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 Ideasalmost 2 years ago
Helps reduce traffic noise for downtown residents
The mall, esp. the Duckworth closure, really helped reduce the otherwise incessant noise from loud motorists that can make the summer so difficult to live through in the downtown core. PLEASE keep the Duckworth closure. Maybe modify it to make it more successful next year. But this can actually help with a chronic and serious problem of Ward 2.
almost 2 years ago
Better infrastructure for businesses
It was clear that this year businesses had more time to build infrastructure and decks! I think it will continue to improve.
over 1 year ago
Permanent Pedestrian Zone
I think some consideration should be given to making a section of Water Street fully pedestrian. This works in many other cities throughout the world, including in cold climate zones (Sparks Street in Ottawa for example). If that section from the intersection of George Street to Adelaide street were converted, for instance, which already includes a high ratio of restaurants, it would enlarge and create synergies with the existing entertainment district.
almost 2 years ago
More food trucks
I love the Water Street portion of the Pedestrian Mall, but is it often hard to get seated in a restaurant/deck, especially on a nice evening. The Atlantic Place block of Water Street does not have a high concentration of restaurants, and is a perfect spot to allow for more food trucks, vendor kiosks, picnic tables, etc.
almost 2 years 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.
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Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkView All Ideasalmost 2 years ago
The animation of the spaces was a bit patchy
I wonder if the City could "contract out" the animation of spaces with performances etc to local arts organizations who have bigger networks of promotion etc? Getting info on what was happening was a bit hit-or-miss and the City website isn't the best for this; working with some community partners might mean a more vibrant presence online etc for this that the City's social channels could share.
almost 2 years ago
Free, public bathroom access could be better
I think it'd be great to have (at least) some wayfinding signage towards bathrooms that aren't inside businesses, particularly accessible bathrooms. I don't recall seeing that, though I may have missed it.
almost 2 years ago
Duckworth was a dead zone
It's understandable this route was the only option due to emergency routes, it wasn't worth the bother altogether. Nothing to offer besides a couple of restuarants with patios and a gaming store run by a crank. See what you can do between Prescott and The Sheraton, even if it's the most minor effort.
over 1 year 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.
almost 2 years ago
Closing duckworth street caused a traffic nightmare
Closing Duckworth street cause incredible traffic congestion every day on the waterfront and on queens road. Queen's road is not equipped with enough crosswalks and it became impossible to walk downtown because of the volume of traffic on that road. All this was to accommodate the baseless complaints of 2 - 3 businesses on Duckworth street and in the end nobody used the closed parts of that street anyway. The idea was a total bust, made no sense in the first place, was against the recommendation of the city planning department, created a traffic mess which was very predictable, and in the end nobody ever used it anyway. Politics got in the way of better judgement here and it was lucky nobody was killed on queens road. I LOVE the pedestrian mall on water street and am 100% behind the idea every year, but closing Duckworth street is a bad idea.
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Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkView All Ideasover 1 year 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.
over 1 year ago
Longer timeline
I wish the mall started earlier and ended later in the season. I already miss the road closure!
almost 2 years ago
Work with the province to turn the front of the Supreme Court into a pedestrian space
As long as the Supreme Court is active in that building the lockup will need some vehicle access, but there is no reason to maintain one of the few natural public gathering areas downtown as a parking lot - and removing the parking there will further reduce pedestrian/vehicle conflicts from people entering/exiting. There is a parking garage immediately across the road which could surely be utilized instead.
almost 2 years ago
Find a mechanism to discourage vacant storefronts
There apper to be a number of landlords on Water Street who are quite happy to have vacant, poorly maintained storefronts on their property. Not sure what levers the city has to discourage this (vacant property tax?) but market forces alone might not be enough to fill in Water Street's missing teeth. This would make the mall feel more complete and fill in the quieter stretches.
almost 2 years 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
Public Survey
Downtown Business Survey
Who's Listening
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Supervisor, Events and Services
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Phone 576-8219 Email dhanlon@stjohns.ca