Grey Cup game brings tourists, festivities, and road closures to downtown Vancouver

It’s a busy weekend in Vancouver, and Sunday will be exceptionally chaotic downtown. The Grey Cup game at BC Place Stadium starts at 3 p.m., along with associated festivities. In addition, the Canucks are taking on the Predators at Rogers Arena at 7 p.m.

As part of the Grey Cup celebrations, various road closures will be in effect and traffic disruptions are anticipated for those travelling in and out of downtown.

“There aren’t so many closures around the big arteries like West Georgia or Nelson coming off the Cambie Street Bridge, but these closures are close enough to BC Place you’re going to see a lot of traffic being displaced,” said 1130 NewsRadio traffic anchor Alex Carrigan.

“Transit is always a good idea. In these scenarios, all of your roads are going to be reopening Sunday night at 10 p.m. It’s still going to be pretty heavy through the downtown core around that time, but that’s when all the roads are going to reopen.”

The following closures will be in effect:

Grey Cup Street Festival (Vancouver Convention Centre):

Closures in effect until 8:00 pm:
Canada Place closed from Thurlow Street to Howe Street.
Thurlow Street and Burrard Street closed from Cordova Street to Canada Place.

Grey Cup Backyard Street Party (BC Place Stadium):

Closures in effect until 10:00 pm:
Robson Street closed from Cambie Street to Beatty Street
Beatty Street closed from Smithe Street to W Georgia Street
Cambie Street closed from Smithe Street to W Georgia Street: 12:30 p.m – 3:00 p.m. only
Grey Cup Fan March (Canada Place to BC Place Stadium)

Closures in effect from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm:
Howe Street closed from Canada Place to Robson Street
Robson Street closed from Howe Street to Beatty Street

Grey Cup Block Party (BC Place Stadium):

Closures in effect until 10:00 pm:
Pacific Boulevard closed from Smithe Street to Pat Quinn Way.

On top of road closures, Carrigan says it’s important to pay attention to pedestrians and make sure everyone stays safe.

“The Grey Cup is a very popular event. Watch out for the heavy pedestrian traffic all around downtown,” he said.

“Some of them will be easier to see than others. They’ll be covered in green — the Lions are not in the Grey Cup, it’s Winnipeg andToronto. So in addition to the heavy pedestrian traffic, we may be dealing with some people who are not local to Vancouver. You need to drive carefully, because you’re probably going to know the neighborhood a lot better than the fan from Winnipeg.”

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