It seems the days are numbered for the replica streetcar/bus shelter at the corner of Broadway and Kingsway.
The 36-year-old shelter was built by the city in 1988 as part of a Mount Pleasant revitalization effort; it's one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver.
Now, decades later, the city is planning to take the shelter down as it has fallen into disrepair, is regularly vandalized, and isn't used as a bus shelter anymore. In recent years care for the shelter has fallen to the Mount Pleasant BIA and the organization's executive director, Neil Wyles.
That won't be the case much longer.
A sign posted on the shelter says the structure will be removed and recycled "in the coming days."
"The City will be removing the replica streetcar to make way for new shared bench seating and improved lighting," reads the sign.
At least one man is hopeful that the city will rethink the plan. In 2023, Quin Martins started a petition to save the shelter after it first came to light the city was considering removing it.
In an email, Martins tells V.I.A. he's planning on spending some time at the shelter before it's torn down to urge people to help save it.
"It's symbolic of what's happening," he told V.I.A. in a previous interview. "And symbolic of the changing neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant."
V.I.A. has reached out to the city for more information on the plan for the new shelter.
