On Wednesday, Feb. 8, Council considered a series of recommendations from staff regarding the annual Downtown Pedestrian Mall event.

As explained in a post on February 6, since closing the Downtown Pedestrian Mall in 2022, staff have been evaluating feedback and considering ways to address key concerns. Council discussed seven recommendations at the bi-weekly Committee of the Whole meeting:

1. Extend the dates for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 Downtown Pedestrian Mall to coincide with the end of the school year (last Thursday of the week school closes) and to finish on Labour Day Monday of each year.
2. Modify the footprint to include Water Street from Adelaide Street to Clift’s Baird’s Cove, removing the section from Clift's Baird's Cove to Prescott Street to alleviate safety concerns with vehicles and pedestrians sharing the same road.
3. Introduce three-year approvals to reduce administrative time and cost to process applications.
4. Maintain current parklet lease rates.
5. Introduce an application period no later than April 30 to ensure program elements are finalized and businesses can open parklets on time.
6. Create a jersey barrier safety requirement alongside parklets to provide an additional safety protection against passing vehicles. It is anticipated approximately 30 jersey barriers will be required for the 2023 parklet program.
7. Develop a new by-law for building standards of parklets that will address standards including accessibility, sight distance, design and construction standards, use of cooking apparatus, use of heating apparatus, and so on.

Council unanimously approved six of the seven recommendations with the exception of modifications to the footprint. That recommendation was considered separately and was defeated.

Watch a recording of the discussion from the Committee of the Whole meeting.

The recommendations from this meeting will now go forward to a Regular Council meeting for final decision.