A cardboard cutout of Saint John Mayor Don Darling encouraged people to physical distance during the first Open Streets event on July 11, 2020. (Photo: Brad Perry)
Saint John city staff say they have received mixed feedback from businesses about the Open Streets initiative.
A three-week pilot program was launched in July to drive more people traffic and increase business activity uptown.
Each Saturday, a different set of streets is closed to vehicles, allowing businesses and restaurants to expand onto the sidewalks and streets.
Phil Ouellette, the deputy commissioner of growth and community planning, said two-in-three businesses they have talked to feel the event has been neutral or positive for them.
“But we also got feedback that people didn’t really know what was going on sometimes, some people felt frustrated, some people felt it didn’t really have the impact that they thought it was going to have,” said Ouellette during Tuesday’s council meeting.
Ouellette said city staff have been trying hard to inform residents and businesses about the locations and what is happening each weekend but admits they can improve.
The city has already announced the next round of Open Streets and Ouellette said the city will be notifying businesses earlier and trying to spread the word sooner.
“It’s a balancing act between advertising too much and attracting too many people,” he said. “We think 2,200 people, 2,500 people throughout a day is manageable, but probably 10,000 to 15,000 is probably unmanageable.
An estimated 1,000 people attended Open Streets the first weekend. That number grew to 1,600 people the second weekend and 2,200 people the third weekend.
The city plans to continue with the weekly event until late September, but with some changes.
Part of Princess Street will now be included and Open Streets will not take place on long weekends.
Mayor Don Darling said he is glad to see the program continuing into the fall.
“There’s a lot of pluses. You’ve acknowledged that there’s some feedback on some things that we can do differently. I think it’s a good initiative and I think it shows that the city is pivoting and trying to do things.”
This weekend’s Open Streets will take place on Canterbury Street from King to Princess streets and Grannan Street from Germain to Prince William streets from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday.
It will move to Germain, Grannan and Princess streets on Aug. 15; Prince William and Princess streets on Aug. 22; Canterbury and Grannan streets on Aug. 29; Germain, Grannan and Princess streets on Sept. 12; and Prince William and Princess streets on Sept. 19.
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