March 2025 Newsletter
MARCH 2025 SRA NEWSLETTER
Why Are They Closing Hawks?
Starting soon, CoV will install concrete barriers at the end of Hawks at Prior to close it to pass through traffic. A number of you have expressed concern/confusion/alarm: “Why!? How will I get out of the neighborhood? Whose crazy idea was this?!”
Well, it was the SRA’s idea. As part of the ongoing effort to calm and downgrade Prior St., we requested that Hawks be closed to truck traffic for four reasons:
• It will lower the volume of diesel traffic on Prior as trucks headed to and from Produce Row will have to use Raymur or Malkin.
• It will lessen the amount of diesel pollution in the park and community garden.
• It will transform the block of Hawks between the park and garden into a much calmer street.
• Semis will no longer impede traffic trying to make an tight turn with no regular traffic light.
It was taken five years for this request to be approved by Produce Row businesses, BC Trucking Association and CoV Traffic and Engineering. It was also held up by the closure of Raymur to build the pump station. But now, it’s finally happening.
The south end will be open and parking will be permitted. Residents leaving the neighbourhood can access National via Malkin at Prior. If you have questions and concerns, e-mail PriorEnhancementPilot@vancouver.ca.
Why We Oppose This Re-Zoning Proposal
The application to “spot rezone” the residential lots at 441-449 E. Pender St. to CD-1 goes against the City’s own bylaws, goals and policy objectives for our neighbourhood. The RT-3 zoning of Strathcona was formalized in the 1992 Strathcona Plan, which was the outcome of long-fought and sustained grass-roots advocacy by local neighbourhood residents (first through the SPOTA and later through the SRA). The thriving and diverse community that we have in Strathcona today can be largely attributed to those efforts to sustain social capital and preserve the unique heritage character of the neighbourhood.
The six-story, 65 micro-suite building proposed for the site offers nothing for families, seniors or existing local residents seeking to secure livable and affordable housing. Its size is completely out of character with other buildings along E. Pender St and throughout the RT-3 zoning area. Its built form is akin to a human warehouse, not purpose-built for livability or community. The apparent intention of relocating a DTES SRO to a site a half block away from an elementary school is concerning. The proposed non-profit owner/operator for the project, Anhart Community Housing Society, which also manages the Patricia Hotel, has a questionable reputation (see this Globe & Mail article). The listed developer, Pack Building, is a for-profit company with zero track record for a development of this type.
We acknowledge the need for more social housing. We support the 275 units of social housing are currently under construction within a block of this site. We support projects that are responsive to the current needs of the neighbourhood and which fit within the policy focus on family and infill housing, especially with the new St. Paul’s hospital opening soon. But the SRA is deeply concerned about projects such as this, that threaten to erode the very things that make Strathcona a safe, accessible and welcoming place to live. For a more detailed list of our concerns, click here.
If you agree, please sign this petition. In any case, please send your opinion to the City at this link. The world only listens to those who speak up.