Roadwork in Gastown starting this weekend; expect delays for next several months

Expect delays driving through Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood this weekend as a big rehabilitation project kicks off.

Starting Saturday, the city will be closing off Maple Tree Square in central Gastown, which is a couple blocks east of the steam clock at the intersection of Powell and Alexander.

If you work in the Gastown area, prepare to give yourself an extra 20 minutes or more each day for travel time, says Ryan Lidemark in the CityNews Traffic Centre.

“Powell, especially being a one-way coming to the downtown core and through Gastown, having to turn around — that’ll cause big delays,” he said. “People have to use Hastings. It will be busier on Hastings, it will be busier on Pender.”

The city says the project will cost $10 million and is part of a rehabilitation and improvement plan intended to make the area more pedestrian-friendly. The work will include removing damaged bricks and asphalt on the streets and replacing them with new bricks.

The construction will continue until June, but the area will remain closed to vehicle traffic until August for a two-month pedestrian pilot project, which will also affect the block of Water Street just east of the Waterfront SkyTrain Station.

City council passed a motion to go forward with the project earlier this month. At the time, Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung said the project will come at a perfect time, with Vancouver already in a global spotlight.

“This gives us the chance to have two summers before we literally host the world with FIFA coming,” she said.

Gastown business owner Jackie Haliburton says the project will be good for the area.

“It will impact everyone, but it’s a positive thing,” said Gastown business owner Jackie Haliburton. “We have been asking for the repairs for a long time.”

Not all owners in the area are so sure.

“I’m kind of in the middle,” said shoe designer John Fluevog — founder of the John Fluevog Shoes chain — who has a storefront in Gastown. “I’m not for it and I’m not against it.”

The city says access to homes, businesses, and parking will remain open as usual. Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to travel through the square. Water Street will be local access only. The Westbound number 50 bus will detour off of Water Street and onto Hastings, with a temporary stop at Waterfront Station.

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With files from Angela Bower and Srushti Gangdev.