Vancouver council is considering a plan to turn some city streets into giant sidewalks this summer.
Called the Open Streets program, the plan recommends closing Granville Street for five blocks between Smithe and Hastings every Friday to Sunday from July to September, in addition to several other weekend street closures.
“It’s a way for neighbours to meet each other and increase the amount of public spaces in the city,” Coun. Andrea Reimer said Saturday.
The city began looking at weekend street closures in the summer of 2009 and ran a pilot project in four areas, including Gastown, Collingwood, Commercial Drive and Main Street. Response was generally positive, said Reimer.
“After that, in 2010, we had the Olympics, and suddenly the demand just skyrocketed. It was incredible,” she added.
There wasn’t enough time to put together a plan for the summer of 2010, although Granville Street was closed to traffic on weekends, but city staff began to meet with stakeholders in preparation for 2011.
Council will vote Thursday on a plan to make Open Streets a yearly program, with funding of $650,000 after grants from the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and Heritage Canada. Half of the city money will come from the Olympic Legacy Reserve.
Reimer said if council approves the program, community groups will submit proposals for weekend summer street closures, which will then be selected by staff. The closures will be a regular occurrence during the summer — not just a one-time event or festival — with some sort of programming.
“You can’t just close down a street and expect people to come,” she said. “There needs to be something that draws interest.”
The city funding will go toward staffing and street cleaning. Staff will help to coordinate community groups and small events like farmers’ markets and craft fairs.
Reimer said the program will look to find new funding sources for the years to come.
“The hope is that we could develop partnerships and encourage community groups to develop partnerships to make this something that lasts,” she said.
