New permanent street plaza to be built on Main Street in Mount Pleasant | Daily Hive

Artistic rendering of the permanent Main-14th Neighbourhood Plaza. (City of Vancouver)

The City of Vancouver has kicked off a new initiative to enhance public spaces along Main Street in Mount Pleasant, with the biggest project being a new permanent in-street plaza on a short segment of East 14th Avenue just east of the intersection with Main Street.

This “Main-14th Neighbourhood Plaza” will be a permanent upgrade of the existing temporary plaza at the same location within the core of Main Street Village, with construction beginning later this summer and ending in Spring 2026.

The car-free, in-street plaza extends from Main Street to the laneway just east of Main Street. On either side, the plaza is framed by two cafes — JJ Bean to the south and Forecast Coffee to the north.

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The new and improved features will include a flexible and open design to support events and other programming, electrical connections to enable decorative lighting and support events, built-in seating and upgraded furniture, new trees and green infrastructure including a rain garden, separate walking and cycling paths (a part of the 14th Avenue bikeway), a drinking fountain, Main Street bus stop improvements, wider sidewalks, and a new concrete plaza surface.

The existing temporary plaza has been in place since Car Free Day 2018, which was at the time an upgrade of the site’s parklet.

During the permanent plaza’s construction, the City will establish a temporary plaza on the other side of East 14th Avenue — the west side of the intersection of Main Street.

Previous temporary condition of Main-14th Neighbourhood Plaza:

Existing temporary plaza at the intersection of Main Street and East 14th Avenue. (Google Maps)

Future permanent condition of Main-14th Neighbourhood Plaza:

Artistic rendering of the permanent Main-14th Neighbourhood Plaza. (City of Vancouver)

This Main-14th plaza project is part of a broader effort to revitalize the Mount Pleasant streetscape, with immediate upgrades planned for the Main Street corridor over the next year. Improvements will include sidewalk repairs, new bike racks, upgraded garbage bins, new lighting, pole painting, and enhanced street cleaning.

In total, this represents an investment of roughly $5 million in the public spaces of Mount Pleasant, including approximately $4 million for the plaza and nearby upgrades and about $1 million for other streetscape improvements.

“Mount Pleasant is known for its creativity, diversity and strong sense of community,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim in a statement.

“Main Street is one of Vancouver’s most vibrant corridors, and with support from the Uplifting Communities Fund, we’re investing in spaces that bring people together. These improvements will help strengthen connections, support local businesses and make this neighbourhood an even better place to live and gather.”

The City previously announced it will build a total of four new permanent car-free street plazas, as a conversion of existing temporary street plazas. Main-14th plaza is the second of these projects.

Map of existing temporary street plazas in Vancouver that will be converted into a permanent design by 2026. (Daily Hive/Google Maps)

Previous temporary condition of Kamloops-Hastings Neighbourhood Plaza:

Existing condition of the temporary Kamloops-Hastings Neighbourhood Plaza. (Google Maps)

Future permanent condition of Kamloops-Hastings Neighbourhood Plaza:

Artistic rendering of the permanent Kamloops-Hastings Neighbourhood Plaza. (City of Vancouver)

Construction on the first of these plazas began in Spring 2025, with “Kamloops-Hastings Neighbourhood Plaza” located south of the intersection of East Hastings Street and Kamloops Street. It is expected to reach completion in Spring 2026.

The other two permanent plazas will similarly be conversions of the existing temporary plazas, located east of the intersection of Granville Street and West 14th Avenue (South Granville Village in Fairview) and east of the intersection of Cambie Street and West 18th Avenue (Cambie Village in Riley Park-Little Mountain).

Previous temporary condition of Granville-14th Neighbourhood Plaza:

Existing temporary plaza at the intersection of Granville Street and West 14th Avenue. (Google Maps)

Future permanent condition of Granville-14th Neighbourhood Plaza:

Artistic rendering of the permanent Granville-14th Neighbourhood Plaza. (City of Vancouver)

Both remaining plazas — “Granville-West 14th Neighbourhood Plaza” and “Cambie-18th Neighbourhood Plaza” — are also expected to begin construction later this summer for a completion next spring.

In late February 2025, Vancouver City Council approved an $8.77 million contract to Jacob Bros. Construction Inc. to build all four new permanent street plazas. A major portion of these new plazas are funded by the provincial government’s one-time Growing Communities Fund allocation to Vancouver’s municipal government.

Previous temporary condition of Cambie-18th Neighbourhood Plaza:

Existing temporary plaza at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 18th Avenue. (Google Maps)

Future permanent condition of Cambie-18th Neighbourhood Plaza:

Artistic rendering of the permanent Cambie-18th Neighbourhood Plaza. (City of Vancouver)

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