NWP launches Commitment to Downtown

New Westminster, B.C. (September 10, 2026) — Downtown should be one of New Westminster’s greatest success stories. At the very centre of Metro Vancouver, it has everything needed in a thriving regional destination – history, culture, waterfront, transit, residents, and local businesses.

Today, it is not living up to that potential. The New Westminster Progressives’ Commitment to Downtown is a coordinated plan to bring the city’s heart back to life.

“Downtown has everything it needs to succeed, but it lacks focus and energy, with clear leadership from the city. It is dirty, and feels unsafe to many residents,” says Paul Minhas, NWP council candidate. “We want Columbia Street, the waterfront and the surrounding neighbourhoods to be places where families, residents, visitors and businesses all feel welcome again.”

“This is about bringing Downtown back to life,” says Daniel Fontaine, NWP mayoral candidate and current New Westminster councillor. “A safer, cleaner, more vibrant Downtown will support local businesses, improve quality of life for residents and help make New Westminster a destination again.”

The NWP Commitment to Downtown includes nine priority areas:

1. Create the Columbia District We will give our historic commercial core a renewed identity and aggressively promote it as one of Metro Vancouver’s premier destinations for dining, entertainment, arts, culture and shopping. We will:

1. • Establish the Columbia District, encompassing Columbia Street, Front Street, Carnarvon Street and the waterfront.
   • Work with Tourism New Westminster, Arts New West, Heritage New West, and local businesses to promote the district.
   • Install attractive banners, gateway signage, public art and wayfinding celebrating its unique heritage and character.
   • Actively encourage more restaurants, cafés, patios, live music venues and evening attractions.
   • Market the Columbia District throughout Metro Vancouver as a year-round destination.

2. Make Downtown Safer, Cleaner and More Welcoming A successful Downtown starts with people feeling comfortable using its streets, businesses, transit stations and public spaces. We will:

1. • Deploy new Community Enforcement and Safety Officers on foot and bicycle patrols across Downtown, including evenings and weekends, as part of our commitment to hire at least 12 additional officers citywide.
   • Double City investment in the successful I’s On the Street program, with an increased focus on Downtown and Uptown.
   • Establish the TAG Team with a target of removing hate-based and offensive graffiti from public property within four hours and other graffiti within 72 hours.
   • Enhance regular street cleaning.
   • Add 100 new garbage and recycling receptacles in high-traffic pedestrian areas.
   • Increase lighting in key public spaces.
   • Establish a Crime Reduction and Public Safety Task Force to coordinate action and deliver results.
   • Work with TransLink and other stakeholders to keep New Westminster and Columbia SkyTrain stations clean, safe and welcoming.

We will also work with the New Westminster Police Department and Fraser Health to explore a Car 87-type mental-health response program.

3. Bring People Back to Columbia Street Empty sidewalks don’t create successful business districts. Our goal will be to bring significantly more activity to Downtown throughout the day, evening and weekend. We will:

• • Launch the Vibrancy Initiative Program (VIP) to bring more street entertainers, musicians, performers, public art and cultural activity to Downtown.
  • Create at least 10 new micro-retail opportunities, including creatively designed shipping-container spaces for entrepreneurs, retailers, artists and artisans.
  • Simplify permits for street performers, outdoor performances and community festivals.
  • Encourage food trucks, artisan markets and family-oriented programming.
  • Transform Hyack Square into a more active year-round entertainment hub, including infrastructure improvements to support live performances.
  • Permanently eliminate patio permit fees and work toward increasing patio seating capacity.
  • Introduce a lower-cost three-year business license option.

4. Attract Investment and Redevelop Vacant Properties Downtown cannot reach its potential while prominent properties remain vacant or underused. We will:

• • Work with the owner of the former Army & Navy property to accelerate a major mixed-use redevelopment incorporating housing, retail, restaurants, offices, public gathering spaces and community amenities.
  • Encourage redevelopment of long-vacant and underutilized Downtown properties.
  • Support temporary active community uses on vacant properties awaiting redevelopment.
  • Reduce unnecessary barriers delaying housing and commercial projects.
  • Create a dedicated Permit Concierge and work toward reducing permit approval times by at least 40% over the next Council term.
  • Use the City’s economic-development efforts to actively pursue new restaurants, employers and private investment.

These commitments are already central to Growing Responsibly, our plan which explicitly identifies attracting new Downtown investment as a measure of successful growth.

5. Make Downtown a Destination Again We want people from across Metro Vancouver to put New Westminster on their calendars. We will work with community partners to:

• • Bring back the popular Show & Shine classic car event.
  • Support the return of Car Free Day on Columbia Street.
  • Explore reinstating the Santa Claus Parade.
  • Reinstate Canada Day fireworks on the Fraser River.
  • Expand outdoor concerts, movie nights, festivals and family events.
  • Develop and better market a coordinated annual events calendar.
  • Position New Westminster as the Events Capital of the Fraser River.

This isn’t simply about entertainment. Events bring customers to restaurants and shops, animate public spaces and give residents reasons to rediscover their Downtown.

6. Reconnect Downtown with the Fraser River Our waterfront should be one of Downtown’s defining attractions. We will:

• • Finalize plans to rebuild the pier destroyed by fire in 2020, and get the work underway.
  • Incorporate adult fitness and recreation opportunities into waterfront improvements.
  • Improve walking and cycling connections linking the Downtown, Sapperton and Queensborough waterfronts.
  • Create additional opportunities for events, recreation and community activity along the river.
  • Work with the Port Authority and senior governments to explore permanent boat docking facilities on the Downtown waterfront.
  • Support cultural, educational and heritage programming celebrating the Fraser River’s environmental, Indigenous, historical and economic importance.
    
    

7. Make Downtown Easier and Safer to Get Around A successful Downtown must work for pedestrians, transit users, cyclists, motorists, residents and businesses. We will:

• • Pilot “30 Mins on Us” free parking in the Columbia District to encourage shopping, dining and business activity.
  • Improve wayfinding to public parking.
  • Protect the availability of public parking rather than pursuing an arbitrary reduction in spaces.
  • Improve construction coordination to minimize unnecessary lane closures and disruptions affecting Downtown businesses.
  • Pilot a pedestrian scramble at 8th Street and Carnarvon Street, one of Downtown’s busiest pedestrian intersections.
  • Accelerate pedestrian advance signals in high-volume areas.
  • Improve traffic signal timing and use smart-signal technology where appropriate.
  • Continue improving waterfront walking and recreational cycling connections.
    
    

8. Invest in Arts, Heritage and Public Spaces Downtown’s history and cultural assets give it something newer urban centres cannot replicate. We will:

• • Expand murals, temporary public art and interactive heritage installations.
  • Dedicate some micro-retail spaces to affordable studios, galleries and retail opportunities for local artists and artisans.
  • Incorporate local artwork, Indigenous art and historic New Westminster imagery into micro-retail installations.
  • Improve exterior signage and add prominent digital displays at Anvil Centre promoting performances, exhibitions and events.
  • Better connect Anvil Centre programming with Tourism New Westminster, local businesses and Columbia District activity.
  • Explore a new Downtown library presence with an arts, culture and heritage component.
  • Protect and celebrate the historic buildings and streetscapes that make Columbia Street distinctive.

9. Ensure Growth Delivers More for Downtown Residents Downtown is not simply a commercial district. Thousands of people call it home. As Downtown continues growing, we will:

• • Push senior governments for “Density Dollars” so population growth helps fund parks, transportation, childcare, schools and community facilities.
  • Prioritize new park and public-space opportunities in areas where population growth has outpaced amenities.
  • Ensure Community Amenity Contributions are invested primarily where growth occurs.
  • Require major neighbourhood planning/consultation to consider whether infrastructure and amenities can support additional growth.
  • Use land acquisition, partnerships, pocket parks, plazas and other creative approaches to expand usable public space.

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