Pedestrian mall concept floated

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This article was published 20/07/2011 (5525 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The promise of increased foot traffic and ample parking has a handful of downtown business owners dreaming of the possibilities the proposed Rosser Avenue Business Mall could create.

Coun. Corey Roberts (Rosser) floated the idea at city council Monday. The proposal, which is an initiative of Roberts’ alone, is to shutter one block of Rosser Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street to create a seasonal pedestrian mall.

Traffic along Ninth Street and 10th Street, between Princess Avenue and Pacific Avenue, would be switched to a one-way format, complete with free angle parking.

Traffic would flow north on 10th Street and south on Ninth Street so drivers could make an entire loop of the area, making easy right-hand turns and avoiding the dreaded parallel park.

Four restaurants, including Trinda Collister’s Grand Central Sandwich Deli, are situated on Rosser Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street. Business owners have "tried everything" to increase traffic but nothing has enticed new customers, Collister says. She "100 per cent supports" the proposal and is confident it could have a positive impact.

"The way Rosser Avenue is right now is it’s a thoroughfare. People drive through and don’t even bother looking at what’s going on downtown," Collister told the Sun. "If they have to actually detour around an area, maybe they’ll figure out that there’s something going on down here."

Roberts envisions the pedestrian-friendly initiative running from the May long weekend until the middle of September, using the Brandon University Students’ Union’s Rock the Block event as the logical final hoorah of the season.

An abbreviated trial period could be implemented as early as next month, and Roberts hopes work to remove traffic meters and painting new parking lines could start on 10th Street as soon as possible. The first-term councillor spent hours personally explaining the proposal to business owners in recent weeks.

"This is now opening up everyone’s entrepreneurial spirit and thinking about how they can grow it," Roberts told the Sun. "Most of their responses were, ‘Can we do this yesterday?’"

Downtown restaurateur Laxman Negi has big plans for the business he purchased this spring, The Chilly Chutney, but says he was surprised to learn how quiet the area became after 6 p.m.

Two parallel spaces are equivalent to three or 3.5 angled stalls, Roberts says and for Negi, the additional free spaces are key.

"We don’t have a lot of parking and we don’t get that many customers because the people are coming to eat but then they don’t get parking here so they never stop, they just run away," Negi said. "(The parking) will be a great benefit for us."

Negi and Collister say they’ll create outdoor dining areas during the trial period. The Chilly Chutney is licensed, and Negi foresees patrons sitting outside, enjoying a cocktail well past 6 p.m.

Bromley’s Menswear owner Brian Bromley has worked downtown his entire life and he too supports the idea.

"It’s a positive. It’s something new for downtown and new is always good," Bromley said. "I think it will maybe remind people that we do have a downtown … It will set the downtown apart and create some reason for people to come down here."

Once fully operational, Roberts envisions community events and buskers will enliven the block each week.

Downtown Brandon Biz president and downtown business owner Dianne Hastings Fotheringham says right now change, no matter the scale, is a move in the right direction.

"I think anything is worth a try on a small scale and if it works, you grow bigger," Hastings Fotheringham told the Sun. "It just complements the new downtown look … it’s a change and it’s a positive one."

Crystal Hotel owner Bob Allen agrees. He too supports the proposal and is hopeful that if it doesn’t pan out as envisioned, the city will have no problem pulling the plug.

"It doesn’t hurt to change things around a little bit but if it does have an impact on certain people’s businesses because of what they’re doing, then quickly change it back," Allen said. "Don’t be afraid to say we tried it, and it didn’t work and we’re going to back to the other way."

The proposed street changes complement the downtown initiatives of Renaissance Brandon, downtown development specialist Braden Pilling told the Sun.

"It certainly fits with what we’ve envisioned … but most of it will come down to the logistics, especially of the traffic flow" Pilling said. "We don’t want to go ahead and do something too permanent right off the bat. There’s many factors that we may not even think of until we start so a trial period to start is a good step."

Roberts’ proposal also includes closing Ninth Street between Princess Park and the Kristopher Campbell Memorial Skateboard Plaza to traffic on an event-driven basis. Whether the block is closed for regular events like Wednesdays by the Fountain or another community event, the idea is to make the neighbouring parks seamless. The unsightly wooden street barricades would be ditched in favour of more "professional looking" infrastructure, as well, Roberts said.

It’s expected a bylaw will be crafted in the coming weeks to address Roberts’ requests, at which time council debate on the issue will take place.