The City of St. John’s has announced that the proposed pedestrian mall for the downtown will proceed this summer.
Beginning July 3 and continuing until September 7, Water Street from Bishop’s Cove to Job’s Cove will be open to pedestrian traffic only from noon to 10 p.m. daily.
Allowance will be made to permit deliveries as well as access to businesses, as needed, until noon. Outside this time, delivery drivers will have designated parking in the coves between Water Street, and Harbour Drive. Accessible parking spaces will also be marked on Water Street off Clift’s Baird’s Cove, Ayre’s Cove and Bishop’s Cove.
The closure will allow businesses to expand onto the street and for pedestrians to walk freely and enjoy the downtown this summer. Picnic tables will be added to the streetscape and the City of St. John’s will install barricades and provide security to protect the pedestrian flow.
Regarding parking for visitors, while Water Street will be closed for regular parking during this period in the four blocks included in the mall, there are places to park on Duckworth Street, Water Street and Harbour Drive and the adjacent coves, close to the pedestrian mall area. In addition, there are parking garages located in close proximity.
Businesses within this proposed pedestrian mall area, who have inquiries can reach city staff by emailing specialevents@stjohns.ca.
On June 2nd Downtown St. John’s Business Commission began seeking input from its members on the City of St. John’s proposed Downtown Pedestrian Mall Pilot Project for the summer of 2020. A survey was shared with the membership outlining the details of the two proposed options from the City of St. John’s. MQO Research was hired to gather the results and analyze the data from the survey.
Option #1:
Closure of portions of Water Street and/or Duckworth Street, for three consecutive weeks (4 weekends) in July.
Dates: July 3 to July 26 (24 days)
Road Closures:
8am July 3 to 10pm July 26
Event Hours:
Monday to Friday 12pm to 10pm
Saturday 10am to 10pm
Sunday 10am to 8pm
Water Street from Adelaide St. to Prescott St.
Duckworth Street from Cathedral St to King’s Rd.
Option #2:
Closure of portions of Water Street and/or Duckworth Street, every weekend, throughout July and August.
Dates: Friday to Sunday
July 3 to August 30 (27 days)
Road Closures:
8am Friday to 10pm Sunday
Event Hours:
Friday 5pm to 10pm
Saturday 10am to 10pm
Sunday 10am to 8pm
Water Street from Adelaide St. to Prescott St.
Duckworth Street from Cathedral St to King’s Rd.
To ensure no vehicles are parked within the event footprint, thereby reducing the need for towing, the road will be closed as of 8am on Fridays.
Allowance will be made to permit deliveries as well as access to businesses, as needed, until 12pm Friday and until 9am Saturday and Sunday.
For more detailed information on the proposed Pedestrian Mall Pilot Project please visit https://triwarebeta.ca/temp/article/city-of-st-johns-proposes-pedestrian-only-project-for-downtown-st-johns/
The majority of members surveyed are in favor of some form of Downtown Pedestrian Mall pilot project for this summer.
80% of those surveyed supported the Downtown Pedestrian Mall options as presented in the survey.
20% were not in favor of the Downtown Pedestrian Mall concept however 38% of these respondents suggested that changes to the options would garner their support for the pilot project. Changes such as extending the timeframe; restricting Option #2 to just Saturday and Sunday only; decreasing the size of the project area; and moving the pilot project to 2021 post-Covid 19 were suggested.
15% of those in favor of the proposed options support Option #1 – seven days a week for the month of July.
21% of those in favor of the proposed options are in favor of Option #2 – Friday to Sunday for July and August.
43% are in support of BOTH Option #1 or #2.
Members were split in terms of whether the Downtown Pedestrian Mall should include Water Street only or both Water Street and Duckworth Street however it was clear that respondents were not in support of a Pedestrian Mall on Duckworth Street only for either option.
Several main concerns were raised for the proposed pilot project that will need to be considered and include things such as access to parking for staff at private off-street lots, accommodating deliveries & curbside pickup, impact to service-based businesses to name a few.
There is strong support overall for the Downtown Pedestrian Mall concept. The City should continue to develop the plan including communication with businesses on how concerns will be mitigated.
Given there was significant support for both options (43%) it would be beneficial to follow-up with businesses to provide additional detail on the proposal concept and ask them to explicitly indicate which option they would prefer.
Option #1 – Seven days a week for the month of July on Water Street only
OR
Option #2 – Weekends only for July and August on Water Street only.
Should the City of St. John’s seek clarification from the businesses on which option they prefer, Downtown St. John’s can assist with further consultations with the membership to help identify a clear majority for Option #1 or Option #2 of the Downtown Pedestrian Mall Pilot project.
For more information please contact Downtown St. John’s info@downtownstjohns.com
The City of St. John’s is proposing to create pedestrian only zones, expanded outdoor eating areas and public seating infrastructure in Downtown St. John’s for the summer of 2020. Due to provincial regulations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of social distancing measures will be necessary when Downtown businesses reopen in the near future.
Existing Downtown St. John’s businesses wishing to expand their commercial foot-print onto the sidewalk or parking meter space in front of their business into a parklet (temporary [patio deck structure) can also apply to the City for a temporary expansion – restaurants, cafes, retail shops, bars, etc. They will be directed to make application to the applicable City department. Businesses serving alcohol must adhere to all requirements set out by the NLC.
Two options are being proposed by the City of St. John’s for the creation of Pedestrian Only Zones for the summer of 2020. Downtown St. John’s Business Commission will be gathering input from its members on the proposed options below and sharing the results with the City of St. John’s. The two streets currently being considered are Water Street (from Adelaide St. to Prescott St.) and/or Duckworth Street (from Cathedral St. to King’s Rd.
Closure of portions of Water Street and/or Duckworth Street, for three consecutive weeks (4 weekends) in July.
Dates: July 3 to July 26 (24 days)
Road Closures:
8am July 3 to 10pm July 26
Event Hours:
Monday to Friday 12pm to 10pm
Saturday 10am to 10pm
Sunday 10am to 8pm
Water Street from Adelaide St. to Prescott St.
Duckworth Street from Cathedral St to King’s Rd.
Allowance will be made to permit deliveries as well as access to businesses, as needed, until 10am daily.
Option #2
Closure of portions of Water Street and/or Duckworth Street, every weekend, throughout July and August.
Dates:
Friday to Sunday
July 3 to August 30 (27 days)
Road Closures:
8am Friday to 10pm Sunday
Event Hours:
Friday 5pm to 10pm
Saturday 10am to 10pm
Sunday 10am to 8pm
Water Street from Adelaide St. to Prescott St.
Duckworth Street from Cathedral St to King’s Rd.
To ensure no vehicles are parked within the event footprint, thereby reducing the need for towing, the road will be closed as of 8am on Fridays.
Allowance will be made to permit deliveries as well as access to businesses, as needed, until 12pm Friday and until 9am Saturday and Sunday.
TO VIEW MAPS OF THE PROPOSED STREET CLOSURES CLICK HERE: Downtown Pedestrian Mall Proposal MAPS
The City has presented these two options for the development of this pedestrian mall to Downtown St. John’s Business Commission for input. In order to provide this input to the City we will be reaching out to our members for feedback. It is the Downtown business and property owners who will be most affected by possible changes to daily operations created by the road closures associated with these two options. A short survey is being emailed to members. We ask that you read through these options above and provide us with your feedback and comments via the short survey. It is very important that we hear from you – our members! This is your opportunity to provide input! We need to hear from you by noon on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 so that we can pass along your input to the City. After compiling this information, we will also forward you the survey results via email (by request) as well as post them here on our web site.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION