Consultations underway for changes and repairs to iconic Gastown neighbourhood

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s historical and picturesque but often too crowded to drive on, and now the iconic bricks that line it are in need of repairs.

The bricks along much of Water Street, built in the 1970s, will be fixed as part of a larger Gastown revamp that’s currently in the consultation phase.

Vancouver’s Director of Transportation, Lon LaClaire, says one of the options is making Water Street car-free or car-light.

“It’s very little traffic that moves down it as is,” he says. “It’s easy when you’re walking on Water Street to visualize what it would mean for that street if those vehicles weren’t there and the amount of space for pedestrians.”

He adds that usually there’s significant pushback on proposals for car free areas.

“Car-light or car-free streets in the city, often there’s a lot of angst and worry about that,” LaClaire says. “But in the case of Gastown, I’ve only heard positive. That has been a real surprise to me.”

The changes to Water Street could lead to part of Cordova Street becoming two way, and LaClaire says there’s lots of room for different kinds of change.

“In the anticipation of that repair though, we kind of ask ourselves and we ask the community, ‘Should we put back the exact same street that’s there?’ And perhaps we should look at a slightly different design or a different option, or maybe even a dramatically different street,” he says. “And then when you put it back, should you put it back exactly as they designed it in 1977? No, the world has changed and in fact the needs and demands and issues for the area have changed. A different street is worth looking at.”

Consultation is still ongoing with both businesses and the residents of the area. Any construction work that’s required to make the changes wouldn’t start for another two or three years.

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