VANCOUVER

2 festivals and 4 cruise ships could mean traffic headaches this weekend

CTV News Vancouver Published Thursday, August 8, 2019 6:14PM PDT

Motorists merge from four lanes into one as they enter the Lions Gate Bridge to drive into Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, July 15, 2011. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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A pair of festivals and a busy day at Vancouver's cruise ship terminal are expected to cause traffic delays around the city this upcoming weekend.

Related: Stay up to date on local traffic with our live updating traffic page

A total of four vessels are scheduled to dock at Canada Place throughout the day on Saturday, bringing thousands of passengers and crew members into the downtown core.

Two more cruise ships are expected on Sunday.

In addition to the influx of visitors, a variety of road closures are scheduled. On Saturday, streets in Mount Pleasant and Chinatown will be closed to traffic for festivals happening in those neighbourhoods.

The Mount Pleasant closures are to accommodate the annual Vancouver Mural Festival. The following streets in the neighbourhood will be closed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday:

Main St from E 7th to E 12th Ave (including laneways)
E 7th Ave from Main to Quebec St
E 8th Ave from Main to Quebec St
E 10th Ave from Quebec to Watson St
E 11th Ave from Quebec to Watson St

The Chinatown closures will be in effect from 7 a.m. to midnight on Saturday for the 2019 Chinatown Festival. The roads affected are:

Keefer Place from Taylor St to Carrall St
Keefer St from Carrall St to Main St
Carrall St from E Pender St to Keefer St
Columbia St from E Pender St to Keefer St
Quebec St from Keefer St to Union St

Several other road closures and traffic changes are planned for Saturday, according to the City of Vancouver.

These include lane reductions on the Burrard Bridge at Pacific Street, which will be reduced to one lane southbound and will have only one right-turn lane from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Pacific Street will also be reduced to one lane in each direction between Howe and Granville streets from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the removal of a crane.

Outside the downtown core, West 41st Avenue will be closed eastbound between Blenheim and Mackenzie streets from 4:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday. After that, the road will be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction until 6 p.m.

All of these changes are in addition to several that are happening all weekend long because of sewer work. Those include: Cambie Street between Robson and Smithe streets, which will be closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days, with access retained for transit vehicles. Smithe Street will also be reduced to two lanes westbound between Cambie and Hamilton streets.

Elsewhere, Granville Street will be reduced to one lane southbound and two lanes northbound between West 62nd and West 63rd avenues from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. both days. After that, Granville will have two lanes in each direction.

More information about ongoing road work and traffic changes in the city can be found on the City of Vancouver's road closures page.