It’s been weeks since Bernard Avenue was closed to vehicle traffic and the effect has been significant. “It’s busy when the sun’s out,“ Mark Burly with the Downtown Kelowna Association said. “We haven’t had a great start for our summer.”
Image Credit: INSTAGRAM / Downtown Kelowna Association
July 16, 2020 - 11:45 AM
It’s been weeks since Bernard Avenue was closed to vehicle traffic and the effect has been significant.
“It’s busy when the sun’s out, “ Mark Burly with the Downtown Kelowna Association said. “We haven’t had a great start for our summer.”
Regardless, City of Kelowna staff has been measuring the effects of the main drag with a foot traffic only and they’ve seen a marked increase in the number of people venturing out now that they’re able to achieve physical distancing.
“Our daily numbers, compared to 2019, have seen a 100 per cent increase,” the City's active transportation coordinator Matt Worona said. “We opened up three times what pedestrians normally have. We used to have four metres of clear space and now we have about 12.”
According to a graph Worona supplied, the number of pedestrians peaked on July 4 with more than 25,000 people making their way down Bernard Avenue. The following weekend the number dipped to around 19,000. The 2019 numbers were around 10,000 each weekend.
While many are enjoying the new feel to the old street, there have been some concerns about the refuse left behind.
It’s something the City says is being addressed.
Litter pick up has increased by an additional shift from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday with two staff, City spokesperson Tom Wilson said in an email.
Regular litter pick up shifts are seven days a week from 4:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., which remains unchanged.
“In total we have six staff members working in the downtown core, however, they do attend to other areas in the city as well,” Wilson said.
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