16
One of the main priorities when I got into
the role was that we needed to develop
a new five-year strategic plan—ours had
expired. We met with so many members
and organizations and heard directly what
our members needed. We developed five
priorities: create a safer downtown, pro-
vide reasons for people to come down-
town, reduce barriers to doing business
downtown, strengthen relationships with
stakeholders and champion a thriving
Granville Street. Those are the five areas
that we're now focusing on.
For a variety of reasons, people's
opinions of Vancouver's downtown
area right now aren't the rosiest.
How do you go about fixing that?
I'm going to answer this in two ways. The
most visible answer is our downtown safety
ambassadors. We have boots on the ground
from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week,
363 days a year. We offer programs through
the ambassadors, like our SafeWalk service
if anyone is feeling uneasy and would like
to be walked safely to their car. They also
serve as eyes and ears for the community
and for the Vancouver Police Department
.
And our clean team is out from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m. every day providing a presence.
Cleanliness is a big part of the perception
of downtown.
And then, last summer, as a result of
escalating concerns in the downtown core
around safety, we convened a group of lo-
cal business leaders to discuss the issue.
That group has turned into the Downtown
Safety Task Force. We met with attorney
B C B U S I N E S S . C A
O C T O B E R
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Jane Talbot has been the CEO of
Downtown Vancouver's business
improvement association for about a
year and a half. In total, she's been with the
organization for over seven years. Downtown
Van, as it's called, is the largest
BIA in
Western Canada, with some 40 employees.
We met at her office to talk about
the challenges the
area is facing
and what
she hopes to
accomplish
by Nathan Caddell
You've officially
been
CEO for about
a year and a half.
What are some
things the
BIA has
done over that
time that you're
especially proud of?
