Major traffic changes coming to Canada Place Way ahead of Vancouver cruise ship season
Traffic changes are coming to Canada Place Way ahead of Vancouver’s busy cruise ship season.
The City of Vancouver said it will start testing one-way vehicle circulation on Canada Place between Howe and Burrard streets starting in mid-April until December 2025.
Drivers will be able to enter the new one-way zone via Howe Street, with options to exit at Burrard or Thurlow Street.
City of Vancouver
The thoroughfare gets extremely busy during the spring and summer months as ships visit Canada Place almost daily during cruise season.
For the 2025 season, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority anticipates a total of 301 cruise ships visiting the city, bringing over 1.2 million passengers with them.
Disney Wonder cruise ship at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver in March. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The City anticipates that changing the two-way vehicle circulation to one-way will come with improvements to safety for passengers entering and exiting Canada Place and a more organized flow for tour buses, taxis, rideshare cars, and other vehicles travelling in the area.
It also says the changes should reduce the “number of conflict points” between pedestrians and vehicles.
As part of its ongoing work to improve the pedestrian experience in Vancouver, the City also completed major repairs to the east sidewalk of 200 Howe St. near Waterfront Station last year.
City Staff will monitor the status of this new pilot project in collaboration with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Vancouver Convention Centre, and other stakeholders.
The pilot could become permanent based on the outcome of this test period.
This year’s cruise ship season kicked off early with a visit from the Disney Wonder last month.
April will see several ships dock at Canada Place, including the Koningsdam, Grand Princess, Europa II, and Discovery Princess.
With files from Kenneth Chan