Vancouver after dark: Survey seeks feedback on jazzing up city's nightlife scene

A survey looking to gauge people's feelings about Vancouver nightlife has been launched by a group of tourist and hospitality organizations that thinks there is ample untapped potential to jazz things upafter dark.

Called Vancouver's Nighttime EconomyPublic Engagement Survey,it asks people to weigh in on questions like: On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being boring and 5 being awesome), what do you think Vancouver's entertainment and nightlife image is worldwide?

"I guess the general consensus is that our nightlife is behind the rest of the world and behind the rest of what Vancouver is in terms of an international image and realizing its potential," said Nate Sabine, a board member with the Hospitality Vancouver Association and a business manager with Blueprint, a hospitality and entertainment company.

The document defines the nighttime economy as tourism, hospitality, arts, cultural and economic activity that takes place between 5 p.m. and 4 a.m.

"A purposeful nighttime economy is part of what increasingly defines the most successful, livable and competitive global cities, "said Royce Chwin, the president of Destination Vancouver.

The survey also touts the idea of creating a job called "night mayor," a kind of ambassador-slash-bureaucrat who would guide the development of new nightlife initiatives. Sabine said the position exists in places like Amsterdam, New York and New Orleans.

"The night mayor would talk to all the stakeholders on the community side and work on things like capacities, bylaws, use of public space, liquor, licensing all those sorts of things and communicate back to the mayor and city hall so that they can make positive and safe changes," he said.

According to Sabine, there's a connection between Vancouver's "No Fun City" monikerand the current nightlife scenein that decision-makers haven't always been open to trying new things.

Recent changes to liquor bylaws have helped, but the groups behind the survey say much more can be done, like expanding the use of public spaces, parks and the waterfront, and better funding and grant programs.

ExpandingVancouver's nighttime economy would provide benefits far beyond the obvious businesses like nightclubs and restaurants, Sabine noted.

"People don't think about cab drivers, hotel workers, the people that do makeup for dancers or the person that's doing the sound and lights at a concert ... the smaller mom and pop shops that might get the bulk of their business after hours or late night," he said.

The public engagement surveyis open to anyone. The consultation will also use polls, interviews and community meetings to gather feedback. Results will be presented to Vancouver city council in May of this year.