More pedestrian-friendly improvements coming to Commercial Drive

Italian flag-coloured crosswalks on Commercial Drive to celebrate Vancouver's Little Italy district. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The segment of Commercial Drive considered to be Vancouver’s Little Italy will see further incremental pedestrian-friendly upgrades throughout 2023.

Some interim improvements will include new street furniture such as benches, bike racks, and garbage cans, with the installation beginning this past fall and continuing into the new year, according to a recent memo by City of Vancouver staff to Vancouver City Council.

As well, in early 2023, bus bulbs will be installed at select bus stops along Commercial Drive south of East 1st Avenue. Similar to the bus bulbs in other areas of Vancouver, such sidewalk extensions at bus stops into the curbside parking lane provide more space for pedestrians and those waiting for a bus, and reduce the travel times and improve the reliability of the buses that serve Commercial Drive. Bus bulbs enable buses to stay on the traffic lane when picking up and dropping off passengers, instead of having to re-enter the traffic lane from the curbside lane.

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The bus bulbs and minor changes to the design of the intersection of Commercial Drive and East 1st Avenue are intended to improve bus and vehicle traffic flow. It is expected that this work will be mainly funded by TransLink.

Additional bus bulbs could potentially be installed along Commercial Drive south of East 1st Avenue starting in Spring 2024.

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Example of a bus bulb at a bus stop on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver. (TransLink)

Towards the end of this decade, TransLink has plans to implement a RapidBus service between downtown Vancouver and South Vancouver via Hastings Street, Commercial Drive, and Victoria Drive. There is already major public transit ridership demand along the corridor; the No. 20 trolley bus route running along Commercial Drive and Victoria Drive from downtown Vancouver is Metro Vancouver’s third busiest bus route, with 27,000 average weekday boardings in 2019.

It is also noted by City staff that prior to the pandemic, Commercial Drive’s northbound curbside parking lane between East 1st Avenue and Venables Street had no parking regulations during the morning peak period from 7 am to 9:30 am. There are no plans to bring back this northbound morning peak hour traffic lane, as the use of this curbside lane has enabled summer restaurant patios and added loading and vehicle parking in the morning to support businesses.

Commercial Drive looking south from the intersection of Gravely Street in Vancouver. (Google Maps)

In June 2021, City Council directed City staff to establish a “pedestrian-first high street” for a segment of Commercial Drive. The current interim improvements could potentially lead to the future consideration of a major redesign of the street.

As well, City staff state they are still working on the previous City Council’s direction of establishing an “Italian Piazza” — a public plaza — somewhere along Commercial Drive. In Summer 2021, a seasonal pop-up piazza was piloted by closing a section of Grant Street where it meets Commercial Drive, but this location was not supported by the community, and the Commercial Drive Business Society noted it had to dedicate significant resources to active such a public space.

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