For years now, the section of Carrall Street adjacent to Pigeon Park has closed on Sundays to make space for a weekly market.

It’s a crowded affair where vendors sell books and DVDs, used clothing, and seemingly every type of cellphone charger ever made.

Many Downtown Eastside residents depend on the market for their livelihood, while others deride it as a nuisance and argue it needs to go. Now, it seems, the latter camp has won.

On October 16, the Sunday market will finally leave the section of Carrall Street it has occupied between Cordova and East Hastings. It’s moving to a dedicated space five blocks east, at 501 Powell Street.

The market is organized by the Downtown Eastside Street Market Society with support from the Portland Hotel Society and the City of Vancouver. In a telephone interview, Sarah Blyth, a society board member and former parks commissioner, said the move was a long time coming.

“It’s going to be nice to have our own space,” she said.

Blyth noted the new market at 501 Powell will operate on Saturdays and Sundays, to start, and possibly expand to run three days a week.

A second site, at 62 East Hastings, will also continue to operate six days a week, closing on Sundays.

The market at 501 Powell has opened on Saturdays on a trial basis since November 2015. As previously reported by the Straight, vendors there have complained about low sales that they blame on a lack of foot traffic compared with the site on Carrall.

Blyth acknowledged those concerns and said the society is working to spread awareness about the change in location.

“I was skeptical at first and I think a lot of people have been skeptical,” she said. “But after talking to people and talking to staff and looking at the situation, I think it’s actually going to be a lot better for the community.”

The move dates to actions the city took last November, when it worked with the Vancouver Police Department to clear the north side of the unit block of East Hastings of unsanctioned street vendors that gathered there on a daily basis.

The related plan to end the market on Carrall Street has been in the works for some time.

In an email the Straight obtained in February, Mary Clare Zak, managing director of social policy for the City of Vancouver, addressed residents’ concerns about the Sunday market and wrote that it would not be long before the city acted on the matter.

“To be clear from our end, the market on Pigeon will move,” Zak wrote on February 8. “Given the change in leadership and the fact that the City is going to be advertising for expressions of interest for market operators, we will finalize this prior to this move taking place.”

The city made 62 East Hastings and 501 Powell available as suggested alternatives. While both sites were slow to attract crowds, 62 East Hastings has grown into something of a gathering place for the vending community. Traffic at 501 Powell, however, remains low. And while the north side of the unit block is still relatively free of vendors, the south side of the street has grown increasingly crowded with people selling second-hand goods.

On the phone from city hall today (August 10), Zak praised the society for cooperating with the city and said they continue to work together to address concerns about 501 Powell. 

“Part of the effort has been a whole marketing strategy that’s being laid out as part of this,” she said. “There’s going to be more awareness and that will really help.”

The market at 501 Powell Street will officially open with a free salmon lunch on October 16.