The Main Street Promise: A Downtown Vancouver Renaissance in the Making

PC: beheardvancouver.org

Vancouver’s historic Main Street has always been more than asphalt and concrete – it’s the thread that binds our city’s past to its future. Now, after years of dreaming and planning, the City of Vancouver has launched the Main Street Promise, a multi‑year project to reconstruct Main Street between 5th and 15th Streets and transform it into a safe, accessible and welcoming corridor for residents, businesses and visitors cityofvancouver.us. If you’ve been following Explore the Couve for a while, you know I’m a huge fan of our downtown’s quirky mix of boutiques, coffee shops and historic buildings. So naturally I had to get the scoop on what’s happening and why this project matters.

Why rebuild Main Street?

The old streetscape was a hodge‑podge of asphalt patches, awkward angle parking and narrow sidewalks that weren’t always friendly for wheelchairs or parents pushing strollers. City planners listened to feedback over decades of meetings, open houses and surveys and identified three big goals:

1. Increase safety and mobility: The new design features curbless streets to slow traffic, extended sidewalks that meet ADA standards, tactile sidewalk treatments and audible crossings for visually impaired pedestrians, pedestrian‑scale lighting, more bike parking and traffic bumps to reduce vehicle speed cityofvancouver.us. Parallel parking will replace the existing angle parking to improve sightlines for drivers and pedestrians cityofvancouver.us.

2. Welcome visitors and support Main Street businesses: Removable bollards will allow the street to be closed for pedestrian‑only events; there will be outdoor seating, decorative lighting and dedicated spaces for public art cityofvancouver.us. Think of strolling down Main Street with friends under strings of lights while buskers play and cafés spill onto the sidewalk.

3. Improve infrastructure: Utilities are getting a total overhaul. The project will reconstruct sewer, water and stormwater lines, repave the street surface, upgrade traffic signals, repave adjacent street segments and add new power access for festivals and events cityofvancouver.us. Electric‑vehicle and e‑bike charging stations are also part of the plan cityofvancouver.us.

Construction – what to expect when you’re expecting change

Construction began in January 2025 and is being tackled in phases to minimize disruption. Phase 1 focuses on replacing wastewater and water utilities (January through summer 2025). Contractors will work in the street while existing sidewalks remain open and utility connections to businesses are kept as short as possible cityofvancouver.us. Phase 2 (spring 2025 through spring 2027) will reconstruct the street surface and sidewalks, install landscaping, seating, bike racks, lighting and plant new trees cityofvancouver.us.

The project team is keeping construction to about two blocks at a time so that vehicles and pedestrians can still access the rest of the corridor cityofvancouver.us. During the August 2025 construction window, crews are wrapping up work from Mill Plain Boulevard to 15th Street and moving southward to 12th Street and Evergreen Boulevard; sidewalks remain open except when utility connections require brief closures cityofvancouver.us.

“Are businesses going to survive this?”

That’s the question I get from fellow entrepreneurs every time a street project comes along. City leaders say they’re partnering with Vancouver’s Downtown Association to ensure timely information, maintain access and address concerns cityofvancouver.us. Construction hours are typically 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., with occasional night work for utility or intersection tie‑ins cityofvancouver.us. Emergency access will always be maintained cityofvancouver.us. So yes, expect some dust and detours, but your favorite coffee shop should still be open.

A bit of “urban archaeology” under our feet

One of the coolest aspects of the Main Street Promise is what crews are discovering beneath the pavement. Main Street once hosted two rail systems: a horse‑drawn railway (1889–1895) and an electric streetcar (1908–1926). Those tracks were paved over nearly a century ago and have been preserved under the street cityofvancouver.us. Workers are also uncovering old fire cisterns – large brick tanks built in the late 19th century to store water before hydrants existed cityofvancouver.us. Archaeologists are documenting these finds under permits from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation to honor Vancouver’s layered history cityofvancouver.us.

I don’t know about you, but I geek out over this stuff. Imagine the stories those bricks could tell! And yes, I’ve asked if there’s a secret tunnel connecting to the hidden Speakeasy Museum – sadly, no word yet.

Funding the promise

Major infrastructure projects aren’t cheap. This one is being paid for through a mix of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the City’s transportation fund, the Multifamily Tax Exemption Benefit Fund and utility funding cityofvancouver.us. Securing funds took decades – the first conceptual design dates back to 1993 and only in 2021 did the City finally secure enough federal and local funding to move forward cityofvancouver.us. Think of it as Vancouver’s version of “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again … for thirty years.”

The Main Street Promise timeline

• 1993 – 2019: Early designs and community visioning. Several conceptual designs and cost estimates were produced, with updates in 2003, 2009, 2014 and 2019 cityofvancouver.us.

• 2021: Funding secured via ARPA and local sources cityofvancouver.us.

• June 2022: MacKay Sposito, PointNorth Consulting and First Forty Feet selected to lead streetscape design and public engagement cityofvancouver.us.

• 2023: Extensive community input gathered through presentations, advisory groups, open houses and surveys cityofvancouver.us.

• 2024: Final design refined after robust outreach cityofvancouver.us.

• January 2025: Construction begins cityofvancouver.us.

• Spring 2025–Spring 2027: Phased utility and streetscape work cityofvancouver.us.

• Fall 2026: Final street furnishings and landscaping installed cityofvancouver.us.

Mark your calendar: August 28, 2025 block party

To celebrate the completion of the 1400 block (from Mill Plain Boulevard to 15th Street), the City and Vancouver’s Downtown Association are throwing an Upper Block Party on Thursday, August 28, 2025, from 3 to 5 p.m. cityofvancouver.us. Expect live music, light refreshments from the Greater Vancouver Chamber, a shout‑out from Mayor Anne McEnerny‑Ogle and plenty of cheer. It’s the perfect excuse to wander downtown and see the progress for yourself.

Looking ahead

As a realtor, I’m thrilled about how this project will enhance the downtown core. Safer streets and wider sidewalks will encourage more foot traffic, which is great news for local businesses and property values. More importantly, the Main Street Promise is about building a downtown Vancouver that’s accessible and enjoyable for everyone – families, cyclists, visitors and elders alike. It takes patience to live through roadwork, but the payoff will be a more vibrant and connected city center.

The next time you’re in downtown Vancouver, take a moment to envision the future: planters overflowing with flowers, kids chasing each other through a curbless plaza, art installations tucked between cafés, and maybe – just maybe – me beating you at the APA pool league after we’ve grabbed a latte on the new patio. See you on Main Street!