “This place is actually a true representation of what street skateboarders want, which is space, granite ledges, stairs, [and] rails,” says Hamilton (Miyagi & Gray, 2017). When demolishing the park, dismantle and salvage granite ledges and features for future park use.
Figure 56: Archival Photograph of Protesters on the Viaducts with Signs Reading ‘Freeways are not free”, “The road to hell is paved with politicians errors”, and More, 1972. (https://vancouversun.com/news/metro/this-week-in-history-1972-sees-georgia-viaduct-open)
SITE GUIDELINES
3.3.2
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