While Cleveland Avenue has reopened this week with a fresh pedestrian-friendly look, you won’t notice the biggest changes to the street – because they all took place underground.
“We took a section of a really old beat up road with really old, first-generation Squamish infrastructure and we replaced all that,” said Matt Simmons, the district’s capital projects manager.
The one-block section of Cleveland Avenue between Victoria Street and Main Street was closed in April to speed up construction. It was reopened on schedule at the end of June.
Major changes include an upgraded water main, the replacement of some original wooden storm sewer infrastructure and road resurfacing. The underground work provided an opportunity to install 11 new lampposts and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, signage crosswalks and curbs.
“There’s a ton of work underground to do, and if you just work on the surface, you’ll need to dig it up in the near future. We’re fortunate that we were able to get all that work done,” he said.
In April, council approved a tender from Alpine Paving to complete the work for approximately $500,000. The cost of the water main work was pegged at just shy of $130,000 and came out of the 2017 Water Capital Project.
An elector alternative approval process is currently underway for a $454,545 District long-term loan to cover the completed work. At the July 4th council meeting Coun. Karen Elliott asked District staff about the time line of work being completed prior to the elector approval process and Mayor Patricia Heintzman said if the electorate voted against the long-term loan the money would come from either short-term borrowing or existing funds.
The Cleveland improvements are the second part of a two-phase upgrade. The earlier phase was completed in June 2016 and included upgrades further north on the street.
“We’re trying to make those connections and continue the street-scape on Cleveland to the south,” said Simmons.
“There’s two vacant lots to the south of Main Street currently, as those development projects come to fruition will continue that street-scape all the way down to Vancouver Street.”
The Downtown Squamish BIA said it’s still in the process of consulting its membership about expressing an overall vision for the future of the street.
Edward Archibald, the developer behind the upcoming Vantage housing and commercial complex on nearby Pemberton Street, said changes reflect a more vibrant downtown.
“I think what council and what staff have been putting forward are, from a street-scape standpoint and a move ability standpoint, phenomenal ideas,” he said.
While Archibald has concerns over height restrictions and setbacks, he acknowledged the growing pains and said the key to making Cleveland Avenue and other downtown streets more vibrant is attracting people with lively businesses and events.
Screening The Tragically Hip farewell concert last year or the weekly farmers’ market are both good examples, he said.
The number of special events in the area was taken into consideration during construction, according to Simmons.
“The many events in Squamish in the summer was one of the reasons we closed the road. We wanted to be as fast and as efficient as we could,” he said.
The road reopened just in time for downtown Canada Day celebrations.
“I think for the people that have been using that area with no pedestrian facility on the park side and no drainage and poor lighting, I think this will be a big improvement,” said Simmons.
