Livable Deep Cove — Gallant Avenue renewal
We’re creating a more accessible and vibrant public space along Gallant Avenue, between Panorama Drive and Banbury Road.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2023. The Livable Deep Cove Project design includes permanent, one-way vehicle traffic on lower Gallant, expanded sidewalks, streetlights, movable bollards, flex zones for protected pedestrian areas or parking, trees and improved road surfaces.
A new green infrastructure system will be installed that includes new trees, underground soil cells and rain gardens to improve biodiversity, reduce future sidewalk buckling and enhance pedestrian flow.
Existing trees along lower Gallant Avenue will need to be removed. However, these will be replaced by trees planted using soil systems that enhance growth and health and improve rainwater quality flowing in and around sidewalks and pavers.
News & updates
August 2, 2023 – Lower Gallant Ave reopens August 4
On Friday, August 4, lower Gallant Avenue will reopen to vehicles. With the Gallant paving complete, the Naughton Avenue detour will be permanently closed on August 4 and later transformed into a walking path.
Crews will not be working over the long weekend, but will return to lower Gallant next week to install furniture, lay pavers and complete other final details before completing the Livable Deep Cove project later this month.
July 26, 2023 — Final paving scheduled for July 28
Final paving for the Livable Deep Cove project is scheduled for Friday, July 28. Road line painting is planned for the following week. A few days later, lower Gallant Avenue is expected to reopen to vehicles, and the Naughton Avenue detour will close to traffic.
There may be traffic delays during paving on July 28. We ask for the public’s patience while we work through the final stages of construction. Bus service will continue with some minor, short-duration changes that will be posted at bus stops.
July 14, 2023 — Sidewalks complete and open
Sidewalks on both sides of Gallant Avenue are complete and open, while crews continue work on irrigation and landscaping, lighting, paver installation, and grading and drainage at the intersection at Panorama. Minor works such as landscaping completion will continue into August, however final paving is expected to take place in late July and the road to open to traffic, fencing removed, and the detour route closed to vehicles shortly thereafter.
June 27, 2023 — Concrete delivery delay
Unfortunately, we have been advised that our scheduled delivery of concrete has been delayed this week. As a result, the contractor will be unable to make progress on the sidewalk on the south side of the road this week, as planned. The contractor will be working hard to meet the schedule for project completion, however this unavoidable setback may result in delays to the overall project completion.
June 16, 2023 — A look ahead to completion
As we near project completion, Deep Cove can look forward to lower Gallant Avenue start to open up over the next several weeks. New sidewalks will be complete and open to the public by early July and the blue fencing will move inward as crews continue work to install pavers in the flex zones. Pavers will be followed by finishing features such as trees and landscape planting, bike racks, and lamp posts.
Full vehicle access and parking zones are expected to be reinstated later in July
May 2, 2023 — Construction update
Construction is underway, on track, and progressing well for July completion, despite some unexpected challenges, such as unforeseen underground conditions and a gas line rupture in March.
Work completed to date includes replacement of the underground utility service lines and a section of storm main. In addition, the underground streetlight conduit and lamp bases have been installed and about half of the soil cells are in place. Over the coming weeks, crews will begin at-grade works, including curbs, drains, and sidewalks. Pavers, furniture, bollards, irrigation, planting, and paving will follow over the next several months.
February 8, 2023 — Construction set to begin
Construction for the Gallant Avenue renewal project will begin in mid-February and take approximately five months to complete.
In the coming weeks, lower Gallant Avenue, between Banbury Road and Panorama Drive, will be closed to regular vehicle traffic for the duration of construction, including the turnaround at the bottom of Gallant.
During construction, all businesses will remain open and accessible to pedestrians.
Please see the 'Traffic impacts & detours' tab to learn more about traffic pattern changes and the temporary use of the Naughton Avenue detour.
January 16, 2023 — Construction contract awarded
The contract for construction of the Livable Deep Cove project has been awarded to GPM Civil Contracting Inc. Work will begin in February 2023.
November 2022 — Construction to begin in early 2023
We anticipate starting construction on the Livable Deep Cove project in early 2023.
Lower Gallant Avenue, between Banbury Road and Panorama Drive, will be closed to vehicle traffic to expedite construction with the goal of completing this project before the busy summer season.
To facilitate traffic flow during construction, the Naughton Avenue detour will be opened to vehicle traffic and then permanently closed following the completion of the Livable Deep Cove project. We will share further details in advance of construction once the contractor has been selected.
September 2022 — Livable Deep Cove Project design survey
We asked community members for feedback on the proposed design for the Livable Deep Cove Project. Our online survey ran from June 6-26, 2022.
The input received from the public will be taken into consideration during the final stages of the design process.
June 6, 2022 — Have your say
We are now seeking feedback on a proposed design for the Livable Deep Cove Project.
We want to hear from everyone who is interested so we can better understand and effectively consider community input as we finalize designs for the lower Gallant area.
Share your thoughts June 6 – 26, 2022.
Open house
- Join us on June 15, 2022 at Cove Cliff Elementary for an open house from 5:30pm-8:30pm
April 11, 2022 — Livable Deep Cove Project update to Council
Staff provided Council information outlining the next steps for the Livable Deep Cove Project.
March 28, 2022 — Council Workshop
The Livable Deep Cove project will be discussed at a Council Workshop at 7pm on March 28, 2022.
July 26, 2021 — Livable Deep Cove Project update to Council
Livable Deep Cove public engagement survey results will be presented to Council on July 26 at 7pm. The Council meeting will be held online.
June 23, 2021 — Community information meeting
We hosted a community information meeting on June 23 to review the concept designs and answer questions about Livable Deep Cove. You can watch a video of the meeting below.
June 13-14, 2021 — Livable Deep Cove survey
We asked community members to share their preferences for how the lower Gallant area should be used and the three draft design concepts by participating in our online survey that ran from June 14-30, 2021.
The purpose of the survey was to inform the community and collect feedback on the proposed improvements in the lower Gallant pedestrian area.
The input received from the public will be taken into consideration as staff develop a project scope of work.
Traffic impacts & detours
Detours during construction
Lower Gallant Avenue will be closed to vehicles during construction, and Banbury Road will remain open to two-way traffic to accommodate local traffic.
Similar to the traffic configuration used for the Gallant Storm Sewer project, buses and vehicles will use the Naughton Avenue construction detour. Deep Cove Road and Gallant Avenue between Panorama Drive and Naughton Avenue will be one-way southbound.
Some short, limited full road closures or single-lane-alternating traffic patterns are expected on Deep Cove Road, Panorama Drive or Banbury Road to accommodate certain construction activities.
Following the completion of the Livable Deep Cove Project, the Naughton detour will be permanently closed to traffic, as directed by Council. Planning for the walkway and revegetation of this route is underway, and construction is anticipated to begin late 2023 or early 2024, pending budget approval.
Transit
The existing bus stops on Banbury Road and Panorama Drive will not be available during construction. A temporary bus stop will be placed along Panorama Drive northbound near Gallant Avenue. TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company will post notices at those stops shortly about this service change.
Drawings & renderings
How your input helped shape the final design
After two phases of public engagement, we refined the design of the Livable Deep Cove Project in response to community feedback.
Changes include:
- Removing three rain gardens and reducing the size of three others to preserve limited parking space, while balancing biodiversity, planting, and pedestrian space
- Adding bike parking
- Dimming lighting specifications to the lowest safe level to minimize light pollution
- Adding more space for pedestrians, including benches and increased width of flex spaces
- Adding wayfinding signs
The project will begin in early 2023, and we anticipate construction to be completed in summer 2023.
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Background
In 2020, we created a temporary pedestrian zone on lower Gallant Avenue to provide more space for gathering safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following very positive feedback from the community about this pilot project, we applied to the provincial and federal governments for grant funding to improve outdoor spaces in the community and help create a more livable Deep Cove.
We received grant funding approval for $3.3 million on June 11, 2021. The provincial grant deadline to complete the work is December 31, 2023.
We conducted community engagement between June 14 and 30, 2021 to inform the community and collect feedback on prosed improvements in the lower Gallant pedestrian area:
- 82% of respondents strongly or somewhat strongly support change on lower Gallant in Deep Cove Village as part of the Livable Deep Cove Plan
- 66% were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the full renewal concept, which was the most favoured of the three concepts proposed
The proposed design is a version of the initial "full renewal concept" as presented last year, with modifications that address feedback from the public and Council.
Public engagement
September 2022 — Livable Deep Cove Project design survey
We asked community members for feedback on the proposed design for the Livable Deep Cove Project. Our online survey ran from June 6-26, 2022.
The input received from the public will be taken into consideration during the final stages of the design process.
June 14-13, 2021 — Livable Deep Cove survey
Thank you for sharing your preferences for how the lower Gallant area should be used and the three draft design concepts by participating in our online survey that ran from June 14-30, 2021.
The purpose of the survey was to inform the community and collect feedback on the proposed improvements in the lower Gallant pedestrian area.
The input received from the public was taken into consideration in the development of the proposed design.