Summer’s here and the weekend is only a few hours away. Weather aside, things are lining up nicely for some seasonal fun in the city’s public realm. Ready, set, go!

A few quick updates about some upcoming activities that you may be interested in:

• Robson Square Summer Plaza – Update on the 800-block!
• Starting July 5 – Lunch Meet! Long Table Action on Abbot Street
• Transportation Plan – Public Space Ideas
• Grandview-Woodland Community Plan
• St. George Street Rainway – Street Mural Painting

Robson Square Summer Plaza – Jazzing up the 800-block is just the beginning!

For the second year in a row, the 800-block of Robson Street, between Hornby and Howe, will be closed to through traffic. Like the Granville Street pedestrian mall around the corner, the expanded Robson Square will play host to a variety of street level activities through to Labour Day.

The closure begins tomorrow, June 23, and coincides with the Jazz Fest (check out their schedule for an awesome selection of free shows at this site and elsewhere). A few weeks hence the installation of Pop Rocks – a very cool outdoor seating installation – will take place. And if that wasn’t enough, look for other fun activities – including VPSN-led laser graffiti, speakers’ corner and public karaoke installations – to animate the space over the coming months.

As many of you know, the VPSN is quite supportive of the expansion of Robson Square. Our survey last summer saw an overwhelming number of people support the creation of a larger public gathering area in this space… and the current closure gives us yet another opportunity to see how the space supports public life in the city.

That being said, we know that there are a lot of different opinions on the space… and we want to hear your side of things too. To this end, we’ll be doing some evaluation work throughout the summer.

Please take a moment to let us know what you think of the expanded space. Send your photos, ideas, thoughts, concerns and ideas our way – we want to hear from you!

:: Feedback – robsonsquare [at] vancouverpublicspace.ca

Starting July 5 – Lunch Meet! Long Table Action on Abbott Street

And speaking of street closures… can we invite you to lunch in July? LUNCH MEET is a new City-sponsored initiative that we’re running every Thursday of the month. The 300-block of Abbott Street will be transformed into a place for people, with a long table and music provided by local artists. Grab a bite to eat from a local business, food cart or bring your own lunch and meet a neighbour, friend or work colleague.

The event kicks off on July 5th and we’re looking for a team of volunteers to help with event-related activities. Most volunteer tasks are 1 hour in duration, and would take place from 10:30 am to 2pm.

:: Lend a hand – contact adam [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

Transportation 2040 Plan – Public Space Ideas

The City is in the process of updating their Transportation Plan. The new policy document, called Transportation 2040, will provide a vision for the next 30 years and guide transportation decision-making for the next 15 years.

The draft document has been released, and the City is looking for feedback on a range of ideas – everything from improvements to pedestrian areas, bike lanes, public transport and more. This is a great opportunity to weigh on a number of important ideas.

Among other things, there’s a chance to have your say on a few aspects specifically focused on public space. Including a series of strategies and actions around

• Enabling and encouraging creative uses of the street; and
• Creating public plazas and gathering spaces throughout the city.

You can read more on these and other ideas on the City’s webpage (see below). There’s also a survey you can complete in order to share your feedback.

Stay tuned for a VPSN event on these items as well. We’ve got a small event in the works right now and will be announcing details shortly.

:: City of Vancouver Transportation 2040 webpage

:: VPSN Transportation 2040 Activities – Info – quinn [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

Grandview-Woodland Community Plan

Are you a resident of the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood? Like to hang out on the Drive? Work in the hood?

Anyone interested in the future of G-W is invited to lend their voice to the Community Plan work that’s going on in the neighbourhood right now. There’s a Community Questionnaire and photo contest that is running through to the end of next week. Among the themes of planning work – public space (including parks, streetscapes and more).

:: City of Vancouver Grandview-Woodland Community Plan webpage

St. George Street Rainway – Street Mural Painting

The St. George Street Rainway Committee, the False Creek Watershed Society, the City of Vancouver Viva program and the Mount Pleasant Elementary School have partnered to create a street mural painting party and you are invited!

The community was consulted on the creation of this mural at various events and by door-to-door surveys (see a sample of this beautiful mural on the right!). Preliminary design work will happen on the 27th and on the 28th in the morning. Please join us on June 28 from 3:00 – 8:00 PM to paint the mural. The party will go from 6:00 – 8:00! Location: St.George Street, between E. 7^th and E 8^th Ave

:: More info – Shahirastgeorgerainway [at] gmail.com or City

Editor’s note: the original version of this post indicated that the West End and Grandview-Woodland Community Stories events were scheduled for Thursday, May 11 and Friday, May 12 respectively. The correct dates are Thursday, May 10 (West End) and Friday, May 11 (Grandview-Woodland).

It’s been a little while since our last newsletter and we wanted to give you a quick update on some of our projects, as well as some other awesome things taking place around town.

First, a quick organizational note: the VPSN has recently being doing some retooling work that will better enable us to offer a mix of engaging public space projects (the fun stuff that everyone loves) and broader, issues-based advocacy. We’ll be rolling out details of these changes shortly.

The more immediate news is that we have a lot of cool things in the works, including: a summer time long-table event called Lunch Meet, a transit-related competition for graphic designers, some public space mapping work in the downtown (help needed!) and a storytelling project called P.S I love you. And back by popular demand… laser graffiti.

And while we’re at it, there’s a few other current initiatives that we wanted to alert you to:

Space98 – Transforming an Unused Transit Stop

Sometimes it’s the small interventions that really get people’s attention. Recently, our VPSN Transportation team – led by Cycling Coordinator Brandon Yan – installed a peel ‘n stick chalkboard on a disused bus shelter at Granville and Broadway. Along the board itself, they left a nice quote by Jane Jacobs and an invitation to the community to imagine what the space might be used for. People loved it!

Coast Mountain Bus Company – who ‘own’ the shelter – weren’t sure what to make of it at first… but the opportunity to engage the community directly on questions like this has caught their eye.

So here’s a question for you: What sorts of unused or underutilized spaces exist in your neighbourhood? And how have you dreamed about activating these spaces. Send us your ideas. We’ll gather them into a compilation, map them, and share them back with you over the next few months.

:: Underused public spaces and places? Email eliana [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

:: More on Space98 – Brandon [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca

Mobile Speakers’ Corner

Lots of other cities have Speakers’ Corners – London, Sydney, Toronto, to name just three – but not Vancouver. Strange eh? Thankfully, all that’s about to change – as the VPSN Democratic Spaces team is working on a mobile Speakers’ Corner for use around Vancouver.

Interested in seeing some good ol’ fashioned public debate? Hankering for your own 5 minutes on the soap-box? The Speakers’ Corner is being built this week and will be ready for roll-out shortly thereafter. Look for it around town… and get in touch if you want more details.

:: Email democraticspaces [at] vancouverpublicspace.ca

ENGAGE

New Community Plans in development for Marpole, Grandview-Woodland and the West End. Get involved!

Neighbourhood planning work is getting underway in Marpole, Grandview-Woodland and the West End. The City will be working with community members in each of the three areas to develop a long-range plan to manage growth and change. Community plans develop directions for a number of areas – including housing, land-use and transportation. Work will also engage the community on key aspects of public space – streetscapes, parks and public areas, public art and more.

This is a great opportunity for public space aficionados in these neighbourhoods, and the City is proposing a number of engagement opportunities along the way. The very first event – a storytelling evening hosted by local funny man Steve Burgess – takes place tomorrow night (Tuesday, May 1) in Marpole. The other two neighbourhoods have similar events taking place in just over a week. There’s also walking tours, open houses and bunches of other items in the hopper.

Check out the details on the various neighbourhood webpages and sign-up for the individual list-servs to stay involved! While you’re there be sure to register for the following events:

• Tuesday, May 1 – Marpole Stories @ Metro Theatre – vancouver.ca/marpoleplan
• Thursday, May 10 – West End Stories @ Denman Theatre – vancouver.ca/westendplan
• Friday, May 11 – Grandview-Woodland Stories @ the WISE Hall – vancouver.ca/grandviewplan
  

FEATURED EVENT

Saturday, May 5 – Sunday May 6 – Jane’s Walk

There are lots of ways that you can explore Vancouver’s great public spaces, but one of the best involves a leisurely stroll with a local expert. That’s what Jane’s Walk is all about.

Started in 2007 to honour the memory of Jane Jacobs, it’s now grown to a world-wide event. Vancouver alone has over 20 walks scheduled, spread throughout the city. Best of all, they’re free! Sign up and see your city in a whole new way.

:: Jane’s Walk – List of Vancouver Walking Tours