An experiment to see what people would think about having a more vibrant pedestrian environment in the heart of Red Deer’s downtown appears to have worked, city officials said on Tuesday.
The City of Red Deer held the Ross Street Experiment between 49th Avenue and Gaetz Avenue to see what people thought about turning part of the busy downtown street into an outdoor cafe setting with live music. Two lanes of traffic remained open, but a third lane and parking stalls next to north-end sidewalks were closed.
People sat at about two dozen tables adorned with red-and-white checkered tablecloths. City of Red Deer representatives in red aprons passed out surveys to see what individuals believed a great street looks like.
Red Deer’s Melinda Johnston, doing research for an urban sociology project through the University of Calgary, said she was keenly interested in seeing public interactions during Tuesday’s event, which started at noon.
“I think this is a great idea — it will bring more people downtown and also to understand what we have downtown in terms of food, shopping and diversity,” Johnston said.
Jackie Waldo of Red Deer was informed by one of the city representatives what the event was all about — to open the streets in Red Deer.
“I think it would be better to have streets more open and give us places to sit outside,” Waldo said.
Inside the women’s clothing store Talk of the Town, part-owner Nicole Hewitt said the event was good for attracting business.
“Especially after all the construction, I think they’re trying to bring more traffic down,” said Hewitt, referring to the improvements nearby on Little Gaetz Avenue.
Hewitt said the tables and chairs are great because they give people a reason to come downtown, besides shopping.
Jim Jorgenson, divisional strategist for the city, said the response was good from the written surveys he had seen.
“We were looking for honest opinion on what moves them about this kind of thing,” Jorgenson said.
The event is part of the city’s Integrated Movement Study, which is looking at all forms of transportation including walking.
Last month, the city partnered with Alberta Health Services to put on the Alberta Walkability Roadshow, which included a stakeholders meeting and a public workshop. People were asked what they thought about bicycling, taking transit, walking and driving in the city.
One of the key findings of that roadshow was how much people wanted to see more downtown pedestrian space, Jorgenson said.
The Ross Street Experiment culminated with an evening presentation from Gil Peñalosa, executive director of 8-80 Cities, a Canadian based non-profit organization that promotes walking and bicycling as a way to create vibrant cities and healthy communities.
Jorgenson said the public’s input will be included in a final report of principles and recommendations for integrated movement.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com
— copyright Red Deer Advocate