Shaping Vancouver Series 2018: Contested Places | Mount Pleasant and Skytrain

Earlier this year, Vancouver City Council unanimously approved the Millennium Line Broadway Extension, which will add six new SkyTrain stops along the Broadway Corridor, including one in the middle of Mount Pleasant. Such an addition necessarily entails change to existing character of the neighbourhood, leading many to ask about the role of heritage in transit planning, and how rapid transit in Vancouver can be expanded to contribute to the future of the neighbourhood. This SkyTrain extension will cut directly through the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, which stretches from Cambie Street to Clark Drive along the Broadway Corridor. The junction where Main Street and Kingsway converge is the historic and cultural heart of this area, lined with pedestrian-friendly streets, independent stores and cafes, and a village atmosphere courtesy of affordable rental apartments, historic architecture, and independent businesses.This extension of the Millennium Skytrain includes a new station in the core of Mount Pleasant. This has provoked some fears that rising property taxes and increasing rent & maintenance costs will squeeze out “the hip, little village”, as well as drive dramatic new developments. With such a major infrastructure project on the horizon in Mount Pleasant — similar to previous transformations of the Cambie Corridor — the City will have to determine how the qualities definitive of Mount Pleasant can be protected and/or adapted due to this comprehensive land-use change.Planners, developers, and policymakers in Vancouver have spent decades debating the improvement of the rapid transit network along the Broadway Corridor. As the City finalizes its policy plan, it has an opportunity to address a number of different social priorities, including housing affordability, neighbourhood integration, the strength of the Corridor’s job market, and the unique cultural fabric of Mount Pleasant.