The other day my colleague Kaylin Pearce and I were discussing the difference between the car free experiment on Granville Street and other car-free events around Vancouver. We have both been to a couple of Car-Free Vancouver events around the city and are familiar with the vibrancy that a car-free event can bring to the street.

What we’ve seen over the past few weeks is that free activities such as yoga and dance classes do get a good turnout of people visiting Granville Street, but on days where there is no public programming, the number of people on the street can vary widely. Often the centre of the street is mostly empty. >>Read more

Part of the justification for the current car-free experiment on Granville is the City’s desire to revitalize the area and encourage more people to use the space. However, Granville was far from empty before. The street already has a lot of animation and life, just perhaps not the most desirable kind.

From the 90s onwards city zoning encouraged the location of a high volume of bars and nightclubs on Granville Street, transforming it into an entertainment district. It has a relatively stable nighttime population of pub and concertgoers. >>Read more

The Holman Block/Golden Gate Hotel (1888-89), one of Vancouver's oldest buildings

This year Granville Street is number four on Heritage Vancouver’s Top 10 Ten Endangered Sites list.

Each year Heritage Vancouver compiles a list of buildings and historical sites that are in danger of decay or demolition. Certain buildings on Granville Street have made the list in previous years, but this year Heritage Vancouver took the step of placing the entire street on the list. Over time, many of the buildings on Granville Street have fallen into disrepair and there are currently few incentives to promote their restoration and upkeep. The organization is concerned that the current project to revitalize Granville Street will result in the replacement of several heritage buildings with new developments and the loss of the character of the streetscape. There are several reasons why the organization is concerned. >>Read more

Last week the City of Vancouver went ahead with the Rediscover Granville project, a plan to make Granville Street pedestrian-only until Labour Day. Five blocks have been blocked to traffic and the City has installed artificial turf and extra seating in order to encourage people to use the new space. There is a schedule of public events and activities planned along the street during the weekends.

>>Read more