Preparations underway for upcoming Gastown Grand Prix on July 10

Gastown is set to welcome thousands of fans to its brick and cobblestone streets for the 51st anniversary of the Gastown Grand Prix this Wednesday July 10 with events starting at 5:30pm.
 
In preparation for the bike race, the Water Street Pedestrian Zone Pilot furniture and other features will be temporarily removed starting Monday July 8. All features will be reinstalled immediately following the race on Thursday July 11 and the pedestrian zone is expected to be fully operational by Friday July 12.
 
Once re-installed, the Water Street Pedestrian Zone Pilot will remain in place for the rest of July and August as a vibrant and shared community space.
 
For a full list of upcoming summer festivities taking place in Gastown, visit gastown.org/events External website, opens in new tab 

Plan ahead to attend

To accommodate the Gastown Grand Prix, additional road closures will be in effect starting on Tuesday July 9 from 10am to 6pm along Water St and Cordova St from Richards St to Carrall St.  

Drivers travelling in the Gastown Grand Prix area should be mindful of road closures, plan ahead and expect delays.  
 
To help the event operate as smoothly as possible, attendees are encouraged to:  

• Walk, bike, roll, Mobi or take transit whenever possible. Check out our transit and cycling map to find the best routes and visit translink.ca/alerts for more information.   
  • Additional Mobi by Rogers public bike share stations are being added to the area, see all locations here.   
  • Free bike valet External website, opens in new tab is available for bikes, skates, scooters or strollers at 131 Water Street.    
  • Free transit passes External website, opens in new tab are available courtesy of the Gastown Business Improvement Society.   
• Don’t let waste become litter: put waste in its place in the nearest garbage, recycling or organics bin. Additional temporary waste bins will be added for the event.   
• Be considerate of the neighbourhood and keep noise to a minimum when leaving.

Background 

The Water Street Pedestrian Zone Pilot is a vibrant and activated “people-first” place that supports business and community connections from July through August in Gastown. It includes car-free and car-light sections along Water Street and Maple Tree Square and features shared seating, expanded patios, merchandise displays, storytelling and artwork courtesy of the local Nations, live performances and special events.  
 
For more information on all Gastown related projects, visit vancouver.ca/gastown.