It’s been four years since the city of Vancouver formally designated its Fourth Plain Forward Action Plan and began work renewing the arterial connecting west and east Vancouver. The area is home to a diverse community where 36 percent are nonwhite.
“It has been an area that has suffered from disinvestment for a long time,” said Teresa Brum, Vancouver’s economic development division manager.
But officials say they are starting to tick off some wins in an effort to redevelop that area of the city, something they shared in an update to the city council Monday.
The first and perhaps most important success, they said, has been the formation of the nonprofit Fourth Plain Forward board, which is made up of business and community partners.
“It was our biggest goal and I can now announce success,” said Rebecca Kennedy, a long-range planning manager for the city. “It is incredible to have people this committed, and for the city to have a nonprofit partner to continue to work with us on the district.”
Part of that goal is to cultivate a thriving business district. The recent creation of a logo and map for visitors pushes the project along.
Creating inclusive transit-oriented development is also vital to the project’s success.
“Where we have transit we want to make it easier and more attractive to locate housing there,” Kennedy said.
For the most part, it appears to be working. There are seven affordable housing developments either completed or under construction on Fourth Plain for a total of 144 units.
“There’s success here, but I do want to say our vacancy rates are very low,” she said. “What we hear every day from people on Fourth Plain is they struggle to find housing. While there might be a little relief, we still need more housing.”
Those successes also come with ongoing challenges. Pedestrian safety tops that list.
Jennifer Campos, senior transportation planner, said more people live, work and attend school in the area than anywhere in the city. That creates a unique opportunity for walking connections, she added, but more sidewalks are needed.
The city is also looking at adding more pedestrian crossings, including what’s known as a hawk signal at Waterworks Park. The pedestrian-activated signal controls traffic to allow people to cross.
Lighting will also soon benefit from an upgrade. Standard street lighting illuminates pedestrians from above and the side. The new recommended approach, Campos said, is to light up the front and back of walkways, “which really makes a difference.” Thinking more long-term, additional lighting lower to the ground will also be added to improve safety.
Brum said the city will continue to implement the action plan and look for more partnerships and resources to invest in the district. Opportunity Zones, a new federal designation that lets investors defer or eliminate tax payments by investing capital gains earnings, could further development on Fourth Plain. But the program is so new the potential is still unknown at this point.
They’ll be back in six months, Brum added, to update council once again on what the city is doing to push Fourth Plain forward.
