Street and Traffic By-law

A range of temporary amendments to the Street and Traffic By-law, which governs street use, will be in effect during the Games.

Olympic Lanes
As part of the Games transportation system, the City has identified a series of Olympic lanes for use by VANOC accredited vehicles, transit buses and emergency vehicles. For streets that include Olympic lanes, in general, the City will designate a single lane in either direction with the remaining lanes open to other traffic.

Olympic lanes are a key component of the Games-time transportation plan ensuring that athletes and officials can arrive at venues on schedule.

Outdoor Patios
To facilitate the increased demand for restaurant capacity during the Games, the new by-law rules allow for:

  • Patio hours to be extended to 1 am across the city. Restaurants in special event areas can apply for a permit to create additional on-street patio space.
  • Businesses can apply for permits for temporary tenting of patios without permanent covers to further increase the capacity of their street patios as long as the tents comply with the Building By-Law.

Pedestrian Corridors
During Games time, pedestrian corridors will help transport pedestrians between key activity areas such as LiveCity Vancouver, VANOC venues and Robson Square. The corridors also connect to key rapid transit stations. The pedestrian corridors will encourage visitors and residents to walk, cycle and use transit as their primary modes of transportation during the Games. To create the pedestrian corridors, the by-law amendments:

  • Allow street closures for pedestrian corridors between noon and midnight during the Games, and in some cases up to 24-hours a day.

Pedestrian corridors will only be in place during the Olympic Games and not the Paralympic Games. Disruption to local businesses will be minimized during this period.

Street Closures
To ensure the safety and security of Games participants and spectators, and to facilitate venue operational requirements, the new by-law adjustments allows streets closures in the immediate vicinity of Games venues 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

The duration of these street closures will vary by location and operational requirements. The City will work with VANOC and VISU to minimize the duration and impact of these closures on residents and businesses. Details on the specific dates for street closures will be available in the fall.

Temporary Truck Routes

  • To create temporary truck routes in downtown Vancouver for the Games period.

Street-based Advertising

  • No distribution of advertising material, including literature and samples, within the closed streets, on pedestrian corridors, in the immediate vicinity of VANOC venues and City sites, and along the Olympic lane routes, except for some limited circumstances in permitted special event areas.
  • No persons carrying advertising devices within these same areas are allowed.
  • Vehicles may display advertising copy but that copy must not change while the wehivle is operating or parked on streets from February 11 to February 28 and March 12 to 21.

The City will enforce these by-laws during high spectator periods, particularly in the afternoons and evenings. The by-law does not apply to newspapers that have less than 70% advertising content for distribution in the affected areas, and does not apply to newspaper boxes. 

Street Performers
Areas where street performers are able to operate without a permit in:
- Sidewalk in the 300 block of Georgia Street (adjacent to Library Square)
- Sidewalk in the 700 block of Homer Street (adjacent to Library Square)
- Sidewalk on the west side of Quebec Street (adjacent to Science World)
- Sidewalks adjacent to the following rapid transit stations entrances:

  • Vancouver City Centre
  • Olympic Village
  • Broadway City Hall
  • Oakridge 41st Avenue
  • Langara 49th Avenue
  • Marine Drive
  • Burrard
  • Granville
  • Nanaimo
  • 29th Avenue
  • Joyce Collingwood
  • VCC Clark
  • Commercial Drive
  • Renfrew
  • Rupert