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Main Street Appearance Project

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This community engagement opportunity has ended.

The Downtown Stakeholder's Forum is a place for anyone with a connection to downtown Vancouver to collaborate with residents, business owners and City and local agency staff on community-driven projects to enhance downtown Vancouver's atmosphere, community engagement, marketing and vitality. The forum was created through a partnership between Vancouver's Downtown Association and the City of Vancouver.

The forum meets every fourth Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m. in Vancouver City Hall (415 W. Sixth St.). The meetings are open to the public.


In 2019, the Downtown Stakeholders Forum will work with City of Vancouver staff to coordinate improvements to the appearance of Main Street in downtown Vancouver between 5th and 15th streets.

This year's work builds on 2009 and 2015 studies that offered ideas to improve Main Street’s design and appearance. Copies of these studies can be found in the Document Library.

Main Street is downtown Vancouver’s historic street for retail, dining and other entertainment options. With all the new activity downtown and on the waterfront, the Downtown Stakeholders Forum is looking to make Main Street more attractive for visitors.

The group will review all existing litter receptacles, bike racks, streetlights, landscaping, sidewalks finishes and more for style, function and location. Your feedback will help us prioritize the implementation of these improvements.

For questions about this project, please contact John Collum in the City's Community and Economic Development Department at John.Collum@cityofvancouver.us.

For questions about the Downtown Stakeholders Forum, please contact Kirsten Hull at Kirsten.Hull@cityofvancouver.us.

The Downtown Stakeholder's Forum is a place for anyone with a connection to downtown Vancouver to collaborate with residents, business owners and City and local agency staff on community-driven projects to enhance downtown Vancouver's atmosphere, community engagement, marketing and vitality. The forum was created through a partnership between Vancouver's Downtown Association and the City of Vancouver.

The forum meets every fourth Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m. in Vancouver City Hall (415 W. Sixth St.). The meetings are open to the public.


In 2019, the Downtown Stakeholders Forum will work with City of Vancouver staff to coordinate improvements to the appearance of Main Street in downtown Vancouver between 5th and 15th streets.

This year's work builds on 2009 and 2015 studies that offered ideas to improve Main Street’s design and appearance. Copies of these studies can be found in the Document Library.

Main Street is downtown Vancouver’s historic street for retail, dining and other entertainment options. With all the new activity downtown and on the waterfront, the Downtown Stakeholders Forum is looking to make Main Street more attractive for visitors.

The group will review all existing litter receptacles, bike racks, streetlights, landscaping, sidewalks finishes and more for style, function and location. Your feedback will help us prioritize the implementation of these improvements.

For questions about this project, please contact John Collum in the City's Community and Economic Development Department at John.Collum@cityofvancouver.us.

For questions about the Downtown Stakeholders Forum, please contact Kirsten Hull at Kirsten.Hull@cityofvancouver.us.

Tell your story

Share your experience on Main Street! 

If you could change one thing right now about Main Street (between 5th and 15th), What would it be? 

  • Sidewalks? Street furniture? 
  • Buildings? Store fronts?
  • Landscaping? Street trees? Planters?

Thank you for submitting your Main Street story!

CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.
  • Share Have to keep the homeless out of retail and tourist area! on Facebook Share Have to keep the homeless out of retail and tourist area! on Twitter Share Have to keep the homeless out of retail and tourist area! on Linkedin Email Have to keep the homeless out of retail and tourist area! link

    Have to keep the homeless out of retail and tourist area!

    by Jaxon, about 5 years ago

    My family visiting from Boston were shocked at the vagrants and homeless along our city's downtown streets and parks. On the east coast, this is rarely seen. Police insist homeless do not camp out in front of storefronts. Homeless shelters are miles away from the downtown retail/tourist core.

    Camping is for the forest, not in front of a storefront or Esther Short Park!

  • Share Public sidewalks for the public to use on Facebook Share Public sidewalks for the public to use on Twitter Share Public sidewalks for the public to use on Linkedin Email Public sidewalks for the public to use link

    Public sidewalks for the public to use

    by Sarah, about 5 years ago

    I am a long term resident of Vancouver and know Main Street very well. We need to invest in our sidewalks and street landscaping. The priority should be the public use, not the private use. If a business would like to have sidewalk seating, then it needs to fit within the space and provide a clear four to five feet (more preferably) of room between their private fenced area and the sidewalk. I don't accept the squeezed areas of our street that have furniture and landscaping that funnels the rest of us to a single file in order to pass... Continue reading

  • Share Easily boost business revenue along Main Street on Facebook Share Easily boost business revenue along Main Street on Twitter Share Easily boost business revenue along Main Street on Linkedin Email Easily boost business revenue along Main Street link

    Easily boost business revenue along Main Street

    by xasam24, about 5 years ago

    In many cities around the world, pedestrianizing their most important shopping and entertainment thoroughfare led to a 10% or greater increase in revenue for businesses along that thoroughfare overnight. If Vancouver wants to see similar success on Main Street, we should consider pedestrianizing the areas between Fourth Plain and MacLoughlin, and between 12th and 6th.

  • Share Regarding Parking... on Facebook Share Regarding Parking... on Twitter Share Regarding Parking... on Linkedin Email Regarding Parking... link

    Regarding Parking...

    by Catalina, about 5 years ago

    I want to share a quick story about a little town similar to ours and how they successfully attracted visitors.

    This little town has one Main St with a few offshoots, and they wanted it to grow. What they did was, they wired the entire area for free WiFi to encourage people to sit in their coffee bars and restaurants and relax with their laptops. They also made parking entirely FREE. They built several 3 story parking garages, as well as street parking, and added a minuscule local retail tax of 1/4 percent to pay for it all.

    I keep... Continue reading

  • Share Garbage Pickup Problem on Facebook Share Garbage Pickup Problem on Twitter Share Garbage Pickup Problem on Linkedin Email Garbage Pickup Problem link

    Garbage Pickup Problem

    by Catalina, about 5 years ago

    Just a few weeks ago, Waste Connections changed their recyclable garbage pickup schedule so that the downtown area and Main St pickup is Monday morning, with cans having to be placed by 6:00 AM. (Previously it was mid-week.) This is a huge problem, because it means that the streets are now lined with garbage cans ALL WEEKEND LONG. Many businesses in the area are closed on weekends, so they put out their cans on Friday evening, some on Saturday evening. So, during the busiest times for vistors and tourists - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - we've got trash cans all... Continue reading

  • Share Retail Storefronts should be for retail only, NOT offices! on Facebook Share Retail Storefronts should be for retail only, NOT offices! on Twitter Share Retail Storefronts should be for retail only, NOT offices! on Linkedin Email Retail Storefronts should be for retail only, NOT offices! link

    Retail Storefronts should be for retail only, NOT offices!

    by Catalina, about 5 years ago

    Downtown Vancouver has grown to the point where I believe Zoning rules are now necessary. Retail spaces need to be for retail shops, food and salons; there must be a moratorium on any further renting of retail storefronts as office space. I look at old pictures of Main St as a bustling hub of retail with much walking traffic and activity, but now, we have wastelands of blocks where the beautiful ground floor retail storefronts are taken up by lawyers and insurance hawkers and real estate offices, etc. These businesses do not maintain the outside of their storefronts either, they... Continue reading

  • Share Have worked in and for DT Vanc since 1990, including as President of Vancouver Farmers' Market and as Downtown Vancouver Association staff for conversion of Main Street in Uptown Village to two-way traffic.. on Facebook Share Have worked in and for DT Vanc since 1990, including as President of Vancouver Farmers' Market and as Downtown Vancouver Association staff for conversion of Main Street in Uptown Village to two-way traffic.. on Twitter Share Have worked in and for DT Vanc since 1990, including as President of Vancouver Farmers' Market and as Downtown Vancouver Association staff for conversion of Main Street in Uptown Village to two-way traffic.. on Linkedin Email Have worked in and for DT Vanc since 1990, including as President of Vancouver Farmers' Market and as Downtown Vancouver Association staff for conversion of Main Street in Uptown Village to two-way traffic.. link

    Have worked in and for DT Vanc since 1990, including as President of Vancouver Farmers' Market and as Downtown Vancouver Association staff for conversion of Main Street in Uptown Village to two-way traffic..

    by Madeleine, about 5 years ago

    There's nothing wrong with downtown Vancouver that MORE RETAIL won't cure. Sorry, but better litter receptacles (!!!) won't cut it.

    • Quit giving tax breaks to developers who promise mixed use but somehow never fill the retail spaces in their buildings with actual retail, not office uses. How about a sliding scale of decreasing tax breaks for unkept promises?
    • Find ways to encourage Downtown property owners to rent to quality tenants, not just anybody with a month's rent in hand.
    • No more pot shops/churches/social service providers, please.
    • Activate the street. Do not charge extra fees for sidewalk seating/tables.
    • What's happening with... Continue reading
  • Share Community in small business on Facebook Share Community in small business on Twitter Share Community in small business on Linkedin Email Community in small business link

    Community in small business

    by Aubloblaw, about 5 years ago

    I think people are attracted to small local businesses. Walking around and finding different kinds of shops to see and feel. Keeping a unique feeling to each space that allows businesses to create their own voice. I think the diversity is attractive and making space accessible to small businesses is key. People just want something to do outside of day to day mundane activity even if it’s just walking around taking in sights and sounds.

  • Share Sidewalks on Facebook Share Sidewalks on Twitter Share Sidewalks on Linkedin Email Sidewalks link

    Sidewalks

    by Lynne Bowden , about 5 years ago

    I enjoy walking downtown. I am close to everything I love, however, I have tripped over sidewalks in disrepair on three separate occasions. I received horrific bruises, and luckily the only thing that was broken was my pride. It concerns me that we have so many sidewalks that are becoming unsafe, and unsightly.

    I often see elderly attempting to maneuver their rolling walkers around the sidewalks and see the struggle that they have. My own mother one of them.

    Please place repair of the sidewalks on the top of the list of improvements.

  • Share Pedestrianize Main Street on Facebook Share Pedestrianize Main Street on Twitter Share Pedestrianize Main Street on Linkedin Email Pedestrianize Main Street link

    Pedestrianize Main Street

    by dave, about 5 years ago

    Main Street in downtown Vancouver between 5th and 15th streets.


    (how about not making the area between uptown and downtown a dead zone and completely inhospitable to pedestrians, a little more thought into joining uptown and downtown into a seamless paradise)


    Pedestrianize Main Street......... Make it car free...between 5th and 15th streets.


    The cafe's, bars, coffee shops and bars can spread their street furniture with abandon.

    Make all the side streets angled parking. Maximize all the spaces possible for parking for the retail establishments.

    Remove the parking czar and go back to the old free,time restrained parking meters to... Continue reading