BURST
The City of Vancouver is planning to introduce temporary bylaw changes that will limit street vendors and performances, block unauthorized commercial advertising and loosen noise restrictions during the two months the city hosts World Cup matches.
The city will also ramp up municipal ticket enforcement during the period, with fines ranging from $250 to $1,000.
Those are just some of the temporary changes being proposed before the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will go before city council on Wednesday. The changes will be in place from May 13 to July 20 of next year.
The City enacted a similar bylaw for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
At the time, it initially faced a backlash over concerns that the bylaw changes would restrict freedom of political expression. A lawsuit, supported by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association — at the time led by now Premier David Eby — led to the city amending the bylaw to only focus on commercial advertising.
This time around, the proposed changes clearly state that “there is no intent to impact political expression or the right to lawful protest,” according to the report.
Robert VanWynsberghe, a professor at UBC who led an impact study following the 2010 Olympics, said some bylaw changes for the impacts were designed to control the scale of protests.
“There was a protest zone and an encampment that was placed near the Science Centre,” he said in an email. “There were also Ambassadors, if I recall, who were empowered to prevent open sleeping in doorways and park benches.”
Advocates in the Downtown Eastside fear residents will be displaced in the name of ensuring compliance with FIFA requirements.
Jean Swanson, a former city councillor and longtime anti-poverty advocate, told Postmedia in August she suspects the city will prioritize esthetics over people’s well-being.
“People in the Downtown Eastside are terrified,” she said. “I suspect someone living on the street does not count in the city’s perspective of beauty. The current city council has been harsh on people living on the street without FIFA … so with FIFA, I suspect it will be even worse.”
Street performances will be banned in a number of areas, including sidewalks adjacent to Library Square, Science World, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Terry Fox Plaza, and several SkyTrain stations.
Food vendors will be barred from operating on streets in the “Last Mile” area around B.C. Place. That includes the Plaza of Nation, Parq Casio Parking and stretches of Carral Street and Expo Blvd.
The bylaw also gives the city the right to remove graffiti and unauthorized advertising from properties within 24 hours of serving notice to property owners.
“These restrictions support crowd management, ensure public safety, and maintain the integrity of FIFA’s commercial program by limiting unauthorized vending activity,” according to the report.
Noise restrictions for event-related activities will be relaxed as well. Repair, maintenance and deliveries at venue sites will be allowed 24 hours a day as will production of radio and TV broadcasts.
Music, public addresses and other entertainment will also be allowed to take place at venues and city sites from 8 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.
Vancouver will host seven soccer matches as well as a “fan zone” at Hastings Park and the so-called “Last Mile” area surrounding B.C. Place.
With a file from Sarah Grochowski
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