Barb Daniel fears what will happen if a proposal to extend the Centerm container terminal westward, in front of CRAB Park, gets approved. Daniel is president of the Four Sisters Housing Co-op, located near the park.
“Essentially, that would surround the park with heavy industry,” she said, citing the cruise ship terminal and the heliport to its west, the train lines to the south, and Port land to the east.
Daniel is among opponents of the proposal who’ve been engaged in a months-long battle to see it doesn’t happen. They’re holding a town hall meeting at the Carnegie Centre theatre Sept. 24. Aside from Daniel, speakers include activist Audrey Siegl, Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan and Don Larson of the CRAB Water for Life Society.
DP World Vancouver operates Centerm, which handles about one-fifth of goods shipped in containers through the Port of Vancouver.
The westward extension is one aspect of a proposed $320-million expansion project, which is in the preliminary design phase. It involves a series of changes, including an expansion of the terminal area and reconfiguration of the terminal, as well as off-terminal road and rail improvements, according to the Port. If it goes ahead, it would increase the number of containers that can be handled at the terminal by about two-thirds and increase the terminal footprint by 15 per cent.
Daniel, who’s lived in the neighbourhood for more than 30 years, is determined to stop the westward expansion. She began campaigning against that possibility when she learned about the project last spring. The expansion wouldn’t touch the park, but she said it would impact the park through issues such as pollution, lights, noise and loss of views.
“Basically, what it will do is it will deny people in this neighbourhood access to calm and access to tranquility. Because, as you probably know, the Downtown Eastside is a neighbourhood with a lot of issues and a great diversity of people,” she said. “Everything here is in a fairly delicate balance. One way to escape that environment is just to go over to the park and be surrounded by nature and feel that you’re part of something bigger.”
Daniel is also worried about potential threats to the environment and the fact the proposal will bring operations closer to a densely populated and established urban neighbourhood. She points to March 2015 when a fire broke out in a container at the Port and people in the Downtown Eastside and East Vancouver were advised to stay indoors.
Larson is equally concerned about the potential loss of views, what will happen to water quality and what he considers an inadequate consultation process.
“If you put a seven-acre, landfill pier with a train going out to the end of it piled up with containers… that would obviously, in my mind, affect the water quality,” he said, adding, “I have a real problem with the federal government and the Port continuing to move various kinds of dangerous cargo in an area that’s heavily populated. They already expanded Centerm four or five years back. They significantly expanded their dock. The three orange cranes you see down there were added.”
Larson said opponents have gathered 10,000 signatures on a petition against the westward pier expansion.
“This is going to block 90 per cent of the view and there’s Port cities in North America that would give anything to have what we now have in Vancouver with the seven-acre CRAB Park for people to view the central waterfront,” he said.
“People can see the heavy industrial area to the east, they can see the cruise ship tourism to the west and they can see nature in front of them. That is so priceless and to go ahead and destroy that, with the backing of the Vancouver Park Board apparently, I find it completely wrong.”
Daniel maintains critics of the proposal aren’t against the Port and appreciate the union jobs it provides, but they simply want the westward expansion stopped.
“We know Vancouver is a Port city, but again we have to balance that with the environment and we have to balance that with the needs of this essentially at-risk community,” she said. “We only want them to stop the westward expansion in front of the park. That’s just part of Centerm terminal’s expansion plan. They have room to go eastward where it is all industrial.”
The Port began seeking public opinion about the project in early 2016. During the preliminary comment period, 72 people submitted feedback through forms, comments or attending meetings. The project team is now reviewing public feedback to see how it can be incorporated into the final design.
The next step would be submitting an application for review under the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Project and Environmental Review Process. Further consultation would be required as part of the review.
The Port has stressed the westward expansion would not require any physical changes to CRAB Park and it’s stated the park is being included in its studies of noise, air, views, shade and water circulation to understand potential impacts on the park.
Based on the preliminary design of the westward expansion, park users would see one additional large crane, smaller cranes and some stacked containers, while the North Shore mountains would still be visible, according to the Port, which has produced a before-and-after rendering of what it would look like.
“The proposed Centerm Expansion Project includes an expansion to the west, but does not touch CRAB Park. We understand and respect the public interest in this project, and want to allow plenty of time for input. To date, we have asked for feedback on the preliminary project design. We are now taking that feedback and plan to hold additional public sessions if and when a formal application for a permit is filed,” Cliff Stewart, vice president of infrastructure at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, said in an emailed statement to the Courier.
If the project is ultimately approved, construction is anticipated to start in 2017 and be completed in late 2019.
The “Save CRAB Park People!” town hall runs from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Carnegie Centre Theatre, 401 Main St., Sept. 24.
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