Frances Bula header image 2
← →

Dear City of Vancouver: A gentle resident begs you to clean up the mess under the south end of the Granville Bridge

April 7th, 2013 · 17 Comments

This came in through City Plumber and it seemed like a plea that deserved a little attention. So if someone at engineering/311 could take note?

I have called the 311 number several times to ask that the multi-layered (and years old) grafitti at the bus turnarounds at the south end of the Granville Bridge be cleaned up.  Each time I was told that nothing could be done unless I could provide a street address.  There is obviously no street address – one message taker went so far as to tell me there was no such thing as a pedestrian underpass on Granville.  With tourist season approaching I would like to see the city add clear signage directing people to Granville Island as well as making the areas more approachable.  The giant penises and gang tags on the west tunnel opening are very off-putting.  Any suggestions as to how I can get the attention of whoever is in charge of this.

BTW, for those of you about to go on a rant about city problems and city staff who do nothing about them, I did get this lovely set of notes over the last couple of months. First this one, on March 2.

Parks Board Commissioners – anyone listening ?
Again the busy Kits Beach park footpath is flooded (March 12, 2013) but your staff are working nearby for another week to renovate the Hadden Park Field house into a Artist space.
Drains vs Artist Field House
Not one of you had the courtesy to respond to my March 2nd email (copy attached) and I take that as a get lost attitude and typical of politicians when no election is in sight.
Again I ask where is your sense of priority in not spending money to fix a broken park but embark on high $$ spending for renovating a field house for in theory a artists studio but with no security what group of artists will leave their equipment or materials in it.  It will make a nice beach front coffee hang out though.
I do expect you have great plans to all be present in your best bib and tucker when the Hadden Park Field House renovations are finished and you can have the official opening with your ego’s suitably stroked by the select group of artist who can use it.  The rest of us taxpaying plebes can stand knee deep in water as we watch you from the public pathway.
By the way the pathway is subsiding just 40ft from your field house but who cares if wheel chair users tip over – you certainly do not.
I ask you to put the public safety before your ego projects.
Well, that sounded terrible. But then I got this 10 days later, which was nice of the writer to include.
Brian
Thank you and your staff for the new drain installed today.  We look forward to our rainy day walks.
Kits Beach path new drain Mar22
James Goodman
From:
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 3:54 PM
To: [deleted]
Cc: ; ;
Subject: Path Drainage at Kits Beach

Dear Mr. Goodman

 The Vancouver Park Board shares your concern with the drainage problem that you have identified around the benches at Kits Beach.

Our maintenance staff will be placing an asphalt lift over the existing pathway that will direct the runoff to the existing catch basins. In order to ensure that a good bond is created between the old and new asphalt,       we will require a few dry days. But I assure you that this situation will be rectified by the end of April.

 If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me directly.

 Sincerely,

 Brian Quinn Manager of Parks Operations

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Threadkiller

    Frankly, I find the fact that a City staffperson is unaware of the existence of a well-used pedestrian tunnel that has been in place for nearly 60 years more disturbing that the graffiti that defaces it.

  • CityGirl

    I have a similar situation with the area between the Georgia & Dunsmuir viaducts. This area is a favorite spot for homeless and every few months I call the City to remove the debris that gets accumulated such as clothing, mattresses,cardboard. Last time I called in November, it took 4 calls to 311 (where it takes a lot of explaining of the area because there is no street address), 2 personal visits to the Engineer dept office (we now know where to go), 2 email pleas to City Council, the first one being ignored, the 2nd email finally responded by Clr Jang and was cleaned up the next day. That was a 3 month ordeal. However, access to the area is not blocked, so debris has accumulated again and I’ll need to start the process all over again. It helps to take notes and ask for a file# when reporting stuff like this to 311.

  • Joe Just Joe

    I’ve had similar situations trying to report stuff in, the lack of an address is an issue they need to address. In my case when calling in knocked over street trees. If it’s say in front of a park good luck, they need a street address, when you just give them the block # they tell you there is no such address *facepalm*. Other then that little quirk I’ve been a big fan of 311.
    Maybe the city can have one of the “artists” from a local field house paint over the graffiti with a mural?

  • gman

    Here is a quick peak at the mural as it looked a few years ago,I have no idea what it looks like now.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKHVHG2VhZc

  • ex-kitsie

    It’s not the mural under the bridge that I’m complaining about, it’s random nasty grafitti on the cloverleafs on either side of the south end of the bridge that lead into the pedestrian tunnels.

  • Stuart Mackinnon

    If you don’t have an address the the block number will do. We have a lot of problems with dumping of furniture and mattresses in the Fraserlands neighbourhood. I call 311 and tell them the block number and within a day or two the junk is picked up.

  • gman

    ex-kitsie,
    Oops,my mistake.I can see how frustrating this must be for you,good luck.

  • gman

    I had a terrible time with graffiti on a building I owned in another city,it got so bad the city was starting to fine owners like myself.It was frustrating because I didn’t live in that city and I had a tenant who was on pretty much full time graffiti removal,I was buying graffiti gone by the case.Most of the taggers were young kids and the city decided on a $2000 fine,and if you were under age your parents had to buck up.That was a turning point and the problem almost immediately went away.

  • Sean Nelson

    @Stuart Mackinnon #6 – “If you don’t have an address the the block number will do.”

    So you’re saying that the Granville bridge pedestrian tunnel issue could be reported as “1400-block West 5th Avenue”…?

  • Stuart Mackinnon

    To Sean #9
    If that is the block number then yes that would be helpful for the 3-1-1 operator. They are inputting the information to their program so it can be directed to the correct department. Perhaps its a flaw in the system but without an address they can’t direct the workers to the location. Granville bridge underpass isn’t an address.

  • Guest

    I think “100m north of Granville & 6th” may suffice – and perhaps e-mail them a photo.

  • Concerned

    I have to stress that tourists are lost getting from Granville street & 4th to Granville island and are constently putting themselves in the middle of dangerous roadways unknowingly.

    Granville Island is great but someone getting killed trying to get get there by foot is madness.

    That’s what should be addressed

  • Vincent Tan

    Also in that vicinity: If you are walking south on the west side of Granville Bridge and want to continue on to the west sidewalk, you are required to take a detour through the park and the tunnel described here, before you can get back up on the west sidewalk and continue south. The reasons are the vehicular and bus off-ramps at that end of the bridge where no pedestrian crossings are provided. Not very pedestrian-friendly. I can provide a photograph if you wish, just let me know where and how to send it.

  • lizzie

    I had good results getting a pile of rotting upholstered furniture (couches, beds, etc) removed from the apartment building behind us last year. I didn’t know the street address either – because I see the building from the back – but the 311 operator & I figured it out with both of us using Google maps. You might be able to locate the cloverleaf that way too – if you can “show” it to the operator, he/she may be able to figure out how to direct a crew down there.

  • Edward

    A quick link for those looking for block numbers or addresses in the City. The City does have an online mapping program where you can zoom in and click on the street and it will give you the block number and property addresses.

    http://vancouver.ca/your-government/vanmap.aspx

  • Frank Ducote

    Vincent Tan@ 13 – a very good point. Building the Granville Bridge greenway provides a great opportunity to “normalize” that particular leg of the 5th and Granville loop at the same time, just as the eastern side was reconfigured some years ago for the Portico development (where your gallery is located). This would be particularly essential if the greenway began and terminated at this intersection as well, all done at once.

    If this were done right it might even eliminate the need for the pedestrian tunnels, which aren’t the most pleasant experiences, as others here have noted.

  • Frank Ducote

    @16. Make that Ian Tan’s Gallery on Granville (not Vincent’s).