A Vancouver councillor’s motion to re-open Robson Square to traffic may have failed, but a University of British Columbia professor says the move may be the conversation starter needed to make vital changes.

Lawrence Frank, a professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC believes the plaza, now blocked off to vehicle traffic, should not be reopened to traffic. And Frank thinks the vehicle-free zone should expand to extend three city blocks.

“It needs to connect over