The City of Peterborough is reviewing the experiences had by residents and businesses during the temporary public space changes made in the downtown core from June to October 2020.
Those changes included reducing lanes on George and Water streets to accommodate more patio and sidewalk space for physical distancing during the summer and early fall months of the coronavirus pandemic.
During that period, the city had installed white bollards along the streets to add the increased sidewalk space, which in some parts reduced traffic lanes to one, created two temporary one-way streets, and removed some on-street parking.
Those changes were made in consultation with Peterborough Public Health and the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA).
As part of the planning for the changes to support public health measures that were put in place by the province, the city considered priorities including vehicle, pedestrian and cycling traffic, business activity including patios, parking and accessibility.
“The lead up time is very key. When you have a lot of time, you have time to get feedback from the community. You’re not making snap decisions and it makes it less confusing for everyone. I’m glad we’re doing it in February, so when it’s warmer, we’ll be ready to roll,” said coun. Kemi Akapo.
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“Unfortunately, we likely won’t be out of the woods in the summer. Some precautions will need to be taken and good planning will help with that.”
The online survey, which opened Monday, asks 11 questions, including what activities residents did in the downtown during that period, what mode of transportation was used to travel through the area, and if they thought the measures were adequate for physical distancing, cycling and vehicle traffic.
The contributions from the public consultation, including comments provided through the survey, will be presented in a report to council in April.
This will help inform council on what to do should public health measures be similar this upcoming summer.
Last week, the DBIA commissioned its own study and report on the 2020 measures and found 62 per cent of respondents indicated some level of support for similar public space changes this year, if needed.
It also found that the expanded space was crucial for businesses to survive when indoor dining is limited with half of the restaurant owners who responded indicating they would have had to close if they couldn’t expand outdoors.
“We wanted an opportunity to capture what the pros and cons were,” said DBIA executive director Terry Guiel. “The most important (change) is communication. I think the city is doing a great approach this time by reaching out to the general public. We want to hear the broader scope of the changes we made and how we can improve them.”
Guiel tells Global News Peterborough the number one complaint the DBIA heard was how confusing the downtown measures were in 2020.
“That might lead to actually painting the road. This was a recommendation we put forth last year that wasn’t followed. We think the road should be painted to make it easier to know where to park,” he said.
Guiel also said the downtown needs more delivery and pick-up zones, which he called essential as well as more flexibility for restaurants to expand outdoors.
The DBIA presented its report to the city last week.
“The lessons learned from last year, is going to be very important going forward,” said coun. Dean Pappas. “We need to learn from those lessons. Downtown is not a place where a one-size fits all approach will work. We have a variety of shops, which gives us our uniqueness and strength. Any decision going forward will need to take that into account.”
“Not everyone needs a patio. Some need curbside pickup. So how do you facilitate that for one business and give a patio to another. So a one-size fits all doesn’t work.”
The survey is open until Feb. 15.
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