Should Sydney Street be car-free in the summertime? Fusion Charlottetown wants to know
The group says idea came from businesses on the street
A Charlottetown group wants to hear from residents on the idea of closing a portion of Sydney Street during the summer, creating a second pedestrian street in the city's downtown core.
Fusion Charlottetown — a volunteer group that encourages the engagement of city residents between the ages of 20 and 40 — said the idea came from businesses along Sydney Street between Queen Street and Great George Street.
After some conversation about the idea, the group decided to put out a survey to gauge the interest of residents.
Mathieu Arsenault, chair of the group, said it would be like an extension of Charlottetown's pedestrian-only Victoria Row.
"That's a wonderful part of the city. It's so dynamic, it attracts people, it's a draw," said Arsenault.
We want to make sure that some of these concerns are met before we kind of put our stamp behind it.— Mathieu Arsenault, Fusion Charlottetown
He said right now, the group isn't for or against the idea — they just want to see what people think.
"So if there's a strong interest for this project then we would come out in favour of it," he said.
"Then probably with this one specifically, because there's important concerns, we want to make sure that some of these concerns are met before we kind of put our stamp behind it."
Arsenault said the group has received about 50 responses and about 75 per cent are in favour of the idea.
Some of the concerns he's heard centre around parking and deliveries for businesses in the area.
He said the survey can be found on the group's Facebook page and will be available for another week or two.