Vancouver admits 'poor communication' on partial seawall closure, promises better detour by summer

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The City of Vancouver is admitting it could person done a amended occupation explaining its program to regenerate a conception of the seawall that had to beryllium closed indefinitely owed to information concerns, and it's promising a workaround by the commencement of summer.

"A spot of mediocre connection connected our part," said City of Vancouver wide manager of engineering services Lon LaClaire successful an interrogation with CBC News.

"It's not going to beryllium 2032. I'm beauteous definite it's going to beryllium much, overmuch quicker than that."

In aboriginal February, the metropolis announced the closure of a 200-metre agelong of the seawall from Science World to the Olympic Village aft a structural appraisal revealed imaginable information concerns with continued use.

The metropolis besides closed a wide swath of onshore close adjacent to the walking and motorcycle paths and announced a 400-metre detour that went done Quebec Street — a engaged arterial — without committing to immoderate alternate detour options.

WATCH | Better seawall detour to travel by summer, says City of Vancouver:

Finally, it provided nary timeline for replacing the unsafe portion, allowing lone that "the readying enactment for deconstruction is underway, with on-site enactment planned for 2028-2032."

Since the closure connected Feb. 4, the metropolis had given nary updates, as criticism from immoderate members of the nationalist grew.

Limited options for detour, says LaClaire

When asked for remark earlier LaClaire's interview, Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said the deficiency of details was concerning. 

"What radical privation to cognize is what is the program to either reconstruct or supply an alternate truthful radical tin person uninterrupted, continuous entree to the Vancouver seawall," she said. 

"Waiting years and years conscionable for deconstruction and having radical locomotion astir connected the road, I don't deliberation it's acceptable. I deliberation we tin bash better."

LaClaire said the archetypal 2028-2032 timeline was successful the yearly superior infrastructure program based connected the city's erstwhile fund for fixing it — erstwhile it was assumed the aging woody pylons underneath the platform surrounding Science World would past respective much years. 

WATCH | Seawall conception disconnected limits implicit information concerns:

But erstwhile the structural appraisal revealed it needed to beryllium closed immediately, it didn't let clip for assembly to walk a caller superior program oregon find a originative solution to reconnect the seawall. 

"The options for a detour were truly limited," said LaClaire. 

"It's acold from ideal, but it was the champion we could travel up with astatine a moment's notice. And it is 1 of those things erstwhile we get an denotation from our consultants that benignant of accidental that we should bash this immediately, we instrumentality it precise seriously."

When straight asked, a metropolis spokesperson said determination were nary ceremonial notes oregon unit reports to assembly connected to the decisions made astir the closure oregon detour. 

Better readying needed, says councillor

LaClaire said determination was nary contiguous alternate due to the fact that the tract adjacent to the closed-off platform hadn't been fixed a information assessment, and they didn't privation to usage the parking batch southbound of it due to the fact that it would negatively interaction Science World. 

The metropolis has since learned the tract is harmless for the further postulation of a detour, but LaClaire said determination had been a statement implicit uncovering a mode to get dense instrumentality successful spot to make a paved path. 

However, present the metropolis seems much inclined to enactment quickly. 

"The keenness of my squad to present a truly large way is surely 1 of the struggles that we person arsenic enactment sometimes," said LaClaire, who said meetings astir the task would happen Friday and adjacent week.

"Do we request to get it successful cleanable information to vastly amended what the detour looks similar close now? I'm looking to bash thing sooner, accidental not arsenic bully arsenic we privation it to be, but sooner."

Something that volition apt delight plentifulness of cyclists and councillors alike.

"Access to the seawall is thing that is quintessentially Vancouver," said Kirby-Yung. 

"I deliberation we request to get amended astatine readying for knowing that this infrastructure is going to property retired and what is going to beryllium the replacement."