Love Dunbar’s Plaza? Hate it? Tell the city by Sept. 1

Glotman Simpson cycling club members have an after-ride snack in the plaza at 27th and Dunbar Street.

By Carol Volkart

Whether you’ve enjoyed meeting friends there, been frustrated by the road barriers there, or just feel neutral about the whole thing, it’s time to weigh in on the new public plaza at 27^th and Dunbar.

You have until Sept. 1 to fill out the city’s online survey about the plaza, which opened as a pilot project in May.

The results will go toward deciding whether it will become permanent.

“Staff will recommend whether the plaza should remain or be removed based on several factors, including the community survey results, observations and monitoring conducted throughout the summer, feedback from our community partner [the Dunbar Village Business Association], and other indicators of how the pilot is performing,” the city’s public space and street use team said in response to Dunbar News questions in July.

The survey is an “important part” of the evaluation process, the city said.  “We encourage Dunbar residents to participate so we can better understand the community’s level of support for the plaza, identify opportunities for improvement, and explore ways to strengthen community involvement and programming in the space.”

The city wasn’t definite about a date for a final decision, just saying survey results would be combined with other metrics in September, which “will be shared with the community in the fall.”

Regarding public response to the plaza as of July, the city said it had been “mixed, which is common with any significant neighbourhood change.

“Some residents and businesses have raised concerns about traffic and access, while many others have expressed support for the plaza and appreciate seeing it actively used by the community.”

Based on casual observation – and not on any statistical evidence – the plaza appears to draw a thin trickle of people throughout the day. People in ones or twos or threes eat lunch there, have coffee or pizza, read their smartphones, have a chat, and move on.

Slow August Sunday morning at the plaza. People trickled in, sat awhile, and left.

Olinda Vriend, who ran the clothing store Olinda’s across the street for more than three decades before retiring, sees potential for the plaza.

“But I’d like to see more activity there,” she says. She sees it as a great opportunity for Dunbar merchants to connect with customers, let people know what they have to offer, and improve their sales.

“Why not have each store take one day and offer something at the plaza? Cookies and tea or coffee, and 20 percent off merchandise for the day?”

Positive activities like that would help balance the downsides of blocking the street and the potential of noise issues, she says.

Noise, inconvenience and traffic are indeed among the problems raised by neighbours closest to the plaza. A tenant in the older apartment building immediately adjacent to the plaza says that in suites that still have single-glazed windows, ordinary-level conversations on the plaza sound like they’re in the next room.

The evening after the city installed signs urging people to keep noise levels down because of people living close by, two young women held such an animated conversation well after midnight that he had to go out and ask them to wrap it up, he said.

The tenant, who did not wish to be named, also recounted a 2 a.m. incident in which a group of about 10 “loud, exuberant” young people gathered at the plaza, cheering each other on as they urinated in the parking lot. He said he took a video and called 311, but did not go out to confront the group.

The tenant said it’s fundamentally unfair that the city put in a plaza without consulting the community first, especially those most affected, and noted that the location chosen was an older apartment building, not outside one of the new luxury ones along Dunbar.

“It’s like dumping this on your front yard,” he said. “There’s no buffer, no trees. It’s 25 feet from our windows.”

Signs just outside the building where tenants say plaza conversations are easily overheard.

As for the survey, he said the opinions of those most affected by the plaza should be weighted far more heavily than those with no stakes in the outcome. Many of the farther-away neighbours are neutral, he said, as it doesn’t affect their homes or streets.

Bruni and Tony Goodson, who have been opposed to the plaza since the idea was first raised several years ago, then delayed because of street work, say they’ll vote against it because of the unfair impact on people like the apartment-building tenants. The Goodsons, who live on 27^th down the hill from the plaza, say it hasn’t affected them much except for the road closure making accessing their home more difficult.

But like the tenant, Bruni Goodson said she is concerned about traffic safety in the plaza area, especially for the service trucks she’s seen having to back down the whole block. She disagrees with blocking off a road for a whole neighbourhood so a few people can eat their lunch in a plaza. “Is there a need for this?”

Both the Goodsons and the tenant say there are other, better places along Dunbar that could be turned into a plaza. Some of the wide paved areas outside the new developments, for example, could easily accommodate picnic tables and chairs.

Regarding the noise issue, the city said in July that it had installed signs reminding visitor to keep noise levels down, and hoped this would reduce the problem “while preserving the plaza as a welcoming public space. If residents experience excessive noise or disruptive behaviour, we encourage them to report it through the appropriate channels.”

As for traffic problems, the city responded that “traffic adjustments around new plazas are a common concern, particularly in the early stages” but past experience has shown that most drivers adapt, realize the street is closed and “adjust their travel routes accordingly.”

It said additional safety measures may be brought in if the plaza becomes permanent, such as raised crosswalks across nearby laneways that slow cars down and improve safety.

In the meantime, the city is eagerly looking to increase use of the plaza, encouraging residents to use it for small events, birthdays and family celebrations. “We welcome a wide range of community activities and encourage residents to bring their ideas to life in the plaza.”

The city says the plaza has had a “positive reception,” and it’s grateful for suggestions about improvements.

Bulletin board includes list of events.

The survey, which can be accessed at Vancouver.ca/pilot-plaza-survey, asks a series of questions about participants’ experience with the plaza, including how often and how they use it and how it could be improved, before getting to the final one:

“Do you support keeping the plaza at this location? Yes or No. Why or why not?”

Efforts to make the plaza more welcoming include planters, some maintained by area businesses.

Some of the prettiest planters are maintained by Toña Bakery and Cafe across the street.