Police ramping up presence in downtown Vancouver for NYE celebrations

There are no fireworks this year—and there haven’t been for quite some time—but thousands of people are still expected to flock to downtown Vancouver to ring in 2024.

“New Year’s Eve is without a doubt one of the busiest, if not the busiest night of the year in Vancouver,” said Sgt. Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department.

He told CTV News there will be extra police officers in the downtown core Sunday in anticipation of crowds celebrating in the area.

“Whenever large groups of people gather it becomes a challenge for us to monitor those crowds. When there’s thousands of people in small areas, we tend to have conflicts arise,” he said.

To help out, the VPD will have eyes in the sky—Addison said the department is deploying drones that monitor crowds from above and send real-time information back to the station.

Granville Street in particular is expected to be packed with revellers. Thomas Holmes, a sound technician and DJ at the Roxy Cabaret told CTV News the tickets for the venue’s New Year’s Eve bash are sold out.

“New Year’s is going to be insane. It’s insane every year. What happens at the Roxy stays at the Roxy,” Holmes said. “We’re open at 8 p.m., we’re going ‘til 4 a.m. It’s going to be packed.”

There will also be road blocks set up throughout the city to nab impaired drivers, Addison said.

“We really need people to plan ahead, give yourself extra time to get into the city and plan your way home,” he said. “Have a safe ride home, take transit, have a sober driver, do whatever you need to do to get home safely.”

TransLink is offering free bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus rides and extra service on some routes from 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve until 5 a.m. New Year’s Day, so there are plenty of options for everyone to travel home safely after the countdown.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kevin Charach