Vancouver Viaduct Removal Becomes Election Issue After More Than a Decade of Delays

Noah Chen

9/30/20263 min read

More than a decade after Vancouver city council approved the removal of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts, a group of local businesses and residents is trying to make the stalled project an issue in the upcoming municipal election.

The viaducts were built in the 1970s as part of a larger freeway proposal that was ultimately abandoned.

Today, the structures remain major routes into downtown Vancouver, but the city describes them as aging and seismically vulnerable. Council approved replacing them with a ground-level street network in 2015.

Three years later, the city approved the Northeast False Creek Plan, which envisioned new housing, parks, community amenities and redevelopment of a large section of waterfront land. The plan includes about 1,800 units of social housing and 32 acres of new or renewed parks and open space.

Coalition Wants Next Council to Act

Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, is among those pushing candidates to commit to moving the project forward.

He said frustration has grown as the plan has remained largely unrealized for more than a decade.

“It's frustrating to have this plan sitting on a shelf for [over] 10 years now and literally not very much being done, at least in the grand scheme of things,” Hoyt said.

He argued that continued delays will make the redevelopment increasingly expensive.

“The longer we wait, the more expensive it's going to be, and so I think that's really why now is important,” he said.

Housing and Community Space Part of Plan

Petros Kusmu, a board member with the Hogan’s Alley Society, said the redevelopment represents an opportunity to build affordable housing, create new public spaces and support businesses in the area.

The Northeast False Creek Plan also specifically includes recognition of the area’s historic Black, Indigenous and Chinese communities.

Kusmu said current interest from provincial and federal governments in housing development could create an opportunity to move the project forward.

“For most Vancouverites, the message is as simple as: we just want to build affordable housing, we want to build really attractive community spaces, parks and areas for legacy businesses to thrive,” he said.

City Points to Funding Challenges

The City of Vancouver says implementing the plan depends heavily on money generated through redevelopment of privately owned land within Northeast False Creek.

The city’s original framework anticipated that major development in the area would help finance public infrastructure and amenities.

However, changes in Vancouver’s condominium market and higher construction costs have complicated that model.

The city says it is now examining alternatives, including expanded development opportunities and potential funding from the provincial and federal governments.

The 2018 Northeast False Creek plan envisioned implementation over roughly 20 years.

Mayoral Candidates Discuss Funding

At least two mayoral candidates have publicly supported advancing the project while acknowledging that its financing will need to be reconsidered.

Green Party mayoral candidate Pete Fry said he remains committed to the removal of the viaducts but believes a new funding model is required.

“There's a lot of variables, but certainly I'm committed to making sure that this happens,” Fry said.

“We have to come up with a new financial model, with who's going to pay for this, and how, and what the phasing and staging would look like.”

Vancouver Liberals candidate Kareem Allam has also called for the viaducts to be removed and has urged provincial involvement to help move the Northeast False Creek plan ahead.

Allam said the plan needs to be re-costed to reflect how much construction prices have changed since it was approved.

He has suggested examining provincial and federal infrastructure or disaster-mitigation funding as possible sources of support.

Voters Head to Polls Oct. 17

Vancouver’s municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 17, 2026. Voters will elect a mayor, 10 city councillors, seven park board commissioners and nine school trustees.

For advocates pushing the viaduct issue, the election is an opportunity to revive a redevelopment plan that has remained largely stalled since council first approved removing the structures in 2015.

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