THUNDER BAY – Making downtown neighbourhoods friendly to pedestrian traffic could not only be good for the environment and health. It could be good for business, too.
Harkening back to the high foot traffic that accompanied commercial success in downtown Port Arthur over the 1970s, North Core business leaders have been exploring walkability as a path to rekindling the neighbourhood.
“Everybody is so hung up on parking right out front of your door,” said Waterfront District Business Improvement Area chairman Jim Comuzzi.
“We in the BIA really feel the walkability pedestrian traffic is really what enhances our business downtown.”
In 2015, the Waterfront BIA connected with 8-80 Cities, a Toronto-based, non-profit group that advises municipalities on ways to foster pedestrian-friendly areas for people aged eight to 80 years. The firm partnered with EcoSuperior to host Open Streets Thunder Bay, before funding for the program ended in 2015.
Comuzzi presented an update at the July 18 city council meeting, advising elected leaders on the BIA’s priorities within the city’s 2015-2018 Strategic Plan.
He fears he may have spooked municipal leaders, however, when he mentioned the walkability consulting price tag.
“I wasn’t really asking the city for $85,000,” he said.
“What I wanted to do was raise awareness to the city that we have these programs in place that we can work in conjunction with the Transit Master Plan and tourism and all the other city departments and we can focus on this as part of our strategic plan going forward to make us a more walkable district.”
Some factors are already working in the neighbourhood’s favour when it comes to walkability. Comuzzi listed Magnus Theatre, Theatre In the Park and other festivals at the waterfront as draws that help contribute to the area’s business livelihood.
The BIA is currently surveying the 132 local companies that make up its membership to determine what kinds of initiatives they would support to stimulate walking traffic. Comuzzi hoping to partner with the city and the private sector as he hopes to bring walkability experts on board when priorities are clear.
“We’d like to find different departments in the city that want to join with us; different focus groups that want to join us in revitalization of downtown,” Comuzzi said.
“Whether we get sponsorship dollars from the big corporations to help us raise these funds, those are really the things we have to look at in the short term in order to get 8-80 up here and start to work on our plan.”
