Traffic is rolling down Enderby‘s Cliff Avenue again. The city’s main street reopened to cars on Wednesday afternoon. A stretch of it had been closed since early April, when construction to revitalize the space began.
It’s a sign that the first phase of the city’s two phase, $1.895-million Cliff Avenue revitalization project is almost complete.
Work has been done to update the water, storm sewer and road infrastructure.
The community’s main street has also been given a facelift. The new street decor pays homage to the importance of the Shuswap River. The new sidewalk patterns are meant to remind you of flowing water and the outdoor seating is supposed to be reminiscent of rocks in a stream.
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“We hope to bring people into our downtown to strengthen our downtown core,” city councillor Brad Case said.
The street closure during construction meant traffic wasn’t flowing past some downtown stores.
“It has not been easy, but we do have a backdoor so we’ve been trying to get people to come that way,” downtown business owner Christine Ashton said.
“You don’t mind having a bit of a setback like that if it is going to be better in the future.”
Read More: Enderby revamping its downtown core
Some hope these upgrades are the start of a new trend.
While standing outside her salon looking out at the newly reopened street, Jennifer Thiessen agreed there is a renewed sense of optimism in the community.
“It has been on a bit of a downturn for a while but that has to happen before it can grow. I think there is a lot of new life coming in and I think Enderby is going to be booming,” Thiessen said.
The finishing touches will include installing light standards.
The second phase of construction concentrates on another section of Cliff Avenue and will begin in September.
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