Project Background

The West End waterfront (English Bay, Sunset Beach Park, Morton Park, Alexandra Park, and Beach Avenue) is a popular and beloved public space.

This area is experiencing the impact of climate change and sea level rise, increased demand on the park due to population rise, and facilities that are reaching the end of their life. We need a long-term plan so this place can respond to these pressures and ensure it's enjoyed and ecologically resilient for years to come.

It is important that we make these changes now to tackle ongoing environmental damage to the West End's coastal infrastructure. This plan aims to address some of the challenges facing Vancouver's shorelines, as shown by the recent damage to Stanley Park and English Bay Seawall, Kitsilano Pool, and Jericho Pier, and to improve the region's long-term climate resilience.

This shoreline is the unceded, traditional and ancestral lands and waters of the xwməθkwəy’əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples, and a place of great cultural, spiritual and ecological significance to them. Consultation with the three Host Nations as rights and titleholders of these unceded lands and waters, and participation of urban Indigenous residents will guide how the future West End waterfront could be a great place for Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh community members and Indigenous Peoples.

The project planning process will uphold and build on the many Reconciliation commitments made by the Vancouver Park Board and City of Vancouver.