Welcome to the blog section. In this blog I’ll be posting about what is happening around my neighbourhood (Yaletown & False Creek North), Vancouver luxury real estate, real estate and related issues. If you have any suggestions, please let me know, have fun.
This year 15,000 participants of the 41st BMO Vancouver Full and Half Marathon will experience two new courses showcasing the City of Vancouver. These new routes will
impact traffic in Vancouver’s downtown area, West End, Coal Harbour, Chinatown, Yaletown, Riley Park, South Cambie, , Kerrisdale, Dunbar, UBC, Kitsilano, Point Grey, False Creek and West End neighborhoods on Sunday, May 6th.
The schedule of events includes: 7:00am - Half Marathon // 8:00am - Marathon • Both the Half and Full Marathons start on Midlothian Ave between Queen Elizabeth Park & Hillcrest Community Centre. • Our finish is located on W Hastings St, west of Burrard near the Vancouver Convention Centre. • Most Half Marathon participants will finish the course by 10am (strict 11:00am course closure) and most Marathon participants will finish the course by 2pm (strict 4:00pm course closure). • Sweep vehicles/marshals will escort participants off the course near road reopening times. • Participants will NOT be allowed to continue walking the course on sidewalks once roads are reopened to traffic. • All services will be withdrawn and removed and area cleaned prior to reopening times.
Public Access • Airport/(07:30-9:00a): if you are coming/ going from the airport use main st. To marine dr. • Transit riders expect intermittent traffic delays on oak and granville st (7:30 – 9:30am) • Coal harbour access (06:00-5:00pm): via cordova st from burrard • Canada place/cruise ship access - all regular access maintained to the port. • Riley pa rk-hillcrest community centre (midnight to noon): only via main st & 33rd.
Event routes and road closure information are available on the web at:
www.bmovanmarathon.ca Or call the Vancouver International Marathon Society: T: 604.872.2928
The Vancouver Sun Run takes place on Sunday, April 15 at 9:00 a.m.
The 10K course starts at Georgia and Burrard and will be lined with water stations and live musical performers. For the safety of over 50,000 participants, various road closures will be in effect between 5:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
These closures may restrict parking and access to and from your building. We apologize for any inconvenience and invite you to join us for a fun-filled morning. On behalf of Sun Run participants and volunteers, thank you for your cooperation and support.
The following streets will be closed during the specified times on Sunday, April 15. Sun Run road closures in effect SUNDAY, APRIL 15
DOWNTOWN AREA · Seymour to Bute (start area): 5 a.m. – 11 a.m. · Bute to the Causeway (including all streets crossing Georgia): 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. · Lions Gate Bridge (access from Pender St only): 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. · Howe to Burrard from Dunsmuir to Robson: 5 a.m. – 11 a.m. · Denman St – Georgia to Robson: 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. · Robson St – west of Denman St to Stanley Park: 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.
STANLEY PARK · Beach Avenue (Stanley Park to Hornby St): 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. · Stanley Park Dr at North Lagoon Dr: 6 a.m. – 11 a.m. · Ryan Rd at Park Lane/South Lagoon Dr: 6 a.m. – 11 a.m.
PACIFIC ST · Burrard St to Hornby St (eastbound lanes): 6 a.m. – 12 noon
THE BRIDGES · Burrard Bridge – closed to all northbound traffic (limited to southbound traffic): 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon · Cambie Bridge – closed to all northbound traffic: 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
KITSILANO AREA · W 2nd Avenue (Burrard to Fir): 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon · Fir Street (W 2nd Ave to W 4th Ave): 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon · W 4th Avenue/W 6th Avenue (Pine St to Cambie St): 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon
CAMBIE ST AT W. BROADWAY (closed to all northbound traffic): 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon
PACIFIC BOULEVARD · East bound exit ramp from Cambie Bridge: 5 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. · Nelson St to Abbott St: 5 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. · Abbott St to Quebec St: 7 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
QUEBEC, KEEFER & ABBOTT ST (closed to all traffic near Expo Boulevard and Pacific Blvd): 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. EXPO BLVD (from Quebec St to Terry Fox Way): 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
For more information call the City of Vancouver Special EventsOffice at 604-871-6260 or visit www.sunrun.com
Get into the spirit of the season while feeling good at the same time. 100% of donations will go directly to Elsie Roy After School Programs. Pickups rides will take place just outside the Roundhouse and Urban Fare on Davie Street. Look for the sandwich board and balloons. First come first serve. pdf details
Times: 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays - December 10th - 18th & Friday the 23rd.
April 29 - May 8, 2011 Yaletown Mother’s Day Week features great shopping, world class dining, daily prizes and super Yaletown-exclusive Groupon specials. Here’s how to find all the deals:
1. Be in the ‘hood The fun begins in Yaletown on April 29th, as our I Yaletown street teams roam the area giving out freebies and specials every day until Mother’s Day. They’ll help you find the perfect gift for Mom, and can even guide you to deals of the day. Online or in-store, Yaletown has great gift ideas for Mom. For all the details, visit www.yaletowninfo.com/mom-gift-guide
2. Check out Yaletown Groupon Week – Canada’s first. You can get special Yaletown Groupon deals just for mom. Everyday from May 2nd until May 8th, Groupon will feature a special deal in Yaletown. To find the Groupon of the day, check: www.groupon.com/vancouver
3. Mother’s Day Social Media Contest The Yaletown BIA is giving away $5,000 in prizes in a daily contest from May 2nd through May 8th! To enter: on Twitter – mention @iyaletown Mother’s Day using the hashtag #yt4moms
On Facebook – Like Yaletown and tell us why your mom deserves to win. Extra points are given to entries with the most unique comments and likes!
4. Grand Prize Package to be won Win a $5,000 “Yaletown Experience Grand Prize Package” for your mom! The package includes: Yaletown MINI’s Mini Cooper for the weekend, a night at the Opus Hotel, an exclusive salon makeover, brunch and dinner at Yaletown’s top restaurants and a fashion shopping spree! Enter at facebook.com/yaletowninfo Enjoy all that Yaletown has to offer, for yourself or for your Mom! Happy Mother’s Day from the businesses of Yaletown.
Yaletown Business Improvement Association #003 - 1290 Homer Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2Y5 604-683-7473 • www.yaletowninfo.com
Sunday, May 1st – Road closures to cause delays for ALL traffic - including transit and emergency vehicles.
The BMO Marathon will cause traffic delays through much of the downtown core, the Burrard Bridge, Dunsmuir Viaduct, streets along the north and south shores of False Creek, Strathcona, Kitsilano and Pt Grey, on Sunday, May 1st. Full road closures and traffic disruptions can be expected from 5:30am until 5pm.
For further information contact the City of Vancouver Special Events Office at (604) 257.8850, or see the BMO Marathon web-site.
ADVANCE NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURES SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 17th, 2011
The 27th Annual VANCOUVER SUN RUN will take place in the streets of downtown Vancouver on Sunday morning, April 17th, 2011. Last year’s event attracted 51,419 participants – runners, joggers, walkers and wheelchair participants. Already Canada’s biggest and best run, we are looking at an even larger number of participants this year.
The start time for the main run will be 9:00am near the vicinity of Georgia and Thurlow Streets. The competitive Wheelchair Division start will be at 8:40 am from the same start location. The Mini Sun Run will begin at 8:00am on Pacific Boulevard (between BC Place and the Plaza of Nations). Both courses will be lined with water stations and will have musical entertainment.
City of Vancouver road closures will be in effect along the route and Vancouver Police will be directing traffic. Attached, please find a copy of the 2011 route map for your reference with respect to road closures.
Route: from Thurlow Street down Georgia Street – left onto Denman Street – right turn onto Robson Street – along Lagoon Drive to Beach Avenue – along Beach Avenue to Howe Street – up Howe Street to Pacific Boulevard and across the Burrard Street Bridge – left turn onto 2nd Avenue – right turn onto Fir Street to 4th Avenue – 4th Avenue to the Cambie Street Bridge on-ramp – across the bridge and down the off-ramp onto Pacific Boulevard to the Finish Line stretching between BC Place and the Plaza of Nations.
If you would like more information about the VANCOUVER SUN RUN and road closures or are interested in participating in the event, please call the SUN RUN HOTLINE – 604-689-9441.
We have been informed by the City of Vancouver that two construction projects are going to be taking place simultaneously on the 1100 block of Mainland Street tomorrow (Friday April 15th) between 7:00am and 3:30pm.
The road cut will be done in two stages (half at a time) to allow traffic access on Mainland. Some parking spaces will be removed while the road cut is being done, and returned to normal use once the work is completed.
The group is formed and the planning is well on its way!
Yaletown Neighbours has plans in action as we work toward making our neighbourhood an inclusive and more friendly place to live.
At our March 29th meeting, members presented their ideas on:
A vision for Yaletown Neighbours
Two immediate goals that we can work towards
Potential venues in Yaletown to host a networking event for Yaletown residents
Possible social media venues for promotion
After group discussion, the vision for Yaletown Neighbours is:
To bring Yaletown residents together to enjoy each other as neighbours and to work together on common goals.
Our two immediate goals are:
Neighbours hanging out on a regular basis with regular meet-ups beginning in May
Serving together: Get neighbours involved in the Keep Vancouver Spectacular day – a neighbourhood garbage cleanup event happening in May
Please join us for the next Yaletown Neighbours meeting on Tuesday April 12, 7:30 p.m. at the Roundhouse if you're interested in taking our Yaletown community to the next level!
*Feel free to spread the word! Invite your friends and neighbours to join you.
I've attached information from our last meeting for your review. If you have any questions please contact:
I'm writing today to share information from the first Yaletown town hall meeting held on March 8th. A group of Yaletown neighbours met to discuss the results of the Community Opportunity survey that you participated in.
During the meeting we:
Shared our observations and reactions to the top 5 things Yaletown residents said they'd change if they could make a difference in our neighbourhood
Listed what we see as the neighbourhood's assets
Dreamed 10 years ahead and imagined what Yaletown could look like in 2021
Suggested groups of residents whom we'd need to involve to see this dream become a reality
Set the next steps and took on homework for a March 29th follow-up meeting
We're inviting you to join your neighbours on Tuesday March 29th (7:30 pm) at the Roundhouse to participate in the next stage in the process of making Yaletown a better place to live!
And remember, the more the merrier! Feel free to invite friends and neighbours who reside in Yaletown. The more neighbours involved in this project the faster our collective vision for Yaletown will become a reality!
For the Yaletown Neighbours team,
Mark Savard
If you have any questions please feel free to contact:
Whether you’re looking for Irish themed food or just a good way to justify wearing head-to-toe green, here are some fantastic Yaletown venues offering great specials!
“Creating a real “people place” to relax, play, socialize, enjoy events, and explore neighbourhood heritage”.
The turntable is a historic public plaza that with the exception of a few programmed events is rarely used on a day to day casual basis even though the surrounding neighbourhood is busy and bustling. The mandate of this project is to protect, promote and enhance the existing character and heritage values of the turntable by introducing new, more contemporary but historically compatible elements to animate the plaza and create a stronger sense of place. These elements would provide places to sit, give shelter from the rain as well as shade from the sun, create a focal point on the plaza for events and performances and provide an opportunity for food and drink. Please note some of the elements of the proposed list of changes are tentative as costs for the various elements are still being investigated. • Turntable bridge turn to a more N/S direction to help create a better defined performance space and to better bring people into the Roundhouse plaza • A crane reminiscent of early railway cranes to support light shelter/shading canopies with cables for lighting, banners, and aerial performances to increase current casual and programmed usage options while enhancing the industrial architectural style • Viewing platform overlooking the Turntable pit to feature the bridge turning mechanism and to create an opportunity for historical Interpretation to tell the story of the historic turntable and the Roundhouse • Mist/steam feature for children and families to enjoy reminiscent of the “Age of Steam” • To create and enhance a ‘sense of place’ and animate the plaza, strong, colourful and playful forms e.g. furniture, modular flexible seating, trees, etc.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the Turntable Project? The project’s intention is to revitalise the Turntable Plaza area and make it into a more inviting urban space in which to relax, play, socialize and explore neighbourhood heritage.
Why are you doing the project? The plaza has sat mostly unused and desolate for many years yet it has the capacity to become a valued public space. By improving some of the physical features of the plaza we can offer diverse opportunities to use it as a public space - whether as a nice place to sit and have a coffee, or, as a place to come to a farmers market, dance performance, etc. The improvements will also help fulfill the overall mandate of the Roundhouse as an arts and culture facility.
What is happening? The plan is to install sunshades and rain cover in the form of one large moveable crane and canopy, as well as flexible public seating, a water/steam feature, shade trees, the ability for sound and lighting for performances, and interpretive material about the history of the turntable and the Roundhouse.
When is it happening? Work on the project is scheduled to begin in early February 2011 and be completed by mid-July 2011.
What will it be used for? Most of the time, the plaza will simply be an outdoor public space to be used for sitting, talking and for children to play in. A few times a season, the Roundhouse will use the area to host live events which may include dance, music, or theatre-based projects. Farmers markets and book sales are other possibilities that various community members have asked for.
Who is paying for the project? It will be jointly paid for by the Vancouver Park Board / City of Vancouver ($950,000), the Government of Canada as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan ($600,000), and the BC Transmissions Corporation ($250,000).
What consultation has there been? The project has gone through considerable consultation including a design charette planning process in January 2008 and several Open Houses for the public – February 2008, May 2009, May 2010 and September 9, 2010. Members of the Roundhouse community association, community members, Roundhouse staff, artists, designers, planners, heritage planners, West Coast Rail Association staff, Park Board planners, YBIA members, youth and seniors have all been involved at some stage of the process. The Vancouver Park Board approved the concept plan for the project in May 2008.
Who is designing the project? The turntable and pit area including the proposed canopy are being designed by Nick Milkovich Architects Inc, and the seating and other elements will be designed by Phillip Farevaag Smallenberg. The project is lead by a committee that includes members of the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Society board, staff, and Vancouver Parks Board staff.
Will the live events make lots of noise? While there will be some noise associated with events in the plaza, it will remain within the limits defined by the City of Vancouver bylaws.
What about the heritage aspects of the site? Part of the intent of the project is to enhance the heritage components of the Roundhouse. It will include interpretive information to explain the history and function of the Turntable and the Roundhouse. All construction work will be carried out in ways that honour the original heritage aspects of the site and augment it for modern day use.
Who do I send comments to? Comments on the proposed plan can be sent to: Vancouver Park Board 2099 Beach Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6G 1Z4 Attn: Ernest Fanthorpe, Facility Development Coordinator Or e-mail: Ernest.Fanthorpe@vancouver.ca.
Check out all the interesting sights from this year's (2011) illuminate yaletown. Illuminate Yaletown Illuminate Yaletown brings talented artists to Yaletown's heritage district to showcase their craft and introduce Vancouver to contemporary, interactive light art.
Vancouver City Council will soon be considering a proposed rezoning for a site adjacent to BC Place Stadium. The site would include an entertainment complex with hotels, restaurants, theatres and a casino with table games and slot machines.
The proposal would relocate and expand the Edgewater Casino to the BC Place location. In advance of the public hearing scheduled for February 17, you’re invited to a public information session to learn more about gaming in Vancouver and share your thoughts:
Tuesday, February 8 from 6-9 pm
Roundhouse Community Centre
181 Roundhouse Mews
(corner of Davie and Pacific)
City Staff will be on hand to answer questions and take your feedback, which will be considered by Council.
The False Creek Residents Association (FCRA) invites all residents of False Creek to a general public meeting to be held on February 7, 2011, from 8 to 9:30 pm at the Roundhouse Community Centre. Room B.
Topics of discussion: The future of Creekside park, BC Place Casino development, and other updates.
Yes… Illuminate is coming back to Yaletown!! After a hiatus in 2010 for the Olympics, Illuminate Yaletown will be happening once again on February 11 and 12, 2011 – 5:59PM until 10:30PM
Illuminate Yaletown is a free winter party in Yaletown featuring contemporary light art installations to explore.
The Yaletown Business Improvement Association will be hosting a Flickr Photo Contest once again, with over $500 worth in prizes for photos of Illuminate Yaletown 2011.
This contest will accept submissions until March 6, 2011.
This contest is meant to promote great photos of a fantastic event in Yaletown. To protect photographers, the contest rules allow users to retain the rights to their photos, but the Yaletown Business Improvement Association will have the right to use the submitted photos in their blog, websites and publications.
Read the full rules for the Illuminate Yaletown photo contest here
Please post discussion topics on the Flickr discussion board or email info@yaletowninfo.com with specific questions regarding the Illuminate Yaletown Photo contest
December 8th 4-8pm at the Roundhouse Community Centre at 181 Roundhouse Mews (corner of Davie and Pacific Blvd.)
The open house will be a chance to share ideas and hear your comments on future options for the Plaza of Nations site (Canadian Metropolitan Properties) and the North East False Creek area.
Staff will be on hand along with the developer to answer your questions. Along with display materials, there will be a walking tour of the site at 6pm and a presentation at 7pm.
For more information about the open house and the planning work being done in North East False Creek, please view the website here
Great location, North of 4th, steps to beach, Tennis & Yacht Clubs at Jericho Beach & 4th Avenue shops & restaurants. High ceiling, granite countertops,...
