Pedestrian-only zone coming to downtown Whitehorse this summer

Whitehorse city council voted unanimously this week to close a downtown block to vehicles this summer, creating a pedestrian mall. 

Council voted on Tuesday to adopt a new bylaw for a town square pilot project. The project will begin June 23 and run for 11 weeks, until September 5.

As part of the project, a section of Main Street, from Front Street to Second Avenue, will be closed to vehicle traffic.  

Instead, the street will feature a pop-up vendor market, extended patios, public seating, planters and public art projects. There will also be a stage near the Edgewater Hotel, where bands will perform on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. This space will also be available for buskers. 

Councillor Kirk Cameron spoke at Tuesday's meeting. He said he knows the project could call for some readjustments to the way people navigate downtown. 

"It's worthwhile exploring ideas of this kind to determine if there is a better way to make our downtown a more vital, interesting [place] with more character," he said.

"It's a test, and I would very much agree that we should give this a try and see if this is going to attract a different character for our downtown."

Whitehorse Mayor Laura Cabott thinks the project will cause residents to slow down, both literally and figuratively.

Over the phone on Wednesday, she said she hopes the town square leads motorists to focus less on "burning down Second Avenue and through the downtown core," while at the same time encouraging pedestrians to take a seat on the street and enjoy a coffee outside rather than rushing back to the office. 

"It's human nature. We like to spend time, socialize with others, and I think this is a good time to launch this program and provide a place for not only residents but visitors to our city to spend a little time, some money, to talk with others and eat some great food," Cabott said.

In addition to extended patios offering more seating to restaurants on the street, the town square will have space for food trucks in two locations, both at the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue. 

City staff had initially budgeted $10,000 to cover the cost of labour, set-up and electrical conversion for food trucks. This would avoid the noise and smell of generators. At previous council meetings, some councillors, including Ted Laking, had suggested a fee-for-service for this conversion.

On Wednesday, city spokesperson Oshea Jephson said trucks will only pay what's required by the city's fees and charges policy, which was always a condition of participating in the project. This is a fee of $50 a month, to be prorated to the time trucks are onsite. Trucks can apply for week-long slots at the town square.

Though public surveys suggested residents were largely supportive of the project, concerns were raised about parking, accessibility and traffic congestion. 

To address those concerns, the street closure will still allow for commercial waste collection and delivery to businesses on the block. Four accessible parking spaces on Main Street will also be temporarily moved: two to Second Avenue, and two to Front Street. 

Jephson said the city is also preparing a traffic management plan to address any issues. He said there will be extra signage to direct drivers to available downtown parkades.

Artists, musicians and vendors for the town square will be announced in the coming weeks.