Over 20 bus shelter glass panels shattered on Granville in downtown Vancouver in vandalism spree

Special large TransLink bus shelters on the 700 block of Granville Street in downtown Vancouver have been smashed following a vandalism spree in the early-morning hours on Tuesday.

The Vancouver Police Department says over 20 panes of glass were intentionally shattered at the bus shelters, after a man with a hammer walking down the street allegedly smashed the glass bus stops.

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According to a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, witnesses called 911 and briefly detained the man until police officers arrived and took the man into custody.

Police have named 47-year-old Sergey Kurmanaev as the suspect. He was taken to jail and has been charged with one count of mischief of over $5,000.

This latest incident of a glass-smashing vandalism spree is likely to result in a repair bill of at least thousands of dollars.

Smashed glass bus shelters on the 700 block of Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Smashed glass bus shelters on the 700 block of Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The damaged extra-long bus shelters were installed in 2009, after the completion of the Canada Line’s Vancouver City Centre Station beneath the city block. This includes the southbound bus shelter closest to Robson Street and Nordstrom, and the northbound bus shelter closest to West Georgia Street and London Drugs.

It should be noted that bus shelters across Metro Vancouver and funded, installed, operated, and maintained by municipal governments, not TransLink.

“The City is disappointed to hear of the intentional shattering of more than 20 panes of glass on bus shelters on Granville Street. Our staff remain committed to ensuring Vancouver’s public spaces are safe and clean for residents and visitors alike,” reads a statement by the City of Vancouver to Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry.

The municipal government notes it has a public-private partnership with Outfront JC Decaux for street furniture and amenities, including bus shelters, in exchange for advertising revenue opportunities.

Smashed glass bus shelters on the 700 block of Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

You might also like:
• It would cost $22 million to ensure every Burnaby bus stop has a shelter
• New digital screen advertising signs coming to Vancouver streets
• Granville Street should be Vancouver's version of NYC's Times Square: City staff
• City of Vancouver planning to guide future Granville Entertainment District revitalization
• $50,000 cost to repair smashed glass of Vancouver Olympic Cauldron