More Vancouver roads to be turned into shared spaces

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You’ll see more streets filled with people and bikes instead of cars and SUVs in Vancouver.

Councillor Lisa Dominato says her motion to ramp up efforts to find roads that can be temporarily used as shared space to promote physical distancing has passed.

“Work’s already started, but this is going to move it more quickly and the initial areas that we’re focusing is around greenways which is our cycling paths, as well as coast and adjacent to parks. Similar to what you saw with Beach Avenue,” she tells NEWS 1130. “To make sure that there’s ample space for people to walk, jog, roll, cycle, you name it. But we’ll be starting and doing it around streets that are part of our existing greenways.”

She says apart from helping people maintain distance on the roads, the move can help businesses suffering because of the pandemic, as they may be able to expand their operations outside.

Dominato believes her motion passing is welcomed news for the people living in Vancouver.

“Cities around the world are looking at this, trying to enable space not only for people to exercise and get outdoors … but also to support our local, small businesses,” she explains. “We’re trying to do this by creating space for queuing, but also retail, and so I think there’s a lot of number of benefits around this and I think residents are really looking for leadership on this matter.”

The motion calls to expedite efforts to reallocate some of Vancouver’s streets for pedestrian and cycling use, Dominato says. She tells NEWS 1130 there are already some measures in place.

-With files from Jon Szekeres

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