Paved wharf at Jericho Beach requires overhaul
Allison Cross
Sun
The wharf at Jericho Beach was once used by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Photograph by : Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun
VANCOUVER – The park board will vote Monday on whether to demolish a large part of a paved wharf at Jericho Beach that was once used by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The project would restore the natural shoreline of the area, within Jericho Park east of the Jericho Sailing Centre. A few parts of the wharf would be preserved for historical and sentimental reasons.
The plan has a projected cost of $1.9-million.
Board vice-chairman Ian Robertson said the final plan is a compromise based on 500 responses received from the public through surveys handed out at a March open house and put on the board’s website.
The public was presented with five options and asked what they’d like to see done with the concrete wharf.
“[The recommendation] was a compromise of two options,” Robertson said. “There was feedback that said a lot of people wanted a part of the wharf retained for its historical and commemorative meaning.”
A small portion — about 464 square metres — of the wharf will be kept, along with the railings on its east side, which were the original railings on the Lions Gate Bridge, Robertson said.
If it’s structurally possible, a deck will be extended over the water, to provide an attractive viewing area.
The wharf was built in the 1930s by the Royal Canadian Air Force for its water-based operations. In 2002 and 2005, engineers inspected the wharf, which runs parallel along the shoreline, and found it required significant repairs or demolition to be safe for the public.
The board limited access to the wharf in 2003.
The public mostly uses the south side of the wharf now, between Jericho Beach and the Jericho Sailing Centre, according to a park board staff report.
Robertson said the removal of most of the wharf will give the public more direct access to the water and could also have a positive impact on fish habitat.
If the recommendation is approved, Robertson said planning will begin on how to demolish the wharf in an environmentally safe way.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008