Meet me on Bernard, next year: Popular Kelowna, B.C. program closes

Another summer of dining on and strolling down what’s usually one of Kelowna, B.C.’s busiest streets for car traffic has come to an end.

Meet me on Bernard, the program that shuts down four blocks of Bernard Avenue to motorists, is all but over with cleanup crews removing the remnants of its infrastructure throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.

Downtown Kelowna Association executive director Mark Burley said it was a slightly less busy year but overall a successful season.

“I think how expensive everything is in this province and country (contributed),” Burley said, referencing inflation issues slowing the number of people going to restaurants or shopping.

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On some days, however, it was simply the heat that had people headed indoors when they would have otherwise been eating outside on a patio.

These changes, however, were fairly subtle in the grand scheme of things and the DKA is currently working to suss out the full picture that faced business owners this year.

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“We are busy doing business engagement right now, up and down Bernard,” he said.

They’ve also already conducted an online survey, though they’ve yet to process that information. More information will likely be in front of council in March, when they consider opening up the street a bit early.

Overall, however, Burley said people liked it and he is the program’s biggest fan.

“I love it, I think it’s great for the city and we just need to get it right,” he said.

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“We were thrilled to have the Block Party back to fit it in this Meet Me on Bernard footprint after a two year absence,” he said.

“And I was thrilled with the Show and Shine on Bernard that was super well attended.”

With so many popular events and well loved eateries able to meet consumer demands, Burley said there was a lot to offer. Consistency, however, may be what they work on going forward, particularly in the further reaches of the street.

Down by Okanagan Lake there’s always a lot of traffic but in the 400 to 500 block of Bernard Avenue, things can be a little less animated.

That, he said, is something that will be closely looked at when they do a “deep dive” into their business engagement responses.