Vancouver mayor aims to amplify nightlife if re-elected

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart is pushing to extend nightlife closing times to 3 a.m. in an effort to make Vancouver “more fun.”

Kennedy made his announcement Wednesday afternoon after he met with the city’s nightlife leaders to create a streamlined plan for the downtown core.

The mayor’s promises for next year’s budget include implementing a Night Time Advocate Office tasked with transforming nightlife to be a “centrepiece of our city’s social fabric,” expanding the Sport Hosting Office’s mandate to attract conferences, conventions, music, and other entertainment, and “harmonizing” 3 a.m. bar closures along Granville Street and expand extended hours to other nightlight establishments in the city.

“We’re going to make way more of those changes because Vancouver needs to be more fun. We’re getting there but we have to be more, ” Stewart said to the media on Wednesday.

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According to Stewart there are “inconsistencies along Granville Street, as well as a lot of the other regulations around nightlife economy.”

“We already lifted an artificial cap on bar space. So now, many bars will have a capacity of more people in them, which is really good because there’s so many people coming downtown. And that’s good for the bar owners. It’s good for the patrons. So we’ll continue to do that in terms of getting rid of red tape, and helping people have fun in the city,” Stewart said.

Nate Sabine with Blueprint, a Vancouver-based event-management company, says Stewart’s plan will benefit expanding nightlife.

“Our city is a great one, but for too long the creative sector has been forgotten,” Sabine said, adding “It’s fantastic that our industry – and the music, hospitality and culture that comes with it – is finally being recognized as the economic driver it is.”