Underground Canada Post tunnel to be filled in

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It used a conveyor belt to take mail from the waterfront to the Canada Post building and now, like door-to-door mail delivery service, it will soon be no more.

The Canada Post underground tunnel will be filled in despite pleas by some to save it.

The tunnel was opened in 1954 and only used for a few years thanks to changes made to weight restrictions for air mail service. The tunnel is 732 metres and used to take mail delivered to the Waterfront train station to the postal building on Georgia Street.

Civic historian John Atkin admits it is sad to lose a curious part of Vancouver’s underground, but “what the heck do you do with a tunnel that runs under city streets to a train station that has really no function? And in our culture where everything is a liability, you can see that some great empty space under city streets, probably keeps somebody awake at night.”

Atkin says there were some ideas floated as to what could be done to make the most of the forgotten stretch. “There [were] some proposals for some experimental farming, and various other things down there, but you know, it’s an interesting curiosity, but I don’t think it looms large, as in great losses to the city in that sense.”

Poor air quality, lighting, access and water were all factors that made coming up with the right use more difficult.

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