We’re on a roll
3,204
people have signed the petition
+6 today+50 this week
A week ago we were at 3,154. Let’s get to 4,000.
796 more to reach 4,000
Your voice matters. Sign, then share it with your neighbours. Let City Hall know: give our neighbourhood back. Alleys are not freeways.
Every dollar goes to flyers, printing and getting the word out.
Live from Change.org, updated hourly.
Remove the Barriers Community Meetings
Every Wednesday to 23 December · 7:00 to 8:00pm
The Alcove Lounge, Atrium Inn · 2889 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
Directions All dates
Barrier Buster Burger and a Beer, $20Burger, fries and a lager or soda at The Alcove, every Wednesday
A community call for traffic calming that works with residents, not around them.
We are organizing for safer, clearer, and more practical neighbourhood streets.
Is this your street too? Add your name and we will keep you posted on meetings, coverage and anything the City decides.
Join your neighboursRelated news from across Canada · 13 to 19 October 2026
This week Ontario began removing protected bike lanes on Bloor Street West in Toronto, with protests every day since. It is a costly reminder of what happens when a street is rebuilt, and then rebuilt again, without lasting agreement from the people who use it.
CP24 · 19 Oct 2026
Police arrested and removed a protester who was blocking crews from taking out the Bloor Street West bike lane in Etobicoke, after a tense standoff.
Watch the video
CityNews · 16 Oct 2026
Protests continued as crews kept working on the stretch between Islington Avenue and Royal York Road. The work is expected to run through November 17.
Watch the videoCP24 / CTV News · 15 Oct 2026
The province disputes the City’s cost figure. Its own engineering report found any congestion relief may be negligible or short-lived.
Read the articleIn the news · 8 October 2026
John Mackie of the Vancouver Sun drove the Hastings-Sunrise streets with resident Tom Siracusa and spoke with neighbours about what the closures have done to the blocks they live on.
“Every single road has one, two, three or more road closures, traffic diversions, right-turn only, or some sort of traffic diverter or bike lane access only,” Siracusa told the paper. “Literally every single road, and they’ve got plans for more.”
Resident Karlo Banicevic told the Sun that drivers are now using the back lanes as through routes. “Kids can’t play in the back alley any more like we used to. It’s unsafe.”
What the City told the paper. Speed and volume data will be collected in fall 2026, with any adjustments considered in early 2027. The City did not answer whether it holds data showing the barriers have reduced collisions. ICBC told the Sun it has no specific study.
The article also carries the opposing view, from Vision Zero Vancouver, which says removing the barriers would be short-sighted.
Read the story in the Vancouver SunReaders had plenty to say. The comment thread under the Sun’s story runs long, and the pattern is not confined to Hastings-Sunrise. Readers describe the same difficulty elsewhere in the city, including the West End, and several ask what the planning, installation, study and eventual removal of these barriers will have cost.
Read the story and the comments in the Vancouver Sun
Closer to home. This is what neighbours have told us directly, in their own words, published with their permission.
Barriers driving traffic off the street and into laneways is a big safety issue.
Attended all of the city led community consultation and engagement. Input had very little impact and any common sense ideas seemed to be discarded.
These barriers have me concerned that fire and other emergency personnel cannot get to people quickly. Minutes of being diverted may be the difference between life and death.
Read what 94 neighbours have said
Is this your street too? Add your name. The mailing list is how neighbours hear about meetings, new coverage and anything the City decides, and it is what turns a petition into a neighbourhood that the people making these decisions have to answer to.
Join your neighboursA planner’s view
I have worked on a number of transportation plans across the province, and I don’t understand what the City of Vancouver is doing for this neighbourhood. The data from ICBC doesn’t show this as high-priority area and the city transportation department seems to be making changes that are counter to their own Transportation 2040 Plan.
For example, Transportation 2040 includes “Consider emergency vehicle access in street design and traffic calming measures.” However, emergency responders have told neighbours that it is now more difficult to provide efficient response times. Rerouting cars onto streets next to schools also doesn’t make any sense.
Maria Stanborough
Principal Consultant, C+S Planning
The policy she refers to is Transportation 2040, G 3.1, under Goods, Services and Emergency Response: “Consider emergency vehicle access in street designs and traffic calming measures.” Transportation 2040 was adopted by Council in 2012 and remains the City’s transportation plan.
Announcement · 7 October 2026
In a statement published today, ABC Vancouver said that if re-elected it would begin removing the recently installed barriers, starting with locations that restrict access, push traffic onto school streets, or fail to deliver a clear safety benefit.
It also committed to reviewing every remaining diversion and closure on residential streets with input from the neighbours who live there, and to restoring parking where the barriers removed it.
The statement cites the Hastings-Sunrise petition and the more than 3,000 residents who have signed it.
What this is. A commitment made during an election campaign, conditional on the outcome. It is not a decision of Council, and no barrier has been removed.
We are publishing it because it concerns our streets. Remove The Barriers is a residents’ campaign and does not endorse any party or candidate.
Read the full statementCityNews · 21 September 2026
In their own words
These accounts were sent to us through this site by people who live here. Each one is published with the writer’s permission and credited the way they asked.
“I must do 5 or 6 errands in a day. Vancouver makes it so I am lucky if I get 3 done. Signed the petition, donated $100 to the campaign effort. I have been in municipal traffic planning for 16 years (not in Vancouver, nearby though). "Traffic calming" is not achieved by throwing barriers everywhere and making everyone…”
Rich
Read the full story“-It will get worse once we have snow ***Winder snow salting/snow removal will be non-existent as it will take 20 times longer than it used to*** -I can't get home without going around the Ridiculous labyrinth the joke Traffic Calming 'professionals' have created. -Can't access either Hastings or Renfrew without…”
Concerned citizen
Read the full story“Our alley that runs from Parker & Windermere down to Rupert has always been treated like a main road by motorists since it's the most direct path to get to Rupert. But since the blockades went up, traffic in the alley has increased significantly. This is not only a nuisance but it's not safe for residents, including…”
Dee, Parker & Windermere
Read the full story
Neighbourhood-changing traffic decisions deserve clear notice, accessible evidence, and a genuine chance for residents to contribute before permanent choices are made. Council agendas, staff reports and traffic data are public. We read them, and we show our neighbours where to look.
How To Take Part
The street tells the story.We are residents who want traffic calming done with the neighbourhood rather than to it. Barriers, rerouted traffic, reduced curb access and unmanaged scooter parking can create new problems on the very streets they are meant to improve.
We are gathering what residents are seeing, putting it beside the public record, and bringing it to the people who make these decisions.
Join our growing community and keep informed. We will email you when there is a meeting worth attending, when a decision is coming, and when something changes on your street. Nothing else. Your details stay private and you can leave the list at any time.