Frequently asked questions

This plaza was installed in spring 2018. It features moveable seating, an on-street mural, and as of 2020 a bus bulb, a sidewalk extension that makes it easier to get on and off the bus. The plaza also contains a bike share station, and connects to the 14^th Ave Bikeway. Vancouver’s first parklet, installed adjacent to JJ Bean in 2011, seven years before the plaza, remains in the space as a unique seating feature. The plaza is stewarded in partnership with the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association.

Neighbourhood plazas are small public spaces located adjacent to commercial shopping streets. They are social spaces that host community events and neighbourly interaction, and support local businesses. View our map showing all neighbourhood plazas in Vancouver.

City crews have been installing interim bus bulbs in Vancouver neighbourhoods in partnership with Translink over the last three years.

Bus bulbs are sidewalk extensions that bump out the bus stop into the travel lane. They:

• Create more space for people walking or rolling on the sidewalk and improve accessibility for all sidewalk users
• Create more space for passengers to wait
• Allow buses to stop in the travel lane, reducing delays from entering and exiting stops
• Improve passengers’ comfort as buses do not need to change lanes to stop

The bus bulb, located at the northwest corner of the plaza, was installed during the pandemic as an immediate temporary response to the need for more space at bus stops during the pandemic. The materials used were temporary in nature and allowed the City to install these quickly and at a lower cost. The bus bulb is now reaching the end of its life and a permanent replacement is being planned. 

Green rainwater infrastructure brings nature into the city. It mimics natural water processes, and works with plants, soils, trees, and built structures to capture and clean rainwater before returning it to our waterways and atmosphere.

Green rainwater infrastructure will help:

• Bring nature into the plaza
• Treat rainwater pollutants and reduce flooding of the roadway
• Reduce combined sewer overflows (when pipes carrying both sewage and urban rainwater runoff are over capacity and release this mixture of sewage and rainwater runoff into False Creek).

In the fall of 2018, an external consultant was hired by the City to evaluate the success of the  Neighbourhood Plaza at Main and 14^th. The consultant found  that the plaza serves as a welcoming and inclusive public space within the community and has played an important role in supporting social interaction. View the Pavement-to-Plaza Wellbeing Assessment final report.

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is planning a new half-block urban park for the Mount Pleasant community at the intersection of Main Street and 7th Avenue. Learn more about the Main and 7th Park.