I've got good news, and bad news..
Bad news is the City of Vancouver has cut down the trees on Granville Street at around 4 feet high. (so you drunken foolios don't go tripping on the stumps)
Today, good news comes in threes.
1.) The trees are a part of work to prepare the street for a facelift. The plan is to reconstruct the entire downtown portion of Granville Street with it's fixtures: this includes the road, sidewalks and light posts. In about a year, we'll have a beautiful new Granville Street with basalt inlaid concrete, new benches, garbage receptacles, lights, banners, flower baskets... the whole nine yards.
2.) New trees will be replanted in their place. This is an important part of the plan. The new trees will require less maintenence and will not lift the sidewalk & buildings the way the old trees did. So far, the old beech trees on the 500 block are planned to remain untouched. The only downside is, while the trees acclimatize to their new home they are particularly vulnerable to vandalism. If you are out there when the new trees freshly planted, keep an eye out for them!
3.) In this preparation, they've also temporarily taken out the parking meters on the 1100 block. There is no plan to advertise this development so this is your little known secret. Use it wisely. I haven't heard word of when they are replacing the meters but I'd bet good money it won't be until the new street is in place. Free parking! Woot!
More information can be found here: http://vancouver.ca/granvilleredesign
