Vancouver city council votes to keep Granville Street car-free until Labour Day

Vancouver city council has voted in favour of extending the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone pilot project until Labour Day weekend in September.

All but Councillors Pete Fry and Rebecca Bligh were in favour of the $4.75 million plan. Councillor Sean Orr was absent.

Per the motion, the move is subject to "operational, emergency access, and public safety requirements," TransLink "agreeing to extend the temporary re-routing of bus services" and the provincial government "extending the temporary exemptions currently in place."

The motion was amended to include a section directing staff to "report back by the end of Q4 2026 with recommendations and cost estimates for a three-year seasonal extension" of the car-free zone in order to "provide certainty" to businesses, the city, emergency services, and arts organizations. It also directs staff to collaborate with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and TransLink.

Both Fry and Bligh express concern over the cost, with the latter arguing that, "we can't just throw money at things and call it a solution."

"Taxpayers are looking for value," she said. "There's no value in this in the long-term."

Fry added that "in in the context of the significant amounts we've seen in cuts toward all sorts of other programs across our city, it does leave me a bit stressed out."

"This leaves us with so many questions," he said, "and I really wish that we had taken a more transparent and collaborative approach to this."

The section of Granville Street between Davie and West Georgia was turned into a car-free zone for the World Cup, and was slated to welcome cars back upon the tournament's completion.

Countless locals and tourists alike have flooded the area at all hours of the day — and night.