Chinatown street lamps have been upgraded over the past week.
Old lanterns on their way out
Installed 30 years ago as part of a revitalization program for the city’s old Chinese quarter, the lamps have become part of the cultural signature of the neighbourhood.
But over the years many of the lenses on 336 dragon lanterns have yellowed and the once-vibrant colours have faded. Now the Vancouver Chinatown Merchant’s Association and the city are preparing to spend up to $600,000 to not only refurbish the iconic lamps, but to modernize them to current low-energy standards.
This document seems to be related to the project:
City of Vancouver administrative report:
Upgrading of Chinatown Dragon Fixtures
July 7, 2014
Revitalization of Chinatown
Prior to the approvals of the DTES Plan and the Chinatown Plan, the City has worked with the Chinatown community on revitalization and neighbourhood issues since the early 2000s.It was acknowledge that clear way-finding and better pedestrian amenities are part of the comprehensive transportation strategy to make Chinatown more convenient and accessible. Working with the community, new directional signage was added to bring more people into Chinatown, streets signs are now in English and Chinese, and a prominent five-storey neon sign was installed.
One of the key strategies in the Chinatown Plan is to create a vibrant public space and a key policy in the DTES plan is to support strategic public realm improvements to enhance and improve public realm quality and create vibrant public places; the refurbishing and upgrade of the dragon fixtures supports these strategies.
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