Foot traffic still down in Vancouver’s Chinatown despite revitalization efforts, community leader says [Video]

The chair of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver’s Chinatown says revitalization efforts are making the area cleaner, but pedestrian traffic continues to be down in the historic district.

Fred Kwok, who has seen the area change significantly over the last three decades, said that the pandemic and an associated uptick in public safety challenges have continued to depress foot traffic to the area, which has been designated a national historic site.

The province, city and feds all committed money to help revitalize the district in 2022 and 2023, amid concerns over graffiti and public violence during the pandemic.

And while Kwok says the neighbourhood has since become “neat and tidy” compared to previous years, the public safety challenges have caused many businesses, particularly restaurants, to close.

“Pedestrians on the street [are] way less compared with the past,” he told CBC News on …