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September 5, 2025

Forest-Sensitive Footbridge Design: Three Recent Projects from Vancouver's North Shore

Key Points

The designs showcase greater empathy toward the forest, integrating trees as key design elements.
Three case studies demonstrate how advanced tools like LiDAR and 3D point clouds reshape infrastructure design.
Footbridge designs reflect thoughtful contextual integration, resulting in elegant structures that harmonize with nature.
The new approach highlights a transition from viewing trees as obstacles to embracing them as design influences.

Abstract

This paper traces our evolution toward a 'forest-sensitive' design approach for footbridges through three case studies on Vancouver’s North Shore: the Casano-Loutet Pedestrian and Bicycle Overpass, Spirit Trail Lynn Creek Crossing, and Spirit Trail McCartney Creek Crossing. We document a shift in perspective from treating trees as obstacles to embracing them as design generators and that can positively shape infrastructure. Using empathetic digital tools—high-definition LiDAR scanning, realistic 3D point clouds, and advanced visualization—we could respond to forest complexity with greater intuition and precision than convetional methods allow. The resulting footbridge designs demonstrate an extrinsic elegance that follows from thoughtful contextual integration.

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Forest-Sensitive Footbridge Design: Three Recent Projects from Vancouver's North Shore

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