Downtowns weathering the storm of pandemic lockdown
WATERLOO REGION — When Mandy Brouse would take the LRT to work just after the pandemic lockdown began, she felt like she was walking through a postapocalyptic movie set: no one was on the trains or in the streets.
“It was so strange,” says Brouse, who co-owns Words Worth Books in Uptown Waterloo.
But just as she now sees people slowly coming back to the downtown core, she believes downtowns will slowly but surely come back to life.
It’s still not clear how the pandemic will change main streets. Certainly in the short term, the lockdown has had a huge impact on downtowns — office employees working from home aren’t buying coffees, lunches or going shopping; bars and restaurants are closed, and the festivals that regularly bring crowds to the core and to the businesses that are there, have been cancelled.
Downtowns have weathered upheaval before — the flight to malls, the closing of streets for months or years for LRT construction — “but this is completely unlike anything we’ve ever gone through,” Brouse says.
The pandemic has been a big challenge for small businesses, not only to pivot and change the way they operate, but also to cope with the uncertainty and to keep up with continuously changing rules about when to open and to operate safely. Should they require employees to wear masks? How will they ensure adequate supplies? Will the province require contact tracing information or temperature monitoring of those entering a shop?
Although stores with a street entrance can now reopen, Words Worth is taking a cautious approach. Knowing the virus is still circulating in the community, it has decided to stick to delivery and contactless pickup.
For many businesses, the focus has simply been survival, says Tracy Van Kalsbeek, executive director of the Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Association. “They’re still focused on how are they going to pay the rent and how to keep their doors open. They’re still in that crisis mode.”
Survival is the priority, says Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.
“How do we make sure as many of our small businesses within the downtown and elsewhere in the city survive?
“Some people are saying as much as 25 or 30 per cent, or even 50 per cent of small businesses won’t make it through this,” he said. “Small business for decades has been the backbone of our local economies, and I think still needs to be.”
Their resilience has been impressive, Van Kalsbeek says, with businesses embracing online shopping and finding new ways to combine online with inperson shopping. In the past, many business owners were too busy with day-today operations to take that on. The pandemic spurred many of them to embrace online.
“Online sales have probably gone up 100 per cent,” Brouse says. “It’s incredible.”
She believes online sales will continue to be important, as some customers hesitate to shop in person and as all of us become more used to buying more from our laptops.
But in the end, humans are still social creatures who enjoy being with other people over a meal or a drink, who want to touch and feel the things they buy, Van Kalsbeek says. Uptown will always be a cultural hub and a food and entertainment hub, even in a world that requires more physical distancing.
The pandemic has increased awareness about the importance of supporting local stores and restaurants, said
Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry. She’s confident new developments like the Gaslight District will continue to draw people.
“Walkable town centres are appealing to people as we emerge from the pandemic,” she said. “Downtowns may seem safer than enclosed malls. And I think people miss the urban life.”
Downtowns offer walkable areas with culture, open space to safely distance, and great scenery along Cambridge’s rivers, she said.
Vrbanovic agrees. People will soon fill the thousands of condo units that are rising all around downtown Kitchener, and they will be shopping and eating downtown. “That’s really going to help. What we need to do is get (downtown businesses) over the hump in the meantime.”
With less lunchtime traffic, BIAs will focus more on attracting people downtown in the evening and on weekends, says Cory Bluhm, Kitchener’s executive director of economic development.
Patios may proliferate. They’re one of the top requests from residents whenever the city asks about what they want downtown, Bluhm says. With no festivals, theatre or live music, the theatre of life may be this summer’s biggest entertainment. They may be a key way for social contact, a way for people to reconnect, and run into neighbours and friends.
One hope is that because the pandemic limits travel, people might spend more time and money exploring their home areas. “Downtowns have been a vibrant place for a good chunk of our population,” said “There’s an opportunity for those that don’t frequent the downtown as much to rediscover downtowns.”