Alicia Neill, manager of Mosaic Books, holds a book at the store’s location on Bernard Avenue.
(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
September 03, 2020 – 6.30 p.m.
Downtown Kelowna’s stores are about to close on Bernard Avenue for the summer.
Alicia Neill, manager at Mosaic Books, said she would like to see the city of Kelowna communicate better with businesses and the Downtown Kelowna Association in the future, but she doesn’t mind the road closure.
The road was temporarily closed to vehicle traffic starting June 29 to help businesses during the COVID-19 and ensure local residents and visitors can maintain social distance. It will open again to vehicle traffic on September 8th.
READ MORE: Bernard Avenue in downtown Kelowna will be closed to traffic this summer
“I think the people down here who use it are positive about it and obviously we have a lot of customers struggling to get downtown. But it’s hard to compare because we’ve never done this before and there’s a pandemic, “Neill said.
Mosaic had a great June in terms of sales, which then fell when the Kelowna COVID-19 cluster was announced in early July. None of this can link her to the road closure, she said.
The city also had live music in certain locations along the street, which Neill said in another year which may have been fun, but when the crowds afterwards disperse and go to the store it becomes difficult to deal with.
Galena Clancy, manager of Burnett’s Florist & Gifts, said she was initially skeptical but pleasantly surprised how things turned out this summer.
“I’d love to see it again if something’s going on or it feels a bit like a waste of space,” said Clancy.
“The Saturdays were great,” said her colleague Ellen Geber.
Clancy estimated the store’s sales were roughly the same as last year, but would like to do more on the streets to attract people. Geber suggested holding the farmers market along the street or even providing shaded picnic tables.
A couple uses the open road along Bernard Avenue to cycle.
(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
Mark Burley, executive director of the Downtown Kelowna Association, said pedestrian traffic along Bernard Avenue increased by 80 percent overall on August 20 for the summer.
The association conducted a study in July that gathered feedback from companies and will conduct another study this month, he said.
Overall, the business response to the closure was positive.
“There are both good and bad points about the closure … most of them are very positive, we have some who are not so sure and some who do not like how far it has gone,” he said and added that the pandemic also plays a role this year.
With COVID-19, it’s hard to tell if the increase in traffic was directly due to the shutdown, he said.
“While we went through August, it got busier down here, we have good weather down here,” he said.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also send photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and enter to win a monthly raffle.
We appreciate your comments and opinions on our stories, but play nice. We will not censor or delete comments unless they contain unrelated statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about the comments, please email the editor using the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020
