Granville Street Re-Design

Granville Street is one of Vancouver's most dynamic streets running through the centre of downtown. It’s been called the Entertainment District, but it’s more than that. Granville runs the shopping gamut from big-box retailers like Future Shop and Winners, independent businesses like the Chop Shop, to chains like Helly Hanson and Eco Outdoors Sports. It’s also chock-a-block with restaurants, hotels and nightclubs to make it a destination with something for everyone.

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www.shopgranville.ca

Canada Line Construction
Construction of the Canada Line running from Vancouver International Airport to downtown is currently underway. The 400 and 700 blocks of Granville Street are under construction, but all businesses are open and everyone is encouraged to ‘shop the line’. And, for construction hounds, there’s lots to see at both the sites.

Re-Design Underway
As a result of the Canada Line construction and an $11-million invest by the City of Vancouver, Granville Street will be re-designed and re-constructed from the Granville Street bridge to Waterfront Station from Spring 2008 to Fall 2009. A new Granville Street will welcome the world for the 2010 Winter Games. Again, businesses will remain open during construction.

The DVBIA is playing an active role in the re-design project having formed its own advisory committee that includes property owners and businesses along Granville Street.

The City of Vancouver held a Granville Street Open House on January 23, 2008 that was attended by over 600 members of the public. Twenty-five display boards were presented and staff and design team members were available to answer questions.

The public showed a 92% support for the general design concept of Granville Street as a Great Street, a conceptual design approach founded on the theories of the notable urban designer, Allan B. Jacobs. The proposed civic event space between Robson and Georgia, gained 87% support.

To help City staff prioritize budget allocation, the public was asked to identify which street design elements they felt contribute most to the notion of a Great Street. 84% of the public supported the need to give priority to all three design elements: high quality paving materials, custom street furnishings, and vertical light columns. Paving materials received 79% support, street furnishings received 75% support and the vertical light columns received 84% support, indicating that although the public endorses all three design elements, the public favours the proposed lighting scheme over all others.

Schedule

Design team working on construction drawing for tenure	May 2008
Utility construction to commence at Drake progressing north	May 2008
Report to council updating them on open house feedback, survey results, and finalized street design complete with estimated construction costs	May 29, 2008
Street redesign contract sent out for tenure	June/July 2008
Report to council for award of contract	August/September 2008
Construction schedule and contingency plan shared with impacted Granville Street businesses	September 2008
Construction	September 2008 – November 2009

For details:
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/currentplanning/granvilleredesign/index.htm

Managing Granville Once It’s Complete
It’s all well and good to create a great street, but then it needs to be managed, programmed and nurtured for it to flourish. In 2009, the DVBIA will explore becoming the manager of the new Granville Street, which will be an enhanced version of what it does now.

This could include implementing a ‘layered BIA’ that would generate additional revenue to program the street, hire a manager and stage events. This is just one idea. We’re open to others at this early stage.

Granville Street merchants will be consulted specifically on this issue next year, but initial feedback to the concept has been positive and encouraging.