City of Vancouver exploring safety improvements to Granville Bridge after reports of fallen debris

Debris falling from Granville Bridge Some property owners on Granville Island say falling debris is posing a serious safety risk for people who work in and visit the hotspot.

David McCann works on Granville Island and claims a piece of concrete fell from underneath the Granville Bridge, crashing down close to one of his buildings.

“I look at people walking by every day and I go, 'Are you going to be the one that finally gets hit?'” said the Creekhouse property manager.

Back in 2019, McCann also spoke to CTV News about rusted metal falling onto one of his properties.

In 2020, the city installed safety netting under the bridge, and staff believe there hasn’t been any debris that has fallen in the area since, including the piece of concrete.

"We inspected the debris netting, we inspected the structure of the bridge above this location, we considered the paths of travel the debris would have to take to get to this fallen location and we considered the size of the debris itself,” said Eric Mital, director of streets for the City of Vancouver.

“We rely on the expertise of our structure consultants and they tell us the material did not originate from the bridge."

Earlier this year, The Improv Centre was damaged due to objects being thrown off the bridge and crashing into its awning.

Whether it’s debris falling from under the bridge, or objects thrown over the bridge, those who work on Granville Island say more safety measures are needed to protect the millions of people who visit the attraction each year.

"It is a concern,” said Martin Vargas, owner of Alimentaria restaurant, which is located underneath the bridge.

“If they're doing something that protects, that might be very helpful, you know, for our patrons, our staff, for the people on the island."

A group including medical professionals and people who work on Granville Island have penned a letter to City Council calling for protective fencing.

"One of the advantages of the suicide-prevention fencing that we are hoping the city will improve (is that it) will also help mitigate that risk to visitors and the public,” said Lisa Ono, manager of public affairs for CMHC Granville Island.

Mital says fencing is on the table.

"Means prevention fencing on Granville Bridge would be a meaningful improvement and we are speaking with our partners at Granville Island, senior levels of government and we are exploring that as future improvement,” said Mital.

The motion for preventative fencing is set to be brought to council later this month.