More Evidence of why Vancouver Does Not Get It

I realize these rants are boring to people who don't live in Vancouver or have ever visited, and I really should just stop reading the local paper.

But headlines like: USUAL MAYHEM - Granville Street is like a Ticking Time Bomb from the March 26th issue of the Vancouver Sun just set me off.

Now Granville Street sucked the moment they built an underground mall beneath it, promptly killing all business above. They made sure business was dead by also not allowing traffic except buses and taxi's to drive along there.

But it survived. It was a mix of newsagents, comic shops, books stores, tattoo parlours, arcades and some porn places that valiantly hung on. It was a sleazy street, but a fun one.

Slowly over the years various clubs have come and gone. Bars open and closed, but lately MORE clubs have opened and survived.

This had made this one small strip party central for young clubbers. I emphasize young, because that has been the target market and that has been the root of all the problems down there.

Young folks from the burbs hit downtown and party their little brains out. They get drunk and get in fights. Nothing new, no. But when it is focused on about 4 blocks......it does not work well.

What gets me is why the city has not paid attention to this area properly. Not thought about branding and mareketing the area properly.

I will use San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter as an example.

I LOVED this area. Have had a blast everytime we visited San Diego. Loved the variety and styles of bars, clubs, restaurants, and stores. Something for all ages and stages.

And I realize that they have their share of problems too, no city is free of crime, etc., but at least they have worked hard at turning what could be a sleazy club area into a landmark tourist destination.

What has our City Council thinking?
Everything our city does seem to be based on making money via real estate deals and condo development. No long term planning. No tourist development.

They keep marketing Gastown as a major destination and the looks of horror as the cruise ship crowd pour onto the streets filled with drunks, homeless and addicts is amazing.

Yes, it is the oldest part of Vancouver. Yes the architecture of some of the buildings is nice and yes, there are some great eats and some good stores. But not much. Gastown had its day.

And sure it could be great. If there was consensual planning between the City and developers and retailers. But there hasn't been. And their won't be for Granville Street either.

The Olympics will be a huge wakeup call for the City. If they have ignored the tales from tourists horrified by the homelessness and mess so far....THAT will be the reckoning.

In the meantime we watch our city turn into sleazy party central