THE TALK OF THE TOWN

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What Do We Have For You This Month?

Welcome to “The Talk of The Town” for March, 2026. Click on the following links to find:

  • West End News & Notes: A West End senior receives a well-earned award, the public hearing on rezoning for a proposed 25-story hotel at 2030 Barclay is rescheduled, former City of Vancouver planner Larry Beasley will be the speaker a talk on role of neighbourhoods in planning, and west of Denman is now a go-slow zone.

  • West End Street & Lane Names: Vancouver’s streets and lanes each has their own history. Here’s the story of Pender Street.

  • Hidden Treasure Hunt: Be the first to email us identifying the location of this West End “Hidden Treasure” and win your choice of a $50 coffee shop gift card.

  • West End / Coal Harbour In The News: In case you missed it, here’s a round-up of news stories from our community.

West End News & Notes

CAMPAIGN TO STOP BARCLAY HIGH-RISE HOTEL CONTINUES
Public Hearing Rescheduled to March 5 at 3 p.m.

A Rendering of the previous 10 Storey Condo tower at 2030 Barclay. the new proposal, if approved, would add significant storeys and height to the development.

More than seventy speakers were signed up to address a 6 p.m. public hearing on the rezoning application for a 25-story hotel at 2030 Barclay, proposed by local developer Marcon. The hearing was held in Council Chambners on Thursday, March 19. Unfortunately the issue was last on a four-item agenda and only four speakers were able to address the six City Councillors in attendance before the meeting was adjourned at 10 p.m. and the hearing tabled until 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 5.

Councillor Dominato chaired the Hearing and Councillors Mike Klassen, Peter Meisner, Sean Orr, Lenny Zhou, and Lucy Maloney were present. Mayor Ken Sim and Councillors Pete Fry, Rebecca Gligh, and Sarah Kirby-Yung were not in attendance.

Vancouver park board commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky.

Those in attendance heard a presentation by Marcon executive vice-president Nic Paolella, son of the company’s founder Marco Paolella, two phone-in speakers in support of the rezoning, one in-person speaker in support and two against. The last speaker before the adjournment was Park Board Commissioner and West End resident Brennan Bastyovanszky, who made the case that while the Park Board was not officially opposed to the project, he was speaking to share the Parkl Board’s concern that proper processes and consultation protocols had not been followed, especially with the Park Board as the authority over the adjacent park, lagoon, and amenities such as the day-care centre. He asked that the City provide a briefing from city staff regarding the proposal, its effects on traffic flow, park access, emergency egress, shadowing of adjacent amenities, cycling safety, and the heritage trees along the park bounary.

Bastyovanszky warned that if more information was not shared with the Park Board before any final approval, the City was risking “the possibility of an injunction and litigation”. He will present a motion at the March 9 Park Board meeting asking that city staff brief the Park Board on the proposal.

The grass-roots campaign Stop 2030 Barclay currently has some 7,000 signatures on a petitiion, more than 60 have signed up to speak at the March 5 hearing, and continue to update their website here.

It is unclear what effect the Park Board motion will have if passed on March 9, if a decision is made by City Council at the March 5 resumption of the public hearing.

Stay tuned to The West End Journal’s Facebook page here for updates.

NEIGHBOURHOOD-LED PLANNING SERIES COMES TO WEST END
Former City Planner Larry Beasley Keynote Speaker

Former Vancouver City planner Larry Beasley will be the speaker at the West End session of a twelve-week series of neighbourhood talks aimed at raising public understanding and awareness in the lead-up to this fall’s civic election.

The West End event will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday March 11 at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church Salons.

FORMER VANCOUVER CITY PLANNER LARRY BEASLEY.

The talk will explore the crucial role neighbourhoods can play in balancing growth and livability, supporting affordability, and improving democratic participation.

The series is being organized by Local Focus Civic Network, a Vancouver-based project aimed at improving civic engagement through raising public understanding of how local government works.

“Vancouver's legacy of neighbourhood-led planning—emphasizing livability, social cohesion, and context-sensitive design—has been overshadowed by citywide growth strategies prioritizing scale and financial yield over local needs and character,” says the project’s mission statement. 

“By sparking informed, inclusive conversations, we aim to empower residents to advocate for equitable, resilient neighbourhoods that honour Vancouver's historic planning strengths and build a more equitable and democratic urban future.”

Other venues for the talks, to be held from March through May will be community centres and other locations in Grandview Woodlands, Rupert and Renfrew, Mount Pleasant, South Cambie, Kensington/Cedar Cottage, Fairview/False Creek, Kerrisdale, Arbutus Ridge, Kitsilano, Dunbar/Southlands and West Point Grey.

The West End event is sponsored by The West End Journal.

RELATED LINKS:Local Focus Mission Statement.  

WEST OF DENMAN NOW A SLOW ZONE
A Move To Safer Streets

With the slogan “Safer Streets Start With You” the City of Vancouver has announced that streets west of Denman are the latest in a number of neighbourhood “slow zones”. This includes all streets west of Denman, between Beach Avenue and West Georgia.

West End residents received a postcard in their mailboxes recently announcing the change. Click on the card faces here to enlarge.

The new 30 km per hour speed limit is now in effect, down from the previous 50 km per hour. The stated intent is to “improve safety for everyone, make streets more comfortable, and promote people-friendly streets.”

In recent years we have taken steps to improve transportation safety. We have made progress but more work is needed as fatalities and serious injuries still occur, and even one fatality is too many.

This change is part of the City’s “Vision zero: Vancouver's transportation safety action plan”, with the goal of having zero traffic related fatalities and serious injuries.

The first slow zone demonstration pilot was launched in , 2021 in the Grandview-Woodland area.

More information here.

Wendy Sarkissian.

WEST ENDER RECIPIENT OF SENIORS LEADERSHIP AWARD
An Accolade for Dr. Wendy Sarkissian

The recipient of this year’s Seniors Leadership Award by the SFU Gerontology research Centre was West Ender Wendy Sarkissian. The award was established in 2001 to recognize the contributions that British Columbian seniors make as community volunteers.

Dr. Sarkissian serves as a member of the Older Adult Advisory Board, playing a critical role in ensuring that research is both relevant and accessible to older adult populations.

Her contributions include contributing to shaping research design and implementation strategies, recruiting research participants, and providing feedback on research materials and protocols to ensure that they are age-friendly, respectful, and aligned with principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion. She also contributes to the co-creation of climate adaptation plans specifically tailored for urban contexts, demonstrating her commitment to the safety and well-being of older adults in evolving environments.

An experienced community planner, speaker, workshop trainer, PhD dissertation editor & coach, author, environmental ethicist and climate activist, 83-year-old Dr. Sarkissian is the author of several books on climate, community planning, and activist engagement. Her next book, in the finalization stages, will be Opening To Climate Grief.

Dr. Sarkissian has made several contributions to The West End Journal, including this issue’s “Viewpoints” column on her recent experience at St. Paul’s Hospital.

West End Street & Lane Names

West End street names were established when Lauchlan Hamilton laid out the street grid in the late 1800s, and — while some are contemporarily contentious — they have remained. In 2017 the City started naming eight of the lane ways that run east and west through the West End in honour of notable Vancouver citizens, recognizing their achievements and contributions to our community.

Captain Daniel Pender.

PENDER STREET

Pender Street was named by surveyor L.A. Hamilton after Pender Island, which in turn was named for Captain Daniel Pender who surveyed the B.C. coast aboard several vessels from 1857 to 1870.

Pender was recorded as the second master of the admiralty survey vessel, HMS Plumper, in 1857 when he arrived at Esquimalt. He was promoted as the ship's master in 1860 and was transferred to HMS Hecate a year later after the Plumper was deemed too small and unsuitable for the coast's waters. When the British government commissioned the Hudson Bay Company to continue the hydraulic survey of the coast, Pender was given command of the company's Beaver, replacing Captain George Henry Richards (not the namesake of Richards Street) who was recalled to Britain after he was appointed as the Hydrographer of the Royal Navy.

After his 1871 return to London, Pender continued as a hydrographer, mapping waterways in England for the London Hydrographic office until he retired in 1874.

As a note of interest, the portion of East Pender that runs through Chinatown was originally named Dupont after Major Charles T. Dupont, a member of the Vancouver Improvement Company. There is some speculation that because that strip of Dupont Street was known as a red-light district, also housing gambling and opium dens, renaming it Pender in 1907 may have been an attempt to clean up the street’s image. Regardless, the West End’s share of Pender Street has always been Pender.

Hidden Treasure Hunt

Have you seen this unique feature? Tell us where! (click image to enlarge)

IDENTIFY THIS PHOTO …
And Win A $50 Coffee Shop Gift Card

The first reader to contact editor@thewestendjournal.ca and correctly identify the location of this image will win a $50 gift card to their choice of Blenz, Delaney’s, Melriche’s, Waves, J.J. Bean, or Greenhorn Cafe.

So if you recognize this unique piece of art write in now! Only the winning response will be notified.

The answer, and the clue to the next contest, will appear in our April issue.

The photos and the information in the answers were originally published in TWEJ several years ago as part of our “Hidden Treasures” series by Vancouver author Dianne Maguire.

Laguna Parkside fountain.

LAST MONTH’S WINNER IS …
Congratulations Dane Praed!

The buildings at Laguna Parkside, built in 2007, consist of a tower and townhouses. Either side of the tower entrance are troughs of water fed from elongated channels. Between sections of the townhouses, there are delightful arbor-like structures that join buildings with arches of greenery in the summer and blooming cherry trees in the spring. At each end of the archway of boughs are bowl-shaped concrete fountains with Romanesque-styled notched edges. Water flows from vigorous spouts splashing to fill the bowls to overflow into square troughs beneath them.

The water flow from the farthest fountain cascades down ever-wider slopping levels into a trough that runs from one such feature to the other. These can only be seen from the walkway that separates the back of these private properties and West Georgia Street. To get there, turn right at the end of Alberni Street.

West End / Coal Harbour In The News