Starting Tuesday, Vancouver will accept applications from bars, pubs, nightclubs, and restaurants to extend the hours they can legally serve alcoholic drinks.
In its meeting on Tuesday, the Vancouver city council says it has approved a motion that expands liquor service hours until 4 a.m. for businesses located downtown on every night of the week.
Bars, pubs, nightclubs, and restaurants located outside downtown can serve liquor until 3 a.m. on weekends and 2 a.m. on weeknights.
The latest a bar could be open before the city council updated the liquor serving hours policy was 3 a.m.
The approved updates also make businesses eligible to open as early as 9 a.m.
Updates will be enacted into the bylaws in the fall, the city says.
Members of the hospitality industry have shown support for the motion, which was first drafted on July 2.
“That could be a make-or-break situation, so we are really happy that businesses can operate until four,” said Joshua Davidson from the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, to CityNews in an interview.
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Additionally, supporters say that the extended hours combat the 2 a.m. surge out of bars.
“This eases up transportation needs that are jamming up the system,” argued Cameron Bogue from the Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions cocktail bar.
“There is less neighbourhood disturbance, and it lowers crowded violence,” he added.
However, the change did not pass without opposition.
Officials with Vancouver Coastal Health say more accessible alcohol is bad for community health.
“It is not so much that more people drink into the evening, it is just that the type of drinking that is done in that time frame is more risky,” said Mark Lysyshyn, who is Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer with Vancouver Coastal Health.
“It is more likely to result in problems.”
Another potential risk is an increase in impaired driving.
With the last Skytrain leaving downtown just after 1 a.m., Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has raised concerns about access to transportation for people staying out for the new extended hours.
In response to this concern and other potential risks involved in the change, the city council says those will be “mitigated through existing policies.”
“In developing the updates, city staff considered potential risks to public health and safety,” a city council press release read.
“The Vancouver Police Department will monitor any potential impacts, and the city will reassess its policies as needed to support public safety and neighbourhood livability,” the statement continued.
The city also says it has sent a letter to TransLink, asking for extended train service.
Whether extended train service hours or not, the extended drinking hours are going ahead.
With files from Jack Morse.
