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Downtown Pedestrian Mall Pilot Project Public Engagement

Next week, the City of St. John’s will kick off a public engagement process to gather feedback on the Downtown Pedestrian Mall Pilot Project as part of its overall evaluation of the project.

According to the City of St. John’s, the Pedestrian Mall was set up to achieve two goals. First, it was developed in response to, and as a means of providing the business community expanded space from which to sell their goods and services, with the anticipated result of stimulating the downtown economy, and secondly, as a means to adhere to required public health physical distancing guidelines stemming for the Covid 19 pandemic.

As key stakeholders, the Downtown business community will play a vital role in the public engagement process.There are several ways the business community can provide feedback throughout the process:

  1. Downtown Business focus groups – the City of St. John’s are looking for downtown businesses and property owners from all sectors both inside and outside the mall footprint. They are planning 6 focus groups in total – with 8-12 people per group. Each would be 1.5 hours in duration and take place virtually. The purpose of these focus groups is to have a conversation with the various business sectors in the downtown about what worked well, what was challenging, and what could be improved for future malls. If you are interested, please reach out to Downtown St. John’s at info@downtownstjohns.com by Sept. 16 to put your name forward. We need to know your business sector and the location of your business or property. These focus groups will take place throughout Sept. and city staff will be in touch regarding scheduling.
  2. Complete the business survey – the survey will include questions for businesses within the footprint and for those in the downtown but outside the footprint. The survey will be shared via a link on the city’s engagestjohns.ca page, through social media and through Downtown St. John’s, Board of Trade, BOMA, etc.
  3. Email engage@stjohns.ca with specific feedback that you are not able to include in the survey.

The engagement plan also includes opportunities for the public and other stakeholders to provide feedback. If you have questions about the public engagement plan, feel free to reach out to Victoria Etchegary,  Manager, Organizational Performance and Strategy with the City of St. John’s directly at vetchegary@stjohns.ca or visit engagestjohns.ca

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Water Street Pedestrian Zone

Water Street Pedestrian Mall: Traffic and Parking Impacts

The Water Street Pedestrian Mall will officially open to pedestrian traffic from noon to 10 p.m. daily, from Adelaide Street to Prescott Street, starting Friday, July 3 until September 7. Please note:
  • Water Street will be closed to traffic and parking in the four blocks included in the mall as of 8 a.m. on Friday, July 3.
  • Outside of the designated mall hours, traffic in this section of Water Street will be one-way (from west to east) for deliveries and commercial access only.
  • Traffic on Ayre’s Cove and McBride’s Hill will be one-way northbound. McBride’s Hill will be closed to southbound traffic.
  • Motorists will have two-way access to Clift’s-Baird’s Cove for accessible parking, deliveries, and curbside pickup.
  • Southbound traffic on Prescott Street will be detoured to Harbour Drive via Job’s Cove.
  • Beck’s Cove will be closed except to provide two-way access to the Murray Premises and to allow delivery and curbside pickup spaces from Harbour Drive.
  • Accessible parking is provided on Water Street, see further details below.

Parking Options
There are on-street parking spaces located throughout the downtown, however motorists must look for signage when parking to ensure they are abiding by parking regulations. There are several 2-hour and 4 -hour timed parking areas that are marked with signage. Harbour Drive is PayByPhone.

Parking garages are open 24/7 at 351 Water Street and 330 Duckworth Street. The City Hall Parking Garage (10 New Gower Street) is free for parking during evenings after 6 p.m. and on weekends.

Accessible Parking
Accessible parking spaces will be marked in several designated areas on Water Street. These areas are located near Prescott Street, Clift’s Baird’s Cove, Ayre’s Cove and Bishop’s Cove. There is also a designated accessible space on Adelaide Street. There are nine spaces in total created for this project, please see the map for details.

Business Access and Deliveries
Allowance will be made for deliveries until noon each day on Water Street. After 12 p.m. delivery vehicles and curbside pick-up will have designated parking in the coves between Water Street and Harbour Drive. See map for details.

Business owners who have inquiries can reach city staff by emailing specialevents@stjohns.ca.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Downtown St. John’s Business Commission (DTSJ) will be following the directives of public health organizations with respect to Covid-19, in particular: Government of Newfoundland Labrador , Health Canada, and the World Health Organization, and will be asking businesses in Downtown St. John’s to do the same. DTSJ will be providing updates and further communication as the situation develops.

Government of Canada Covid-19 Economic Response Plan:

Canada Emergency Response Benefit   Application Here April 6 Open

Economic Response Plan For Business

Additional Financial Support for Canadian Business

ADVICE FOR EMPLOYERS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS:

Employers should think about what they can do to help staff stay healthy and prevent spread of any respiratory illness, including COVID-19. As well as following the advice for individuals, businesses and community groups should:

BELOW ARE LINKS TO WHERE YOU CAN FIND UPDATES, ADVICE, AND RESOURCES FOR PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS:

City of St. John’s

Additional City of St. John’s Supports
Govt. NL Covid-19
Health Canada
Health Canada: risk-informed decision-making for mass gatherings during COVID-19 global outbreak
World Health Organization