City reopens section of George after complaints from businesses
Downtown street was to be closed Friday-Sunday to let restaurants expand outdoor space
The City of Peterborough has backtracked on a decision to close a downtown section of George Street, announcing at midday Saturday that the street would reopen “immediately.”
The closure began Friday and was intended to continue until Sunday as part of the city’s COVID-19 recovery plan.
The intent of the decision, made Thursday night at a special city council meeting, was to give downtown bars and restaurants more outdoor space to boost business while safely maintaining social distancing efforts.
However, the move met with ire from some downtown businesses, who saw the lastminute closure as an impediment to curbside pickup. Downtown Business Improvement
Area (DBIA) executive director Terry Guiel called it “a debacle” Friday.
“It was an attempt to provide additional pedestrian space to help people feel more comfortable and safe coming back into the downtown during the COVID-19 pandemic — and it also provided an opportunity for pop-up patios for businesses on George Street through a fasttrack process,” stated Brendan
Wedley, the city’s manager of communication services, in a media release.
“Based on feedback after the first day, the city is reopening the road to vehicles. The city apologizes for the confusion.”
The original plan called for a partial closure of George Street, with one lane for vehicular traffic. Thursday’s closure was intended as a short-term measure, Wedley wrote in a followup email to The Examiner.
A long-term solution that does not require the full closure of downtown streets is being developed with input from Peterborough Public Health and the DBIA, he wrote.
City council voted Thursday to give chief administrative officer Sandra Clancy the authority to close streets and decrease speed limits to encourage business owners to expand their outdoor spaces.
Giving Clancy this power was expected to make it easier for business owners to get city permission to use additional outdoor space as pandemic protocols change, and allow for “popup” businesses outside.
The move isn’t restricted to downtown. Businesses in other parts of the city could also take part, council heard Thursday.
Guiel spoke to The Examiner Friday after the first barricades went up.
He said the DBIA didn’t want full closures of streets, but had asked for some lanes of traffic open and some parking spots available for curbside pickup of takeout food.
“This (full closure) does nothing but hurt our businesses,” Guiel said.