Downtown Pedestrian Mall 2021
The City of St. John's opened the Downtown Pedestrian Mall (the Mall) on July 2, 2021. The Mall ran every day during the summer from 12 to 10 p.m. with the area inside the footprint closed to traffic. Based on the success of the 2020 Pedestrian Mall and feedback from the public and the business community, several changes were put in place for 2021. These included:
- the inclusion of sections of Duckworth Street and George Street in the Pedestrian Mall footprint
- changes to outdoor decks and patios to improve sidewalk accessibility
- animation within the footprint including performers and organizations with pop up events
The Mall was open from July 2 to Sept. 6 with many businesses making changes to their outdoor spaces to accommodate increased foot traffic/patrons.
There are many stakeholders who will be consulted throughout this engagement 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 this page and provide your input.
Businesses, property owners, and other stakeholders in the Downtown will be consulted via survey and stakeholder meetings as well. A final report with recommendations will be shared with Council later in the fall.
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Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkView All Ideas26 days ago
Nothing about the Mall worked well for Duckworth. Business was reduced same as last year.Signs, art, music all didn't happen.Empty promises
Duckworth Needs its own different but equal event. The Mall does not help all of downtown, only Water Street. This doesn't have to be the case, but it has been now for two years in a row. Stop hurting our businesses, come up with a well planned event for Duckworth. Start now.
about 2 months ago
Allowing businesses to "overlap" their decks/pop-ups
There were a bunch of places this year where decks were extended in front of storefronts that wouldn't have used the space themselves. Good initiative, helped animate the street more.
about 2 months ago
More mobile food vendors
We visited for several days and it was impossible to find a place to eat. We searched for mobile food vendors and were advised they were not included in the pedestrian mall. This was a shock and a disappointment.
about 2 months ago
Less noise
While I'm glad that some businesses will maintain their decks now that traffic has returned, I'll rarely use them. The layout of Water St makes it an echo chamber for vehicle noise, and especially after enjoying the space without it for a few months, it's really shocking how much it negatively impacts the experience of being down there. The pedestrian mall is a wonderful relief in this regard.
about 1 month ago
Reconsider Duckworth Street
It was ridiculous to restrict traffic so much for the sake of the geek bar and a couple of restaurants. There was never anyone there before dark, and most foot traffic actually went to the other end of Duckworth.
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Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkView All Ideasabout 2 months ago
Never went there in the whole summer no place to park and not willing to be paying for parking.I think this is not the best idea for me
I visited downtown before more often than with the pedestrian mall
about 2 months ago
An Electric Trolley would be ideal. It should be more accessible for the elderly and disabled.
It should be more accessible for the elderly and disabled. Ideally an electric trolley going through water street, duckworth, and harbour side. It would be accessible for those going long distances and would encourage more discovery of other shops, restaurants along these routes. Not to mention would be better than one way traffic with cars producing gas fumes, next to you drinking and eating your meal. My 83 year old grandmother was planning to go to dinner downtown with the family. She cant walk for very long, and normally we'd drop her off at the entrance, but due to those sections being closed off to traffic she had to endure a long walk with multiple rests before she could get to the restaurant.
about 2 months ago
Reduced deck sizes changed the vibe a bit
Between the (excellent and important) change made to not allow decks to block the sidewalk, and the desire to keep decks contained so that they could persist after traffic came back, the ratio of seating space to open space was quite different this year, and sometimes it felt a bit off. Less people-focused and more like a road. I think in the long term we'd do better to extend the season and allow decks to expand beyond the footprint of parking spaces. Maintaining sidewalk access is vital, so this would allow businesses to add more capacity (it was really, really hard to find a seat sometimes!)
about 2 months ago
Safety and Parking on Queen's Rd
I live on Queen's Rd and the extra traffic due to Duckworth St inclusion in the Pedestrian Mall was horrible. There are not many crosswalks in the first stretch of Queen's Rd and a lot of people walking cross the road near Bates Hill. If Duckworth St is included again, there should be provisions in place for pedestrians to safely cross the road. This could be a pedestrian activated light or even a crosswalk with an amber light. Parking was also a major issue for my household, everyday there were 3, 4 or 5 cars parked in the first block of Queen's Rd without parking passes. Some people seemed to be picking up food at a restaurant and were only there a short time, while others would park and be ticketed day after day. I would suggest that there be temporary 10-15 min parking provided for "Skip the Dishes" and other pickup/delivery services. These spaces should be in existing paid parking designated spots, modified for shorter parking requirements.
about 2 months ago
Loved Water Street been there maybe 10-12 times over the summer
Wheelchair parking very inconvenient,get the bikes of the streets it’s surpose to be a pedestrian mall not a bicycle one,we were downtown many times over the summer,one night 6-8 bikes road up the street on their back wheel,an accident waiting to happen.
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Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkView All Ideas29 days ago
Hop-on Hop-off transportation
While I recognize the length of the pedestrian mall is less than 1km, I feel like some sort of Hop-on Hop-off transportation that would drive back & forth at a low speed, through the centre of the mall would be attractive to anyone who has mobility issues, young children, etc. I don't necessarily mean a large bus either, I see something smaller, similar to an old street car where stepping on/off might be quick and easy.
about 2 months ago
Various things!
- mid-June to October 1 schedule - Improved route for Duckworth Street - Pop-up shops for the many vacant Water St properties (even better if they're permanent) - Public washrooms - watch out for the more aggressive panhandlers stopping by patios (and those who keep walking into traffic by Harbour Drive) - no bicycles (most I observed did not slow down or ring their bell), skateboards are ok though
about 2 months ago
Purchase (expropriate?) the parking lot at the bottom of Solomon's lane and turn it into a public square
The parking lot at the bottom of Solomon's Lane (where movies are shown, in non-Covid times) nearly derailed that whole section of the pedestrian mall this year. Parking for fewer than 20 (!) cars is certainly not the best use of this space, which could easily be transformed into an actual public square, a space for movies and markets and seating and many other things. If the owners are not interested in selling, this might be a compelling case for expropriation at fair market value.
about 2 months ago
Allow food trucks where there are gaps in the retail street wall
There are always going to be dead spots along the pedestrian mall, and those will vary year-to-year - IIRC, the Mobile Vendors Association had a proposal to use some of them for food trucks. This seems like a great idea if the food trucks can be hooked up to electrical so they don't need to run their generators all the time in a confined space.
about 2 months ago
Close Duckworth past Prescott where the shops actually are
The Duckworth closure this year didn't make much sense because there aren't very many shops south of Prescott. All the lively activity is north of it, seems to me it would make a lot more sense to close Duckworth on that side. And food trucks please!
Public Survey
Downtown Business Survey
Who's Listening
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Supervisor, Events and Services
JL -
Phone 576-8219 Email dhanlon@stjohns.ca
