Push to reopen Clark Drive entrance into Vancouver port to ease traffic strain | Daily Hive

Push to reopen Clark Drive entrance into Vancouver port to ease traffic strain on residential neighbourhoods

Clark Drive entrance into the Vancouver port facilities. (Google Maps)

A Vancouver city councillor is calling for action to address the long-running impacts of container truck traffic on East Vancouver neighbourhoods, urging the reopening of Clark Drive as a primary access point to the Port of Vancouver’s facilities in Burrard Inlet.

Next week, Vancouver City Council is expected to approve ABC Vancouver city councillor Lisa Dominato’s member motion to urge the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to change the main transportation access routings.

The motion responds to growing frustration from residents along Powell, Dundas, Nanaimo, and McGill streets, where rerouted truck traffic has become a daily reality for more than a decade, according to Dominato.

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The issue dates back to 2011, when container trucks were diverted from the Clark Drive entrance to Commissioner Street to accommodate port construction work. The diversion, originally intended as a temporary measure, became permanent, with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority recently confirming that the Clark Drive entrance will remain closed to to inbound container trucks.

Dominato says residents have reported that the resulting truck volumes have led to excessive noise, vibrations, and safety risks, particularly for children and families.

Some residents have also launched an online petition demanding the reopening of the entrance at the northernmost foot of Clark Drive. The petition, launched in mid-June 2025, has recorded over 820 signatures at the time of this article’s publication.

Previous port truck traffic route before changes:

Michelle Brown-Colistro

Current port truck traffic route since the changes:

Michelle Brown-Colistro

The City of Vancouver’s own 2012 transportation plan included a goal of advocating for Clark Drive to reopen as the port’s primary north-south access before 2017. That has yet to happen. Dominato’s motion seeks to reignite that commitment, while emphasizing the City’s responsibility to protect neighbourhood livability even though it lacks direct control over the operations and strategies of the port authority, which is a federal entity.

The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest and most diversified port, playing a vital role in the national economy. On the Burrard Inlet waterfront in East Vancouver, the two key container terminals — DP World Centerm, located north of the Downtown Eastside and west of Clark Drive, and GCT Vanterm, situated north of Grandview-Woodland and east of Clark Drive — together handle roughly 2.5 million containers annually. These containers move in and out of the port by truck and rail.

In 2021, the port authority completed the construction of the new 600-metre-long, east-west Centennial Road viaduct overpass within the port lands, paralleling the railways. This project was part of the overall Centerm terminal expansion project, with the new viaduct serving to reduce rail and road congestion within the port facility.

centennial road overpass vancouver centerm

July 2021 opening of the Centennial Road overpass. (Port of Vancouver)

Upon approval, Dominato’s motion formally acknowledges residents’ concerns about the impacts of container truck traffic and directs City staff to collaborate with the port authority on possible options for reopening Clark Drive, either full-time or during certain hours to ease neighbourhood disruptions.

It would also require City staff to investigate possible mitigation strategies, including noise reduction measures, time-of-day restrictions, and alternate buffer routes.

In addition, the motion calls on the City to advocate to the federal government for policy changes that give municipal governments more influence over port-related traffic decisions.

Last year, during the cruise ship season, the port authority temporarily introduced restricted access to the port-owned Waterfront Road — a two-lane, intersection-free corridor linking Coal Harbour and Canada Place in downtown Vancouver with the Main Street port entrance. The move came in response to a surge in general vehicle traffic, as drivers sought to bypass construction work and the Gastown car-free pilot project by cutting through the waterfront route.

According to the port authority, the added traffic was causing congestion and delaying trucks responsible for delivering goods and supplies to cruise ships. After a manned checkpoint enforcing the restrictions went into place on Waterfront Road, vehicle traffic volumes fell down from the earlier increase of over 30 per cent.

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