Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
A NEW NORMAL
One-way systems, sanitising stations and store staff in protective visors – shopping in the city, but not as you know it
Monday will mark the start of a “rollercoaster” ride as most shops across the district reopen their doors for the first time in three months. One-way systems, hand sanitiser stations, street jet-washing and even the prospect of barricading off Whitefriars will come into play next week as the retail economy kicks back into life. Traders and customers across Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay have been eagerly awaiting the reopening of non-essential stores but the shopping experience will be far from normal.
The city council has unveiled its “comprehensive package of measures” to help keep everyone safe and socially distanced during their trip to the shops. Twenty-one public toilets - four in Canterbury, 10 in Herne Bay and seven in Whitstable - will be open for use, while all three park and ride car parks will reopen at a cost of 50p per day.
The park and ride buses will not be running but shoppers and workers will be able to leave their car and find their own way into the city.
Parking tariffs at Holmans Meadow and Castle Street multi-storey car parks will be temporarily capped at £3.50 per day. Monday will also mark the first time many shoppers and workers can use the controversial £9.1 million multi-storey in Station Road West, which will also cost £3.50 per day. Distance markers spaced two metres apart will be stuck on the ground in Canterbury and key streets across all towns will be jet-washed in an effort to enhance cleanliness. New signs reminding shoppers to keep apart have been installed in high streets and many shops will have been busy laying out one-way systems for their customers. Fenwick manager Simon Youden warned traders to anticipate a “rollercoaster ride” as he revealed his department store will operate a one-way system for 200 customers at a time, who will be encouraged to use hand sanitiser upon entry.
“We could open and then close,” he said. “You look at some of the centres in Italy and France - they have opened and then closed again because of a cluster outbreak.
“We have to be really steady and shouldn’t go gung-ho.” Marks and Spencer manager Maxine Dawes said: “From our experience, trying to make customers do a one-way trip round the store is quite challenging - it will be a big challenge for a lot of stores especially when you are on tight numbers of staff.
“If we can get everybody singing from the same hymn sheet as to stores being one-way and limiting the number of people in a shop, then we’ll be in it together and it’ll work.” Meanwhile, fewer market stallholders and street traders will be allowed to set up in Canterbury for the foreseeable future.
■ What do you think of the measures? Email your views to kentishgazette@ thekmgroup.co.uk.