Waterfront Road in downtown Vancouver to see restricted vehicle access

Waterfront Road looking east from Waterfront Station's SeaBus terminal. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Months-long vehicle access changes are coming to Waterfront Road.

Waterfront Road has long been a publicly accessible east-west bypass route, albeit informally, across much of the downtown Vancouver peninsula.

The two-lane roadway along the northern shoreline of the peninsula runs between the Main Street overpass and Burrard Street (via the West Cordova Street ramp) just outside Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre — and it is free of any intersections and traffic signals, bypassing the Downtown Eastside, Gastown, and a portion of the Central Business District.

You might also like:

But during the busier period of the year for the roadway, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which owns Waterfront Road, will be limiting the type of vehicles that can access the route, which is intended for port-related uses primarily. This follows a major increase in non-port related general traffic using Waterfront Road in recent weeks after the City of Vancouver began its temporary closure of key streets within Gastown to perform road improvements ahead of this summer’s car-free pilot project for pedestrians.

According to the port authority, ever since Gastown traffic diversions began in early March 2024, Waterfront Road has seen its morning westbound traffic volumes nearly doubling to almost 1,000 passenger vehicles, based on traffic counts within a 90 minute period. This has resulted in some congestion impacting vehicles that serve the Canada Place cruise ship terminal.

Waterfront Road between the Main Street overpass and Burrard Street:

Waterfront Road between the Main Street overpass and Burrard Street/West Cordova Street (Canada Place/Vancouver Convention Centre), with the Gastown road closures also highlighted. (Google Maps)

Gastown’s Spring 2024 traffic changes:

Traffic changes within and near Gastown for road repairs, March to June 2024. (City of Vancouver)

Gastown’s Summer 2024 traffic changes:

Traffic changes within and near Gastown for the Water Street car-free pilot project, July to August 2024. (City of Vancouver)

Starting on Monday, April 8, 2024, the port authority will establish a checkpoint at the intersection of Main Street and Waterfront Road. Drivers of non-commercial vehicles seeking to access Waterfront Road from the Main Street overpass will need to demonstrate proof of business. Those without it will be turned around.

The port authority’s checkpoint will remain in place until the end of August 2024, during the entirety of Gastown’s road construction period and the subsequent car-free pilot project for pedestrians period.

A proof of business includes employee ID with an address bordering Waterfront Road, business card that matches personal photo ID, a parking decal for a Waterfront Road parking lot, or an exhibitor pass for the convention centre.

All commercial, taxi, and rideshare vehicles, including those accessing Harbour Air, Helijet, and Crab Park, will be permitted access onto Waterfront Road without proof of business.

Waterfront Road is a critical access roadway for the Canada Place cruise ship terminal, with passenger buses and freight vehicles providing cruise ships with their resupply of food, beverages, ship supplies, and maintenance equipment.

The 2024 cruise ship season at Canada Place officially began in March, and it will begin to pick up in activity starting later this month. The port authority is projecting a potential record-breaking cruise ship season in 2024, with 1.27 million passengers forecast to travel on 329 scheduled cruise ship visits. Canada Place is the homeport for the vast majority of these visits.

downtown vancouver skyline central business district office towers f

Office towers in downtown Vancouver from the perspective of Waterfront Road. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Since early March 2024, Alexander Street, Powell Street, and Water Street have been blocked off and are no longer through-routes across Gastown between the Downtown Eastside and Central Business District. This traffic pattern will continue until late August 2024.

The City previously told media it anticipates some vehicle traffic will be redirected to Hastings Street and the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts. But as it turns out, some of the traffic volumes that typically travel through Gastown’s streets are now also using Waterfront Road.

The repaired roadway pavers along Water Street, especially at Maple Leaf Square at the intersection with Carrall Street, will be fully repaired by the end of June 2024. The car-free pilot project enabling pedestrianized segments of Water Street will take place between early July and late August 2024.

You might also like: