CANMORE – A pedestrian-only Main Street took another step towards returning for the third year.
The Town of Canmore’s finance committee recommended council approve $50,000 to help support the closure of the busy downtown street for the upcoming summer.
The funding would help for one more year, with council expected to decide on whether a more permanent zone is needed in coming years. Council will vote on the funding as part of finalizing the budget at its Dec. 14 meeting.
“I’d say the BIA and probably the general public are very happy to get a lot of clarity on this for the coming summer,” said Coun. Jeff Mah, who is council’s representative on the downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA). “If we can look forward to another summer of downtown going to be a pedestrian zone, it’s going to help planning and probably the whole idea of it leading forward. We can probably do some interesting and spectacular stuff coming up.”
Coun. Karen Marra, who represented the previous council on the BIA, echoed Mah’s sentiments and noted that knowing the plan as much in advance as possible will potentially help businesses.
“It will be a benefit for the businesses to plan their summer and I know possibly, the way things are looking, we’ll still be in COVID in some sort of way,” she said. “This will allow for everyone to plan and it still won’t be reactionary in case there are lockdowns or restrictions.”
Half of the $50,000 would go towards lighting, flowers and artwork pageantry, while the remainder will be earmarked for signage, traffic management, blocking off the street and communications.
Sally Caudill, the Town’s general manager of municipal services, said blocking off the street can be challenging, noting a need to have something to accommodate emergency services which may need to access the street, but have the public not move at will.
“It needs to be kind of permanent, but also moveable and if it’s too moveable the community moves it versus the firetruck pulling up and doing so," she said.
Caudill added the Ferdinand the horse sculpture by Canmore artist Cedar Mueller that was placed at the heart of the zone was meant to slow cycling traffic and also aid in its liveliness.
The budget doesn’t include temporary washrooms, which in 2021 cost the Town $86,700 for six months of rental, maintenance and labour costs.
Since businesses are expected to be opened, whereas past years saw them closed to the public due to COVID-19, they may not be necessary, according to a report to the committee.
Mayor Sean Krausert said he talked with each business on Main Street during the election campaign to gauge their interest in continuing with the closure in the coming year and beyond. He said the majority of business owners found it helped them during COVID while some others are still adapting.
In talking with residents, he said people in the community are largely supportive, but some are opposed to the closure.
“I think that’s part of the growing pains in learning how to implement it,” he said.
The staff report stated if council ultimately decides to continue with the street closure, the Town has partnered with the BIA to help with some cost-sharing. Tourism Canmore Kananaskis has also committed to help with marketing.
The pedestrian zone was first established in 2020 to help impacted businesses during the pandemic. The decision was made by the emergency coordination centre, which worked with the BIA.
The main goal of the street was to create additional space for people to physical distance, but also continue to help businesses function in the pandemic.
A 2020 business visitation survey of downtown businesses showed 70 per cent of businesses were in support of the closure. The 2021 citizen perspective survey found similar support with 78 per cent of residents who took part in the survey indicating support of a pedestrian-only Main Street.
“I think there’s a lot of work to be done around the Main Street pedestrianization for 2022,” Coun. Tanya Foubert said. “When we did it the first time, our intention was around public safety and it was a decision of our emergency operations centre. … Now we don’t know where COVID is taking us, but we know this is something that was successful, but it wasn’t implemented in a way that was meant to deal with a lot of things we have to incorporate into a plan moving forward.”
The initial two years had the Town waive its fees for businesses, but in neighbouring Banff businesses had to pay in 2021.
In Banff, the flat fee for a merchandizing display is $200, while chairs vary between $15 and $35 and tables are $25 to $200 depending on whether it's a counter service business, table service business or full-service restaurant.
There are also continued discussions needed to have about increasing accessibility and if the farmer’s market will remain at Elevation Place or move into the downtown, Foubert said.
Krausert noted the first year many struggled, but when it returned for a second year many businesses were able to get creative in running their businesses in conjunction with the Main Street closure.
“It was more vibrant and present with people putting more thought into contributions in the pedestrian zone, whether it be funky seating or displays. The patios made it feel very alive," he said.
