Councillors heap praise on Bernard closure

Kelowna to ban vehicles from a 5-block stretch of the main downtown street

Bernard Avenue promises to be quieter in volume, but livelier in pedestrian activity this summer.

Kelowna city council on Monday enthusiastically endorsed staff’s plan to ban vehicles from a five-block stretch of the main downtown street from late June through the Labour Day weekend.

“This is very exciting,” said Coun. Mohini Singh. “It’ll bring a lot of vibrancy to the downtown.”

The unprecedented months-long vehicle ban is intended to draw pedestrian activity to the downtown core, in hopes of helping businesses struggling with the impact of the pandemic.

“I think businesses will thrive under this new model,” said Coun. Gail Given.

Coun. Loyal Wooldridge said a pedestrianonly Bernard was one “really positive effect on our city that the pandemic has brought.”

As well as closing the street to cars and trucks, the city is making it easier for business owners, particularly restaurateurs, to create larger outdoor patios.

The Downtown Kelowna Association has endorsed the vehicle ban, although some individual merchants have expressed concern about the impact of the loss of more than 100 Bernard Avenue parking stalls.

“I know there’s some apprehension by business owners, particularly on Bernard Avenue, that this may have a detrimental effect to their business,” Mayor Colin Basran said.

“Certainly, I understand and hear your concerns, but I think when you look at these types of streets in any other community, they are thriving and very vibrant, and to this point I don’t see why Kelowna would be any different.”

Some councillors wondered if there might not be safety considerations with pedestrians and cyclists sharing a strip down the middle of the street. But Coun. Maxine DeHart said she thought Bernard would be so filled with people that cyclists wouldn’t bother trying to navigate the crowds.

Coun. Brad Sieben, while endorsing the vehicle ban, cautioned it shouldn’t be seen as a “silver bullet” for the financial struggles experienced by downtown restaurants. He noted, for example, that the patios and fully-pedestrianized street would not likely be too busy on a rainy, cool day like Monday.

“You take a day like today, those patios aren’t going to help much,” Sieben said. “But it’s a positive step and it gives some hope to try to do business in a different way.”

For his part, Coun. Luke Stack said he was particularly looking forward to the absence of motorcycles on Bernard Avenue this summer.

“People love going down Bernard and just revving their engines as loud as they can on their motorbikes,” Stack said, “I just thought, ‘Man, we’ll be able to walk up and down Bernard for the first time and not listen to Harleys trying to deafen us as they impress us with their machoism.”