User:Korolukc/Daylighting (streams)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The historic stream network in Vancouver, B.C.

In the 1880's there were over 50 wild salmon streams in Vancouver alone. However, as Vancouver grew, these streams were lost to urbanization. They were covered by roads, homes, and businesses. They were also lost when they were buried beneath sewers or culverts.
The City of Vancouver and its residents are now making an effort to uncover these lost streams and restore them back to their natural state.

Hastings Creek

Hastings Creek Restored at Creekway Park. Vancouver, B.C.

The Hastings Creek Stream Daylighting Project was originally proposed in 1994 as a way to manage storm water and for aesthetic purposes. The idea was to bring the stream back to its once natural formation which would improve the surrounding habitat for wildlife as well as the originally proposed purposes. This project's plan was finalized in 1997, and work began the same year.

The stream had existed in the Hastings Park until 1935 when the Park became focused on entertainment rather than its original purpose when it was given to the city in 1889, which was to be a retreat for those with a passion for the outdoors. As the Pacific Nation Exhibition (PNE) grounds continued to expand there was a continued loss of natural woodlands, greenery and waterways. It was not until the 1980's when the surrounding community began to look at continuing to uphold its original purpose.

The daylighting project made major progress in 2013 in the area located in the Creekway Park, which was originally a parking lot. The daylighted stream will one day connect the Sanctuary in Hastings Park to the Burrard Inlet. The progress made in Creekway Park is a major step towards this goal. This daylighting project also improved pedestrian and bikeway transit. This stream is now able to obtain the stormwater from the surrounding area, which reduces the load that is felt by the municipality's storm sewers. It is the storms in early autumn which provide the water flow for the creek, meaning that there is variable flow throughout the year. During the late summer months the moist soil is relied upon to maintain the vegetation of the area. This variation in flow does not allow for salmon migration through the creek; however it does house trout as well as vegetation which aid in the filtration of the storm water entering the creek.

Spanish Banks

Daylighted Stream at Spanish Banks, Vancouver, B.C.

Located upstream from Spanish Banks waterfront, one of the highest profile creeks in Vancouver Metro became open to salmon in 2000. In a collaborative project between Spanish Banks Streamkeepers Association and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, barriers to fish passage were removed and habitat structure was added. Spanish Banks Creek was previously diverted through a culvert underneath a parking lot, but the lower reaches of this creek have been revitalized . The banks were stabilized with riprap, large woody debris was added for habitat cover, and spawning gravels were added in appropriate areas. Rigorous effectiveness monitoring has not been performed, but a few dozen coho and chum salmon are known to spawn there annually in a sustaining population . Maintenance to the creek is provided by Spanish Banks Streamkeepers Association, a local volunteer stewardship group.

St. George Rainway

The East Vancouver neighborhood of Mount Pleasant has officially incorporated into its community plan a project to restore St. George creek, a tributary to the false creek watershed. St. George street is the site of this former stream, which now flows through the sewers and a culvert. This paved street will be converted into a shared-use path, riparian habitat, and urban greenspace.

St. George creek once spawned salmon and trout, and hosted a diverse riparian ecosystem. The restoration of this habitat using the rainway proposal would allow for salmon spawning, recreational and educational opportunities, and improve the community's access to nature and transportation alternatives. The proposal would pass the following community centres: Great Northern Way Campus, St. Francis Xavier School, Mt. Pleasant Elementary, Florence N. Elementary, Kivan Boys and Girls Club, Robson Park Family Centre.

Detailed landscape designs have been produced, and incorporated into the community plan of Mount Pleasant neighborhood . Project leaders from the False Creek watershed Society and Vancouver Society of Storytelling have collaborated with Mount Pleasant Elementary students to create a street mural drawing attention to the belowground stream. , To date, the mural is the only physical progress on the project.

Tatlow Creek

This is a future project aiming to ultimately connect the gap in the Seaside Greenway in order to link it to the Burrard Bridge. The beginning of this project has been started by the City of Vancouver in 2013, after its approval on July 29th of the same year. Volunteer Park is located in Kitsilano at the corner of Point Grey Road and Macdonald Street. This is where the main daylighting project for this area is planned to occur.

Phase one is currently in progress. Point Grey Road is currently closed to traffic in order to turn the roadway into a greenspace for biker and pedestrian traffic. This part of the project is expected to be complete by summer 2014 .

Phase two of this project is looking to include the daylighting of Tatlow Creek which is located in Volunteer Park. This phase must go through the City Council and the Park Board capital planning process for the 2015-2017 Capital Plan before any plans can be finalized .

Tatlow Creek had been scheduled to be daylighted in 1996, and the project to start in 1997. The project was deemed feasible and the storm water was to be diverted back into the natural creek bed and tunneled under Point Grey Road. When it was not done, the project was proposed again by a UBC masters' student as the Tatlow Creek Revitalization Project. If this project is completed as phase 2 of the new Park Board Project it would allow for Salmon and Trout spawning.