With plans that could revamp Vancouver’s Fourth Plain corridor moving forward, C-Tran is asking citizens for their ideas on how to remake the busy thoroughfare. The agency will host a design workshop from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Gaiser Hall at Clark College.
For much of this year, C-Tran has explored the idea of putting a bus rapid transit system along Fourth Plain and Fort Vancouver Way, between downtown and the Vancouver Mall. BRT systems work by employing any number of features — among them fixed guideways or other dedicated bus lanes, raised boarding platforms, larger vehicles and special traffic signals — in an effort to move passengers more smoothly and reliably. A BRT system on Fourth Plain wouldn’t necessarily use all of those features, but rather mix and match them at different parts of the corridor.
Participants at Wednesday’s workshop will be invited to use electronic models to design various parts of the corridor themselves, then see their concepts displayed on a screen. The event will also include a BRT overview and C-Tran’s planning process so far. Most recently, the C-Tran board earlier this month approved a set of lane concepts that a citizen advisory committee had recommended. Those mostly move away from dedicated bus lanes on the busiest parts of Fourth Plain, but keeps them on the table for Fort Vancouver Way near Clark College.
Gaiser Hall is located on the Clark College campus, on Fort Vancouver Way between Fourth Plain and McLoughlin boulevards. Wednesday’s BRT workshop is the first of two — a second is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at C-Tran’s administrative office, 2425 N.E. 65th Ave. in Vancouver.
