Cordova Street in downtown Vancouver to become a two-way route this summer
A segment of a major roadway serving the downtown Vancouver peninsula will be temporarily converted into a two-way street for vehicle traffic starting later this spring and into the summer months.
Currently, Cordova Street between the intersections with Richards Street/Water Street in Gastown and Gore Avenue in the Downtown Eastside is an eastbound direction only roadway for vehicles, generally with two eastbound travel lanes and up to three eastbound travel lanes when peak period parking restrictions are applied in some areas.
However, starting on May 25, 2025, this seven-block-long stretch of Cordova Street will have both westbound and eastbound lanes.
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In a bulletin today, the City of Vancouver announced this pilot project to “significantly” improve the vehicle circulation and access to Gastown during the return of the pedestrian zone on Water Street in Summer 2025.
City crews have begun work on the road design changes to Cordova Street, which includes changing the lane paint markings and traffic signals, and other minor street modifications. Throughout much of May, this work will necessitate the closure of two vehicle lanes on the north side of Cordova Street.
Map of the segment of Cordova Street between Richards Street and Gore Avenue being converted from an eastbound-only street to both an eastbound and westbound street from late May to late September 2025. (City of Vancouver)
West Cordova Street looking westward from the intersection with Abbott Street. (Google Maps)
The City notes that this will not only provide valuable insights for the Gastown Public Spaces Plan, which will be a master plan to improve the historic district’s vibrancy, but also a potential future expansion of the two-way vehicle traffic configuration all the way east to the Powell Street overpass.
Cordova Street will return to a one-way eastbound street by late September 2025.
Following last year’s initial trial, the Water Street pedestrian zone will return this summer with car-free Sundays, public space enhancements, and other temporary changes. This pedestrian zone is a part of the planning process for the Gastown Public Spaces Plan.
First day of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone in Gastown on June 28, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)