Cambie Street
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Cambie Street is a street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named for Henry John Cambie, chief surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway's western division (as is Cambie Road, a major thoroughfare in nearby Richmond).
There are two distinct sections of the street. North of False Creek, the street runs on a northeast-southwest alignment (following the rotated street grid within downtown Vancouver). As such, the street actually runs perpendicular to the Cambie Street Bridge, and there is no seamless connection between the two. Instead, Nelson Street carries southbound traffic onto the bridge, and Smithe Street carries northbound traffic away from the bridge. The downtown section of Cambie Street runs from Water Street in Gastown in the north to Pacific Boulevard in Yaletown in the south and is a two-way street for its length.
South of False Creek, the street is a major 6-lane arterial road, and runs as a 2-way north-south thoroughfare according to the street grid for the rest of Vancouver. Between King Edward Avenue West and Southwest Marine Drive, the street is a 10 metre wide boulevard with gardens, extensive trees and park space on it.
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[edit] The Canada Line and Cambie Street
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When proposals to build the Canada Line (formerly known as the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver or RAV Line) along Cambie Street first emerged, they were heavily protested by residents and business owners who wanted to keep the street as a heritage boulevard. They argued in favour of using the existing Arbutus Street rail corridor instead.
Once the decision was made to use the Cambie alignment for the Canada Line anyway, residents along the corridor successfully persuaded authorities to put the rail line in a tunnel instead of running it as a surface route. Nonetheless, the cut-and-cover method (which will be used to build the tunnel) will likely introduce much disruption to traffic and business along the corridor during the construction. As such, even though it costs less than using a tunnel boring machine, the plan still draws heavy criticism, especially from area residents and businesses.
During 2006 to 2009, portions of the street south of False Creek will be closed to traffic to allow for construction of the line. The cut-and-cover tunnel will run underneath the east side of the street for most of its route. South of West 63rd Avenue, the line will emerge from the tunnel and run on an elevated structure.
[edit] Points of interest
- The Gastown steam clock, located at the street's northern end, at its intersection with Water Street
- The Vancouver City Hall, located on the street between 10th Avenue and 12th Avenue
- Queen Elizabeth Park, located east of the street between 29th Avenue and 37th Avenue
- Oakridge Centre, shopping centre at 41st Aveneue
- Langara College, a community college at 49th Avenue
