Concerned it would turn back the clock on establishing Government Street as a pedestrian-friendly zone — without strong evidence of potential economic hardship — Victoria council rejected a motion Thursday to open three blocks of the street to cruise-passenger shuttle buses this spring.
In a 6-3 vote, council’s committee of the whole decided to maintain the status quo, with Government Street closed to vehicle traffic between Humboldt and View streets, aside from morning openings for deliveries and service calls.
The new cruise-shuttle stop will continue to be near the corner of Government and View streets, 140 metres from the old one near Humboldt.
Introduced by councillors Stephen Andrew and Geoff Young, the motion would have opened one vehicle lane on the pedestrian-only section of Government Street from April to October for cruise-passenger shuttle buses.
Andrew had argued closing lower Government Street to vehicles could cause undue hardship to businesses near the Inner Harbour that rely on tourist traffic and have been without cruise passengers for two years.
Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe, who supported the motion, said the location of the bus stop wasn’t an issue, but she has concerns about the route the buses will now take from the cruise-ship terminal to downtown.
She said cruise passengers often get their first taste of a destination via the short visits a port of call affords, and it’s important to ensure bus routes pass key sites like the Empress Hotel, Inner Harbour causeway and legislature.
To get to the new stop, cruise shuttles will now travel along Dallas Road to Douglas and Blanshard, then down View Street, bypassing the Inner Harbour.
Jeff Bray, executive director of the Downtown Victoria Business Association, had supported the motion and was disappointed in the outcome, but said work now begins to ensure downtown businesses can make the most of the first cruise season since 2019.
“We’re going to certainly be working with the city to get some more way-finding right at that [shuttle bus stop] location to make sure that when people come off the bus, they know the Inner Harbour is down here and will continue to bring people down Government,” he said.
Bray also said they will speak with Destination Greater Victoria to see if it’s possible to run the tourist ambassador program to help people find their way around downtown from the new location.
Bray said there is a bright side in that the new shuttle bus stop is 140 metres closer to destinations such as Market Square, Chinatown and Lower Johnson.
“Those business are also our members and [it] lets them share in [cruise traffic] a little bit more,” he said, adding the city is set up for a strong summer with a record 350 cruise-ship visits and tens of thousands of passengers scheduled to walk through downtown.
The partial closure of Government Street was a pandemic measure that created a business-friendly zone for patios and shoppers, and the city intends to keep it that way.
