Parcel of possibilities in Old Strathcona for Edmonton night market organizers

EDMONTON – Organizers behind Edmonton’s proposed new night market have submitted a development permit application to the city.

The market would see 500 vendors congregate several days a week from May 20 to Sept. 5, selling everything from clothing to food and providing a plethora of services to shoppers.

Located along Gateway Boulevard, the proposed site is situated alongside the CPR yards south of Whyte Avenue. The idea for the market was conceived by Arjun Gill, who was inspired by Richmond, BC’s version of the market.

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“People respond a lot to those types of markets, so we thought we’d bring it here to Edmonton and make it something so the city can stay vibrant,”Ken Parent, event coordinator for the Edmonton Night Market, said.

Parent said so far, at least 200 businesses have signed up to potentially occupy a space in their facility.

“Most of our food vendors are major restaurants here in town that have come on board,” he told Global News.

Shoppers would be able to descend on the space every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. The city has already conducted an initial review of the plan and found a number of issues it would like to see sorted before moving forward.

“There will be increased pedestrian movement across Gateway Boulevard, as well as signalization to control the vehicles and pedestrians that will take benefit of this particular development,” Harry Luke, senior planner for development and zoning services with the City of Edmonton, said.

“We are also looking at a safety plan as this site is adjoining an active railway yard.”

Night market organizers say they are intent on doing whatever the city requires to move their proposal from paper to parcel.

“We’re doing this as a private business so as such, we actually have to upgrade the entrances and deal with some of the drainage patterns on site, as well as some of the other issues with crossing for pedestrians,” Parent said.

The plan also includes an auditorium for live music and a live action Pac Man game.

“Anybody who comes to the event who does want to try it out – they will basically be in the place of Pac Man and they will have an obstacle course that they will go through and they will have virtual ghosts chasing after them at the same time,” Parent explained.

Across the street, at the Old Strathcona Antique Mall, there is some concern over the sizeable venture being proposed.

“Traditionally when you look at night markets, they tend to be in town squares or somewhere they can directly impact the businesses around them and we just don’t see that with the location they’re having here. Perhaps changing the hours can – even to include the hours that local businesses are open – would have a big impact,” Ryan Thorson, business promotions manager for the store, said.