Demonstrators rally against Broadway Plan Saturday afternoon
Posted November 23, 2024 12:37 pm.
Last Updated November 24, 2024 4:47 pm.
Demonstrators hoping to put a stop to the Broadway Plan rallied outside of Vancouver City Hall Saturday afternoon.
The plan was adopted in June 2022, with the goal of getting more rental towers built along the new Broadway Subway. The aim was to see 30,000 housing units built over the course of 30 years.
Over 100 towers, some as high as 32 storeys, have already been proposed within the 500-block Broadway Corridor, some on streets lined with heritage homes.
The plan has raised concerns for some former city planners and architects, who argue too many towers will ruin the neighbourhoods of Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant.
On Nov. 14, the first proposed tower, a 19-storey highrise at 523 East 10th, passed unanimously at a city council meeting.
The Pause the Plan! rally started at 1 p.m. on the north side of Vancouver City Hall at Helena Gutteridge Plaza.
In a statement, the CIty of Vancouver responded to the rally, saying, in part: “The Broadway Plan is intended to be a flexible framework that will respond to evolving opportunities and challenges in the area and the city over the 30-year life of the Plan. As a result, the Broadway Plan is considered a living document that will be updated over time. … We have also seen dozens of development proposals, which have helped staff identify some potential policy improvements based on early learnings from implementation of the Plan.”
With files from Renee Bernard.
