West Georgia Complete Street

West Georgia Street is an important gateway into Vancouver. Every day, it welcomes thousands of people into the city for work, to visit, and to and from Stanley Park. It also connects people to three neighbourhoods – the West End, Coal Harbour and Downtown.

But traffic can be a challenge for people driving and taking transit, and the street can be uninviting for people walking and cycling.

In 2017, we began a transportation planning process for West Georgia Street, from Chilco St to Nicola St. We want to explore how to make West Georgia Street a complete street that welcomes people of all ages, abilities, and modes of travel.

We are looking for solutions that will:

  • Improve safety along West Georgia Street
  • Make sustainable travel choices more reliable, comfortable, and enjoyable
  • Enhance walking and cycling connections to Stanley Park, West End, Coal Harbour, and Downtown
  • Ensure access to and from homes and businesses
  • Celebrate West Georgia Street as a gateway to the city
  • Make West Georgia Street a more clear and predictable street

What's happening

Open house and walkshop

In Phase 1, we spoke to more than 70 stakeholders and heard from 2,300 residents through a series of pop ups, a walkshop, an open house, social media and an online survey to learn about their insights and experience travelling in this area.

Based on what heard in Phase 1, we've developed some objectives for West Georgia Street that will guide our technical work and assessment. We'll engage the public on these objectives and what they mean for the street when we launch Phase 2.

Planning objectives

  1. Increase the people moving capacity of West Georgia St to ensure the efficient use of road space and the ability to support regional growth
  2. Enhance and maintain a pedestrian network around West Georgia St to make walking safe, accessible and convenient for all
  3. Improve safety and clarity while ensuring local access needs and congestion impacts are considered
  4. Support new public realm opportunities and the development of a consistent pedestrian realm along the West Georgia corridor.  Ensure that green infrastructure design elements are considered in the development of future public realm plans
  5. Improve and expand the cycling network to support safe and convenient cycling for all ages and abilities and provide intuitive connections to local and regional destinations

Daily transportation on West Georgia Street

Vehicles per day
7 travel lanes, including 1 reversible lane
Bus riders per day
11 bus routes, 1 bus lane westbound
Cyclists per day
Painted bike lanes, shared with buses

What is a complete street?

A street designed for everyone. This means a thoughtful design that:

  • Ensures people of all ages and abilities can access homes and businesses
  • Improves safety and comfort, especially for those walking, cycling, or taking transit 
  • Supports the movement of goods, services, and emergency vehicles
  • Aims to enhance public life and make streets inviting places
  • Considers green space, such as street trees and community gardens
  • Explores opportunities for flexible design so streets can be adapted for special events, celebrations, and emerging technologies
  • Explores opportunities to integrate sustainable design, such as rainwater management
  • Fits with the neighbourhood context – no one-size-fits-all approach!

Related policies

Contact us

westgeorgia
completestreet
@vancouver.ca

Timeline

Here is our progress and planned milestones.

  • 2017-2018

    Phase 1: Listen and learn

    What we did: Launched public consultation process to learn more about how people live, work and play in the neighbourhood and identified ideas and opportunities for transportation improvements.

  • We are here

  • 2019-2020

    Phase 2: Explore options and choices

    Work with residents, businesses, and road users to assess the transportation options and street design choices that will work best for West Georgia Street.