Downtown Vancouver laneways are often dark, smelly places used mostly for deliveries or garbage disposal.

In short, not somewhere for a nice evening stroll.

But new buildings being constructed downtown are being encouraged by the city to come up with creative ways to make urban laneways pedestrian-friendly.

The new Telus Garden office and residential development, in the 500-block of West Georgia St., is the most recent example of a laneway facelift. When completed, there will be retail spaces and a lantern art installation for pedestrians to enjoy.

“First and foremost, the lanes have to work for servicing like garbage loading. But when we can better the environment, we like to do that,” said Kevin McNaney, Vancouver’s assistant director of planning for the downtown area.

“In Chinatown, we have a policy trying to encourage some of the new buildings to wrap their retail into the lane areas. You’ll see that around Main and Keefer and Union.”

McNaney said Blood Alley, in the Downtown Eastside, is another example where retail spaces face onto the back lane. He said parts of Blood Alley are looking “pretty tired” so there are plans to work with local businesses and the Gastown Business Association to continue to revitalize the area.

Another pedestrian-friendly laneway will be created as part of the planned Jim Pattison multi-residential and retail tower at Burrard and Drake.

“We try to encourage (pedestrian-friendly laneways) because we have such limited space in the downtown area,” said McNaney.

Although Chinatown is the only area in the city that has a specific policy concerning the creation of pedestrian-friendly laneways, it has been the city’s plan for years to create them when possible, said former city planner Brent Toderian of Urban Works.

He said the idea of creating more pedestrian-friendly laneways downtown came in part from the city’s efforts around laneway housing, of which almost 2,000 have been approved since 2009 in Vancouver.

“We’ve been fairly tentative, but we’re starting to have a stronger expectation to treat the laneways in a creative way. They are untapped opportunities,” said Toderian.

“We can do a lot more. We should be inspired by cities like Melbourne, Australia. They have done remarkable things to transform their back lanes to literally the best places in the city.”

Melbourne’s lively laneways, which date back to the Victorian era, feature restaurants, cafes, fashion boutiques, and are home to some of the city’s most vibrant street art. They have been a tourist destination since the 1990s.

“The lanescape is just as important as the streetscape,” said Toderian. “Back alleys, under our bridges are all found places. When we rediscover them, we can make them into great places.”

Toderian added that while it is easier to make laneways pedestrian-friendly when a large company like Telus is involved, it can still happen in the community without a major backer.

“You could be waiting a long time for a Telus to come along and rebuild the (next) block. (But) you can create programs that can bring life into the lanes.”

He said Adelaide, Australia is an example of a pilot program that improved the laneways with simple, less-costly ideas such as bringing chairs and fruit carts into the lanes to encourage pedestrian use.

“You need a vision and a strategy if you want this to happen,” he said. “Sometimes it’s as simple as letting users out into the lane.”

kpemberton@vancouversun.com