Mayor Sullivan and Councillor Kim Capri today welcomed the success of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD)’s pilot project to reduce public disorder in the Downtown Entertainment District. The VPD closed Granville Street to traffic during the August and September long weekends this summer.
“Reducing public disorder in the entertainment district is one of the key objectives we have identified in Project Civil City,” said Mayor Sullivan. “As Chair of the Police Board, I want to congratulate Chief Chu and the men and women of the VPD for this innovative approach.”
On Friday August 31 and Saturday September 1, VPD closed the 900 & 1000 blocks of Granville Street to vehicle traffic. The area was open for pedestrians only between the hours of 9:00pm — 4:00am. On Sunday, September 2 the streets were reopened to vehicle traffic with additional VPD officers on patrol.
When the same closure was done earlier in August it was considered a great success. The VPD reported the number and seriousness of the fights and disturbances were greatly reduced.
“One of the goals of Project Civil City is to keep people safer downtown,” said Councillor Capri. “We look forward to delivering on more elements of our plan and reviewing the results of the entertainment district closure in the coming weeks.”
In addition to supporting the entertainment district closure, Mayor Sullivan and Councillors have delivered more than 110 new taxi licenses to serve Vancouver businesses and residents in the past few months – with more to come.
