Waterfront Station and Canada Place: getting there

Cool architecture

1920's style

Root beer served
in old chilled mugs

Enter at the east door

If you think of the Port of Metro Vancouver as as a single ship, then this area of waterfront in downtown Vancouver is the bridge. The port sprawls across 600 km of shoreline, 16 municipalities  and includes the Fraser River, the Pitt River and Pitt Lake. Goods are sent all over the world from Canada's busiest port, but this downtown Vancouver section is mainly concerned with passenger service. Passenger service in the area began with the construction of Waterfront Station by the CPR in 1914 to service its transcontinental railway. Next came the 1927 construction of the pier where Canada Place sits today to accommodate the CPR's steamship service. The buildings are linked by underground walkways that are not accessible. More on that later.

Old school

Waterfront Station is a major transit hub for Translink, the public transit provider. Trolley and bus service, SeaBus, West Coast Express commuter trains and all of the SkyTrain routes converge here. There's paid parking on the east side, curb cuts and wide fully automatic doors. The front entrance has one small over used semi-automatic door. The west entrance leads to a stairway. The building is a  Public WIFI hot spot and offers a mix of office space, services and restaurants. The old station has kept its facade throughout modifications and upgrades over the years. We can get an interesting perspective on the status of of PWDs and inclusion in our society over the decades simply by looking more closely at some of these changes. Obviously the 1920's building was  erected without thought of accommodation. In 1970's it was modified to include a SeaBus terminal. An elevator was installed. A washroom was built at the SeaBus terminal that remains inaccessible. The elevator is slow, small and dangerously isolated from the main traffic.

 In 1985 there was another major modification including an additional elevator installation for the SkyTrain. This newer elevator is still slow but a little bigger and closer to mainstream traffic for safety. It's difficult to access as you need to cross the heavy pedestrian traffic flow emerging from an escalator. In addition, this one elevator at the east end of the platform does not allow access to the Canada Place underground corridor at the train platform's west exit.

In the 1990's better elevators and accessible washrooms were added to the West Coast Express rail station. The completion of the Canada Line in 2009 saw the addition of two elevators that are are quick, large, out of direct traffic flow and safely transparent with multiple located call buttons for easy access, and auditory and other way finding. The track platform has a tactile strip to indicate danger. There is access to both the Waterfront Station and Granville Street exits. All the elevators are still used today; however, the older elevators have since been outfitted with audio way finding and all train lines have been fitted with tactile warning strips.

Lack of access to Canada Place at the west exit of the Expo Millennium Line platform means hiking up the street, but don't let that deter you. This area is a popular spot for Vancouver's emerging street food scene and a caravan of carts drop anchor here rain or shine. For transit info visit http://www.translink.can/. If you want to access the food court area in the underground corridor between Canada Place and Waterfront Station, use the elevator in the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel lobby.

Five sails light nightly

Canada Place is across the street from the Waterfront Fairmont Hotel. Much more than a busy cruise ship terminal, it's also home to the the Vancouver Convention Centre East, the Pan Pacific Hotel and more. Activities and events happen all year long. On Canada Day hundreds of new citizens are sworn in and events and parties go into the night climaxing with fireworks. Between November 24 and 27, 2011, Canada Place will host numerous free and paid parties during the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup festivities. After that Canada Place will undergo its annual transformation into a holiday wonderland just in time for the Christmas season. For a look at the events schedule and other info go to www.canadaplace.ca.

Ship on the dock

Beautiful views

Pan Pacific Hotel

Pier looking toward downtown

Check out the port exhibit and try your hand at operating the crane on the cargo loading simulator. There are numerous accessible washrooms throughout the facility. For information on the port including sailing scheduales go to www.portmetrovancouver.com.