The pavement was put down for a couple reasons. Most obviously, it enabled road-cyclists to comfortably use the right of way, however, the same is true of wheelchair users and others with limited mobility - a natural surface would make the city's investment in the property less accessible.

Overall, the city is at least nominally planning on retaining a future possibility of a streetcar line. While historically the rail line was an electric interurban (with trains every 40 minutes to each of New Westminster and Steveston), its regional travel significance is much reduced since the 2010 construction of the parallel tunneled Canada Line underneath Cambie Street less than two miles to the east, which provides a more direct regional connection than a possible arbutus routing would have. As such, any transportation use of the corridor would be far more local passenger oriented.