Pedestrians begin to flock to Gastown's car-free street

First day of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone in Gastown on June 28, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

After many months of anticipation, Water Street in Gastown has been transformed into a pedestrian-oriented street, just in time for the Canada Day long weekend.

Today, Friday, June 28, 2024, is the Water Street Pedestrian Zone pilot project’s very first day — and it is also considered its soft launch.

With fair weather conditions, a steady flow of tourists, including cruise ship passengers, and curious local residents and workers, the pedestrian-oriented street uses appear to be already working.

Late Friday afternoon, pedestrians were seen spilling out onto the roadway, and giving utility to the freshly installed new street furniture, including picnic and patio tables, sun lounge chairs, benches, and island seating.

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“The Water Street Pedestrian Zone is now open, and Gastown is ready to shine as a patio, community and business hot spot,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim in a statement today. “I’d like to personally invite everyone to walk, bike or roll down to Gastown to shop, eat and take in everything this iconic and pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood has to offer.”

Water Street Pedestrian Zone Gastown Car Free June 28 2024

First day of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone in Gastown on June 28, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Over the past few months, a new traffic pattern has been in place across Gastown to enable extensive dilapidated brick pavers and asphalt patches in Maple Tree Square to be properly repaired with temporary, but durable, brick pavers. The roadway repairs were completed earlier this month.

The traffic pattern will remain in place throughout the pilot project ending in late August 2024. This entails a car-free zone for one block of Water Street between Richards Street/West Cordova Street and Cambie Street (Gastown Steam Clock), and the area of Maple Tree Square (intersection of Water, Alexander, Powell, and Carrall streets).

There is no through-traffic between Columbia and Richards Street/West Cordova Street, but car-light access has been retained for the two blocks between Maple Tree Square and Cambie Street.

First day of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone in Gastown on June 28, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Map of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone in Gastown, Summer 2024. (City of Vancouver)

In addition to seating, Water Street now features planters, wayfinding signs and maps, and First Nations storytelling and art installations.

As summer progresses, more restaurants and shops along Water Street are expected to take advantage of the expanded space for pedestrians by setting up patios and merchandise displays. To support businesses, the municipal government has waived all permit fees and promised to expedite applications associated with such business activations on the street.

However, businesses have indicated that the road closures to vehicles — beginning with the roadway repairs at the start of spring — have had a real impact on their bottom line to date.

Wally Wargolet, the executive director of the Gastown Business Improvement Society, previously told Daily Hive Urbanized businesses are losing around $500,000 per week due to the street closures, which he says is an open estimate based on what he has heard from businesses. For example, as of May 2024, English-style pub Six Acres noted their business activity went down by 30% to 40%, while Kimprints shared their business has dropped by 25%.

Beyond street furniture and potential activations by businesses, the City hopes the temporary open public spaces will be a hotspot for events this summer.

The City is inviting residents, businesses, and community organizations to host free small-scale events and community-oriented activities through the Open Streets Permit, which is being offered for free under the pilot project. Examples of events that qualify under this free permit include community games (board games, chess, mah-jong, etc.), educational activities and events, storytelling, live music, arts performances, and pop-up events.

First day of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone in Gastown on June 28, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Local tourism bureau Destination Vancouver has set up a kiosk at the westernmost end of Water Street to provide residents, cruise ship passengers, and other visitors with guidance.

The two-month-long pilot project includes providing Water Street with an enhanced sanitation and stewardship plan, consisting of additional daytime litter pick up and micro-cleaning.

To further support businesses this summer, the GBIS is offering free parking for three hours once per week at the EasyPark 151 West Cordova Street parkade. They are also providing participating businesses in the area with free one-zone TransLink fares to distribute to customers upon request. Additionally, a free secure bike valet is now operational at 131 Water Street (the internal courtyard of the building that is across the street from Vancouver Film School).

The entire pilot project carries a cost of $1.3 million. Findings, observations, and public input received from the pilot project will be used to create Gastown’s $10 million permanent public space strategy for implementation over the longer term, which includes the cost of the current pilot project. This summer’s pilot project could determine whether car-free and/or car-light options are viable on a permanent or semi-permanent/seasonal basis.

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