The City of Vancouver sent out a press release this morning outlining their plan to close two lanes of a downtown street to cars.
Effective Thursday, April 9th, the eastbound lanes of Beach Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic (including buses), which will be diverted to Davie Street.
The 12-block closure starts at Hornby, just east of Burrard, and goes to Stanley Park.
It's meant to be temporary, "so local residents can use the lanes for walking and biking while keeping two metres apart," during this time when provincial health officials are encouraging physical distancing due to COVID-19.
Cautioning against block parties and the like, the City stresses that "The goal of this partial closure is not to encourage large gatherings, but to give nearby residents more room to move while also being able to practise physical distancing. This is a responsive measure and not intended as an invitation to gather."
Some further notes from their release:
- All eastbound traffic, including the 23 bus, will be diverted to Davie Street
- Motorists can still access their residences from the westbound lane
- Drivers travelling westward who need to access Beach Avenue west of Denman Street will be diverted briefly onto Denman and then onto Morton Avenue before rejoining Beach Avenue
- Residential parking will be maintained on the north side of Beach Ave where possible
