Downtown Pedestrian Mall Pilot Project

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Consultation has concluded

The City of St. John's opened the Downtown Pedestrian Mall on July 3. The purpose of the Mall was twofold:

  1. to allow the business community to expand their space thereby stimulating the downtown economy, and
  2. as a means to allow people to use public space while adhering to required public health physical distancing guidelines stemming for the Covid 19 pandemic.

The Mall was open from July 3 to Sept. 7 with many businesses making changes to their outdoor spaces to accommodate increased foot traffic/patrons.

As this was a pilot project for the summer of 2020, it is important that staff determine whether the project goals above were met and make recommendations to Council on how a Downtown Pedestrian Mall could work for the future.

There are many stakeholders who will be consulted throughout this review process. This page is primarily designed to solicit feedback and perspective from consumers - people who visited the mall or those who chose not to visit the Mall. Take a few minutes to review the content on the page and provide your input.

Businesses in the Downtown will be consulted via survey and stakeholder meetings.

The City of St. John's opened the Downtown Pedestrian Mall on July 3. The purpose of the Mall was twofold:

  1. to allow the business community to expand their space thereby stimulating the downtown economy, and
  2. as a means to allow people to use public space while adhering to required public health physical distancing guidelines stemming for the Covid 19 pandemic.

The Mall was open from July 3 to Sept. 7 with many businesses making changes to their outdoor spaces to accommodate increased foot traffic/patrons.

As this was a pilot project for the summer of 2020, it is important that staff determine whether the project goals above were met and make recommendations to Council on how a Downtown Pedestrian Mall could work for the future.

There are many stakeholders who will be consulted throughout this review process. This page is primarily designed to solicit feedback and perspective from consumers - people who visited the mall or those who chose not to visit the Mall. Take a few minutes to review the content on the page and provide your input.

Businesses in the Downtown will be consulted via survey and stakeholder meetings.

Consultation has concluded

  • 2021 Pedestrian Mall Decisions

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    At the March 24, 2021 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council will consider recommendations regarding the 2021 Pedestrian Mall. Check out the decision note (page 9 of agenda package) or tune in to the meeting. The presentation used in the meeting outlining the considerations for 2021 is now available on this page.

  • Report to Council

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    On Thursday, Nov. 12, staff presented a report to Council at Committee of the Whole related to the Downtown Pedestrian Mall. Check out the report here. - Section 4 and Section 8

  • What we heard released

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    The City of St. John’s today released what it heard from the public engagement process for the Downtown Pedestrian Mall.

    Feedback and perspectives were collected from a variety of stakeholders, including:

    • businesses within the Mall
    • businesses in the Downtown but outside the Mall
    • groups impacted by the Mall including the transportation sector and inclusion community
    • visitors of the Mall
    • people who were aware of the Mall but did not visit

    Many tools were used to gather feedback, including virtual stakeholder meetings, online surveys for visitors and business owners, a project page at engagestjohns.ca, social media quick polls, email and telephone options.

    The goal was to collect information from a variety of stakeholders that could be used in combination with technical assessments, and feedback from the Special Events Regulatory Committee, to make recommendations to City Council for future pedestrian mall events.

    Highlights of ‘What We Heard’

    • Businesses inside the mall and those outside the mall were generally supportive of future pedestrian malls but the location of businesses impacted the level of support.
    • The public are very supportive of future Downtown Pedestrian Malls
    • More time is required for planning and for inclusion and accessibility considerations
    • There are differing views on whether other sections of the Downtown should be included; Extending to Waldegrave St. was a popular suggestion as was including George Street
    • There were concerns with parking, primarily related to the use of Duckworth Street on street parking spaces

    To read the detailed ‘What We Heard’ document and all feedback collected click here.

    The final report for the Pedestrian Mall will be presented to City Council during a future Committee of the Whole meeting.