For the last year, the Mount Pleasant BIA has been working with the City of Vancouver’s plaza team to advocate for a public space in the Riley Park neighbourhood. We are so excited to have this new public plaza open at 27th & Main beside Continental Coffee (across from Trafiq and Body Energy Club)!
We have seen overwhelming success of the plazas at 21st & Main and 14th & Main, including a multimillion dollar upgrade from the City of Vancouver to turn the 14th & Main into a permanent public space. Not all residents have immediate access to patios or private outdoor space, and these heavily used, all-weather plazas provide free, accessible places for people to spend time outdoors year-round. They also support nearby businesses by giving people space to pause, relax, and ultimately stay longer in the neighbourhood longer, increasing local foot traffic and engagement. Traffic calming is another major benefit – these spaces naturally change driver behaviour, helping slow traffic and reduce cut-through movement on side streets, which makes it safer and more comfortable for people walking and cycling.
With this new plaza and 27th & Main, expect more seating, plans, lighting, and other fun placemaking initiatives! The Mount Pleasant BIA’s primary goal with this new space is to help bring the community together and support local businesses at the same time.
To support this, the MPBIA plans to host a series of fun pop-ups at this location this summer, including live music, markets, craft nights, and more! If you are a local organization, business, community group, or resident and are interested in hosting an event in this space, we would love to chat.
Please reach out to connect@mpbia.ca, we would love to see community groups activate this space!
