Granville Street's pedestrian trial run: Vancouver's big bet or a summer fling?

Article content

Still, he doubts the summer buzz would survive a Vancouver winter.

Article content

“Summertime will be good, but (during) wintertime Vancouver has rain,” he said.

Article content

Jin supports the city’s long-term vision in principle but isn’t sure a year-round closure would work.

Article content

Rendering in the report for the 20-year plan to revitalize Granville Street, approved by Vancouver city council in 2025. Credit: City of Vancouver Photo by City of Vancouver

Article content

Kirk Spinks, director of operations at the El Furniture Warehouse Granville, said his bar has seen more customers arriving earlier in the day, as people choose to walk the car-free street.

Article content

He said the city “did a really good job of their due diligence,” setting up delivery zones on quieter side streets, and the Warehouse saw “no major disruptions.” Spinks said he would prefer Granville to be a pedestrian-only area every summer.

Article content

The manager of a Granville Street health-care business, who asked not to be named, had a very different experience. The closure has made deliveries far harder, he said, as “lots of companies and couriers are just refusing to provide services” to the area.

Article content

Most of his clients are seniors or people with mobility challenges, he said, and the closure has made it harder for them to reach essential care. A short closure is survivable, but a permanent one isn’t.

Article content

Article content

“We can survive six weeks or two months, but anything beyond that is detrimental to our business,” he said.

Article content

Only hospitality businesses are benefiting, he said, and even that will fade once the tournament ends, as “there’s not enough population to support this.”

Article content

Patrick Shaughnessy has run Golden Age Collectables on Granville since 1979. Business is up slightly this summer, he said — as it usually is — though some longtime customers are staying away because getting there is now a hassle.

Article content

His worry is what happens after the Cup spotlight moves on: without the pull of transit and big events, he fears a permanently transport-free Granville would be left to the problems that have lingered on the street for decades.

Article content

“I would much rather have the buses back, and just do Granville Street for special events like this or the Olympics,” Shaughnessy said.

Article content

His concern echoes language in the city’s own plan, which doesn’t shy away from Granville’s long-standing struggles.

Article content

“Today, the area faces challenges with vacant storefronts, lack of daytime activity, street disorder, and rising health and safety concerns,” the plan says.

Article content

Article content

Rendering in the report for the 20-year plan to revitalize Granville Street, approved by Vancouver city council in 2025. Credit: City of Vancouver

Article content

Brent Toderian, a former chief planner for the City of Vancouver, wrote in a Vancouver Sun op-ed this week that car-free Granville has been an “amazing” place during the Cup, “filled with people, joy and energy.”

Article content

Vancouver has lost ground in recent years to Montreal in terms of making “people-places,” Toderian argues, and city hall should “more urgently” implement the Granville Street plan approved last year by council.

Article content

For many Europeans, these kinds of car-free public spaces are commonplace. Swiss soccer fan Sylvain Tornay was in Vancouver this week to watch his team take on Canada at B.C. Place, after watching their earlier matches in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Article content

After visiting those two West Coast U.S. cities, Tornay said he was pleasantly surprised to visit a car-free street in downtown Vancouver.

Article content

During Tuesday night’s match in Guadalajara, Mexico, between Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Vancouver, the bars, restaurants and streetscape of Granville Street were “buzzing,” Tornay said. “In the U.S., there is nothing like that. In Europe, we love that.”

Article content

Article content

Article content