‘Granville Street is ready to become a global, world-class entertainment district,’ says Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.
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The temporary pedestrian zone on Granville Street that was set up for World Cup soccer matches will remain a car-free area for the rest of the summer.
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At a special meeting of city council Thursday afternoon, a majority of councillors voted yes to a motion to extend the Granville Street pedestrian zone with two opposed.
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The five-block zone, which was created for FIFA World Cup 2026, has been packed with soccer fans, particularly during Canada’s matches.
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Those in favour say the city must seize the momentum of public support while those against argue it’s not worth the $4.75 million price tag to pedestrianize Granville Street for seven weeks post-World Cup when it’s not clear how popular it will remain. They also argued for a more sustainable, long-term approach.
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“This motion is asking for nearly $5 million for only seven weeks,” said Councillor Rebecca Bligh, who voted against the motion along with Pete Fry.
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“Small businesses are struggling right across this city…How do you think they would feel if they knew that we would be agreeing to spending close to $700,000 a week in five or six blocks of the downtown? I think they would find that egregious,” added Bligh.
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Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said the city needs to build on the excitement and “overwhelming success” of the pedestrian area while there is support for the plan now.
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“Opportunity knocks, we don’t get these opportunities very often, if at all, and I truly believe that we are ready as a neighbourhood…as a city, as a region, as a province, to take it to the next level. Granville Street is ready to become a global, world-class entertainment district,” said Sim.
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Coun. Lucy Maloney proposed that staff work on a three-year seasonal pilot to give the downtown BIA and Granville Street businesses time to plan ahead to adapt to the idea of a pedestrian zone.
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“Ithinkweneedtocommittothis.Ithinkit’sabsolutelywrongtoexpectthatthepedestrianzonepostWorldCupisgoingtobelikethepedestrianzoneduringtheWorldCup,butIthinkthatthat’sareallyimportantthingforustoexplore now.”
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She added that staff need to figure out a way to curb illegal actions that have led to several arrests of people openly drinking alcohol on the street, and add more family-friendly activities.
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Fry said while he supports a pedestrian area long term, not enough planning has been done for this rushed summer extension.
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“This is near $5 million that we’re talking about spending. We don’t really know what an activation without a World Cup, and the tens of thousands of visitors downtown would possibly look like,” he said, adding the city still doesn’t how much it’s on the hook for when it comes to World Cup expenditures.
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“So, this leaves us with so many questions, and I really wish that we had taken a more transparent and collaborative approach to this. I want to support this Granville activation. I want to see it succeed, but I am not presented with any kind of cogent argument that suggests that this will be a success…It’s not good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
