Cities across Canada (and around the world) are testing new approaches to people-friendly streets. Last year, Montreal alone rolled out 12 large-scale pedestrian transformations across its boroughs. Here in Vancouver, we’ve seen smaller-scale pilots on Granville Street, along with a roster of single-day events in other neighbourhoods. The Water Street pilot is an overdue step in creating livelier, more people-friendly streets.

The VPSN wrote to Council and offered our support for the pilot project, along with five suggestions which we felt would strengthen the pilot.

1. Increase the duration of the pilot project

Culture change, particularly when related to transportation and business practices, takes time to ‘filter outward’ to the broader public, tourists, and specific user groups. For those engaged in programming the space, the opportunity for small-scale testing, learning and adjustment also takes time. Good quality “tactical” interventions are iterative in nature. A key challenge in this regard: the current pilot is only six weeks in length, and any construction-related delays will further constrain an already-narrow window of opportunity.

Recommendation: We suggest extending the pilot through to the end of September, and ideally to Thanksgiving (mid-October).

2. Undertake public life studies before, during, and after the pilot.

Public life studies assess both the volume of people in a space, but more importantly what they’re doing and how they are spending time. More detailed analysis can also explore key demographic considerations, people’s motivations for coming to a public space, their sentiments about the space, and other considerations. Undertaking these studies at key milestones can provide a much clearer picture about the efficacy of a placemaking project. The current pilot only outlines a plan to undertake vehicle and pedestrian counts (p.5).

Recommendation: Direct staff to undertake more detailed public life studies at key project milestones. Provide additional funding to support this work.

3. Prepare for uncertainty – particularly with automobile and tour bus routing.

We have long stated that the Gastown transportation network is a ‘sticky problem.’ The existing block and alley configuration, and mix of uses (residential, commercial, tourist, etc.) makes the situation complex. We confess an uncertainty about the ‘dumbbell’ approach outlined by staff: two car-free “gateways” (Cordova to Cambie and a portion of Maple Tree Square), and two interior car-light blocks. This limits some of the larger programming opportunities that might otherwise be available, and also poses a challenge about the legibility of the changes to both car drivers and pedestrians alike. We recognize that different ideas will need to be tested to determine the best long-term solution.

Recommendation: Ensure that traffic monitoring methodologies test for pedestrian/automobile conflict. We further suggest detailed monitoring at Maple Tree Square and Blood Alley, as the diversions proposed in this area could pose challenges for the use of these public spaces.

4. Create opportunities for community-led interventions.

As presently drafted, the Gastown Pilot report focuses mainly on the enabling conditions for late summer activation, and a series of initiatives to test changes to permitting (e.g., for larger patios, sidewalk merchandise, etc.). These are important, but we suggest that you should also be looking to enable opportunities for other types of placemaking – in particular, community-led activations. Having organized several events in Gastown over the years and can speak to the popularity of these events. They don’t cost a lot, can engage the community and volunteers, and will create a more inclusive and interesting public space.

Recommendation: As part of the summertime pilot budget, create a small stream for community-led placemaking projects that could be integrated into the overall programming framework. Ensure that these are included in any monitoring and evaluation processes.

5. Don’t lose sight of other opportunities.

In our May 9, 2023 letter to Council, we noted that there are a number of opportunities to enhance Gastown public spaces. We recognize that there is only so much you can do in one pilot project, but we would be remiss if we didn’t use this opportunity to say don’t forget about the following opportunities:

• Using street-end segments of Cambie, Abbott, and Carrall (north of Water) for gathering areas
• Re-opening the CPR right-of-way that runs diagonally between Columbia and Pender
• Placemaking in commercial laneways (e.g. Homer-Cambie-Cordova Alley, Harbour Light Alley)
• Introducing a linkage to connect CRAB Park with Gastown
• Integrating public space network connections to Granville Street and the Waterfront Hub

This is an ambitious project, and we are excited to see where the discussion goes at Council. With any luck, we’ll all be able to enjoy a stroll down the middle of the street come July of this year!

There are other ways to strengthen the network of public spaces in the area that also need to be included in the discussion – including a consideration of street-end plazas, attention to alleys, and re-opening the currently privatized CPR right-of-way. In fact, integrating the many different considerations around gathering and mobility (and doing so in a inclusive fashion) make this a more complicated process than one might think. (For more on these and other Gastown possibilities, check out this article from earlier in 2023). For that reason alone, it’s great to see this process move forward. This is an chance for bold improvements to the area, not half measures.

To that end, we encourage you to take part in the process and share your perspective on how the public spaces in the area can be improved. As part of the present engagement process, a survey has been created. There are also several pop-up engagement events scheduled. Details on these opportunities can be found in the City’s October 12 media release, reproduced below.

Share your thoughts on the future of public space in Gastown

The City is taking steps to make Gastown’s unique streets, laneways and public spaces more people-friendly. In response to Council direction, staff are launching a public engagement process on the Gastown Public Spaces Plan to establish a shared vision for a vibrant destination with more seating, patios, live music, events, festivals and active transportation options. The plan will also explore transforming Water Street into a pedestrian zone, either seasonally or year-round.

Residents, local businesses and local organizations are invited to get involved through a city-wide survey and in-person pop-up events later this month.

“I’m really excited that we are starting this very important conversation with Vancouver on the future of public space in Gastown, including restoring its streets and sidewalks and making Water Street a pedestrian zone,” says Mayor Ken Sim. “We want to hear from area residents, businesses and all of Vancouver to ensure that the changes Gastown needs work for everyone. I want to thank the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations for their partnership on this project as we work together to ensure their visibility is part of Gastown’s future public spaces.”

The new Gastown Public Spaces Plan will serve as a guide to:

• Establish a vibrant, people-focused Gastown with enhanced gathering places, streets and laneways to support a range of activities.
• Explore how to pedestrianize Water Street, seasonally or year-round, starting with a pilot in summer 2024.
• Improve the street network, including walking, cycling, transit and vehicle connections and consideration of Cordova as a two-way street.
• Advance Reconciliation with the local Nations and support their visibility on their lands.
• Evolve and deepen the unique heritage feel of the area, including improved street materials and amenities.
• Identify phased project timing and funding.

Some of the streets and sidewalks in Gastown are in poor condition and repairs and maintenance will continue alongside the development of the Gastown Public Spaces Plan.

Gastown is situated on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) Nations, however, its streets and public spaces do not currently reflect the histories, culture and visibility of the local Nations. The Gastown Public Spaces Plan is an opportunity to advance the City’s Reconciliation efforts and work with the Nations to support their visibility on their lands.

“This initiative by the City of Vancouver is an important step forward in sharing our deep history and connection with the area now known as Vancouver,” says Sxwixwtn, Wilson Williams, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw Spokesperson and Council Member. “We look forward to seeing our history and our culture reflected in these shared public spaces, for all to enjoy.”

“I am pleased to see the progress of this important work of increasing visibility of səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) alongside our relatives xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band) and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation) in Gastown,” says Chief Jen Thomas, səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). “This good work led by the City of Vancouver helps put the face of səlilwətaɬ back on our shared traditional territory, and I am looking forward to seeing this vibrant space reflect our Indigenous cultures and communities.”

Share your thoughts

There are many ways to get involved:

• Complete an online survey (translations in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese available by request).
• Visit us at an upcoming pop-up information event:
  • 131 Water Street
    • October 19, 11 am to 6 pm
    • October 20, 11:30 am to 7 pm
    • October 21, 2 pm to 6 pm
    • November 16, 11 am to 6 pm
    • November 17, 11:30 am to 7 pm
    • November 18, 2 pm to 6 pm
  • ​333 Abbott Street
    • November 9, 2 pm to 6:30 pm
    • November 10, 8:30 am to 1 pm

Public feedback will be shared in an engagement summary and presented to Council in early 2024. Input from businesses, including their loading and access needs, will play an integral role in shaping the Water Street pilot in summer 2024.

More information on the Gastown Public Spaces Plan is available at vancouver.ca/gastown

The City has initiated a redesign process for the space, and recently held a series of drop-in events to share draft concepts.

Blood Alley Redesign – Concept 1 (City of Vancouver)

Blood Alley Redesign – Concept #2 (City of Vancouver)

We wrote a letter to the planning team working on the project to share our thoughts. Here’s an excerpt of what we had to say:

…We’ve had a chance to participate in the City’s online and in-person engagement activities, but wished to follow-up with a letter outlining some observations that we hope may be of use. We offer these in the spirit of constructive critique, and because we want the design effort behind the revitalization of this space to be as strong as possible.

First, we’d like to start by reiterating that we are broadly supportive of the overall intent to refresh this important public space, and noted this in earlier correspondence to the City supporting the DTES Local Area Planning Process (LAPP). Blood Alley Square is a key gathering space in a neighbourhood that has a shortage of these sorts of places.

With that in mind, we feel it important to note that Blood Alley Square is also a space where design has the potential to deliver a powerful message about how Vancouver will address equity and inclusion, given the extreme proximity of significant and conspicuous wealth and serious poverty. As you know, issues of income polarization are becoming all too characteristic of the city as a whole, but they are particularly acute in this area – located as it is at the intersection of historic Gastown and the Downtown Eastside.

While we appreciate that heritage, trees and waste management are important issues, we are concerned that they were defined as the key phase one design considerations for the renewal of the Square, while social context and social heritage are to be considered at a later stage. It’s unclear to us why these considerations would be separated and sequenced in this fashion given that public spaces are fundamentally people places. Stated another way, we suggest that the functions of public life, community stewardship, and the social use of these spaces by a diversity of community members, should be prioritized before those of heritage, waste removal and the like.

Our hope for this stage of the design process would be to see the options strengthened through stronger input from the local community. We are concerned that the present concepts (showcasing two options for the site) lack vitality. We attribute some this from the preliminary nature of the designs. Other aspects may come from the fact that the redesign of the space is now preceding the redevelopment of the buildings that catalyzed this initiative. In our opinion, though, it is also almost certain that the concepts have been challenged because they do not adequately reflect a richer sense of aspirations for public life and social use found within the broader of a diverse DTES/Gastown community. The relative absence of these inputs seems to neutralize many aspects of the the two design concepts – rendering them strangely ‘flat,’ Overall, we feel the design concepts simply do not do justice to Blood Alley’s potential for flexibility as a public space, nor the significance of the site for its various user groups.

While we commend the City for holding several drop-in events and surveys, we are concerned that participation in the process to date may not have adequately involved members of many of the Downtown Eastside’s more vulnerable communities. (For example, the consultation report notes a relatively limited amount of input from area renters; while input from local First Nations – given the significance of this part of Gastown – is unreferenced). The DTES is, in addition to being the home of marginalized communities, inherently diverse, something that should be recognized in public engagement activities.

We appreciate that the City highlighted the enabling policy found in sections 12.3.5, 12.3.4 12.3.3 of the Downtown Eastside Plan (2014) in these redevelopment efforts. These provisions outline the importance of inclusive and community-led programming and stewardship for public spaces in the neighbourhood. The VPSN feels that these goals should provide the redevelopment a driving and defining narrative, while still addressing heritage and waste management concerns.

Blood Alley is a space of major social, cultural and historical value to a diversity of Vancouverites. Its redesign is not just an important moment in our city’s history – it also has the potential to set an example for design and consultation in areas where stakeholders are rich in difference. Let’s both acknowledge this and treat it as such.

UPDATE: A few days after we wrote this letter, we received a reply from the City thanking us for the input. The email went on to note:

As you mentioned, the redesign of Blood Alley Square is directed by the Downtown Eastside Plan. Policy 6.2.2 states the intent of the redesign, which is “to rehabilitate Blood Alley Square and Trounce Alley, to improve the public realm, increase safety and introduce programming, with support for community stewardship as a shared space, including opportunities for the low-income community.” This policy, and the nine social impact objectives in the DTES Plan (page 11 of the Plan here) will continue to guide the project.

In addition to on-going engagement with local residents and community groups, I want to update you that our consultants are organizing a workshop with local groups to specifically discuss the Stewardship Strategy. The strategy will look for opportunities for local groups/residents/artists to be involved in the programming and on-going stewardship of the square. The opportunities to create employment for the maintenance and cleaning of the square is also a topic we will discuss.

This is an encouraging response. We’ll be following the issue to see what happens next.

Initially motivated by both the Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan (completed in 2014), and, more recently, the proposed redevelopment of the Stanley New Fountain building (on Cordova), City staff have, in recent months, been looking at ways to upgrade this now-aging public space.

Earlier this year, the City and their consulting team held initial discussions with the community to gather ideas for the space. The next round of consultation on the proposed redesign of the Square is now underway, and is focussed on two design options that have been prepared for the site.

The feedback from the first engagement activities indicated considerable support for retaining the existing heritage features found in the Square. The two proposals now on the table seem to respect this. The first proposes “retaining as much of the 1970s heritage form and shape as possible,” such as cobble stones, red-brick banding and planters.

The second option suggests a more tiered, multi-level design for the space.

You can see images for both in the City’s open house boards (in particular: Boards 8 and 9).

A detailed questionnaire on both options has been prepared, and provides an opportunity to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of each design, along with other relevant items (accessibility, tree management, waste management, etc.). A series of open houses will be taking place in the square on Wednesday, August 24 (4-7pm) and Saturday, August 27 (11am-2pm).

More information:

• City of Vancouver – Blood Alley / Trounce Alley Webpage
• City of Vancouver – Summary of findings from first consultation in June 2016 (PDF)
• City of Vancouver – Open House Boards – August 2016 Engagement (PDF)
• Catherine Rolfson, CBC News. Blood Alley Square redesign aims to jump start the “heart of Gastown. August 25, 2016.
• Share your input – City of Vancouver – Blood Alley Design Options – Questionnaire