Latest news with #Gastown
Globe and Mail
22-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
Crime in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside dropped after adoption of task force, police say
Police in Vancouver have released new data they say depicts the success of a task force launched three months ago to curb crime in the city's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. The department says it has deployed additional teams of officers to Gastown, Chinatown and Hastings Street under Task Force Barrage, allowing officers to deter crime and respond faster when incidents happen. Police say that in the three months since the operation was launched on Feb. 13, the task force seized 745 weapons, 79 guns, completed 414 warrant arrests and made 258 reports to Crown counsel. Police say violence and most property crime in those neighbourhoods has declined compared to 2024. They say in a news release that violent crime has dropped 13 per cent in the Downtown Eastside, 13 per cent in Gastown, 26 per cent in Chinatown and 14 per cent in Strathcona. The department says data also shows serious assaults, robberies and commercial break and enters in those areas have also dropped, as have residential break and enters with the exception of Gastown which has seen no change when compared to 2024. The biggest overall declines were for commercial break and enters, ranging from 42 per cent in the Downtown Eastside to 86 per cent in Chinatown. Police and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said when the operation was launched that it would be a 'long-term operation to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.'
CTV News
22-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Vancouver police say Downtown Eastside crime drops after adoption of task force
The steam clock is seen in historic Gastown in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
CTV News
16-05-2025
- CTV News
Video shows suspect threatening stranger with knife
Video shows suspect threatening stranger with knife Vancouver police have released video of a suspect who threatened a stranger with a knife in Gastown.
CTV News
10-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Vancouver testing two-way traffic on Cordova while limiting Gastown car-free days to once weekly
The City of Vancouver will open up a stretch of Cordova Street to two-way traffic later this month, as a significantly scaled back version of the Water Street pedestrian zone is set to return for the summer. Starting May 25, Cordova between Gore Avenue and Columbia Street will no longer be one-way eastbound, a move the city says aims to improve vehicle access during Gastown's pedestrian-only days. The city first tested a car-free zone on Water Street last summer, closing a few blocks to traffic through July and August. The feedback was largely positive, according to the city's post-mortem report, with 84 per cent of survey respondents saying they had a good experience visiting the pedestrian zone and want it to return. Water Street saw a 35 per cent increase in foot traffic overall during the two-month trial. Gastown businesses, however, came back with mixed reviews. At the time, some owners reported a sharp decline in customers and called for the pedestrian project to be shut down. The city's report says 59 per cent of businesses who responded to their survey supported the pedestrian zone's return, while 35 per cent did not. 'Those who did not support the pilot felt that Pedestrian Zone decreased the sense of safety in the neighbourhood, discouraged local and regional customers due to more limited vehicle access, and led to a decrease in business revenue,' the report reads. Based on the feedback, council decided in the fall to pedestrianize Water Street again in 2025, but only on the weekends. Additional adjustments in the new plan included making Cordova a two-way street to help vehicle circulation. Then in February, councillors voted unanimously to further scale back the car-free zone to exclusively on Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Some speakers at the meeting felt that a small group of businesses had an outsized influence on the decision, given that the public was largely favourable about the project, and noted issues with Water Street being a commuter corridor, while business owners expressed frustration at drops in revenue during the road closure, difficulty in receiving deliveries or getting picked up in a taxi, and safety concerns among staff. At the time, Coun. Pete Fry called the amendment for Sundays only a 'thoughtful compromise,' and Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said the vision to make Gastown more people-focused is still alive, but it's hard to please everybody and it will take time for all the pieces to come together. In addition to hopefully speeding up traffic around Gastown, the city says two-waying Cordova Street will 'provide valuable insights into a potential future expansion to the Powell Street overpass.' Work is currently underway to convert Cordova Street before the change in two weeks. Sometime in late September, the road is expected to return to a one-way street. The 'Water Street Pedestrian Zone Sundays' start June 15 and end after the Labour Day long weekend.
