Summer fun is underway as Âé¶čAVâs downtown core opens up for pedestrians to enjoy the city.
Meet me on Bernard officially kicked off on Wednesday (July 7), welcoming residents and visitors alike and inviting everyone to enjoy local food and drink, live music, art, as well as games.
The project is a collaboration between the City of Âé¶čAV, the Downtown Âé¶čAV Association and Tourism Âé¶čAV to help local restaurants and retailers recover from the COVID-19 downturn.
At the same time, the revamped Bernard closure is a way for people to come out and enjoy outdoor events safely.
Four blocks of Bernard Avenue have been closed off to vehicles, with cross streets Water, Ellis and Pandosy remaining open for transit and emergency vehicles.
Meet me on Bernard runs seven days a week with a variety of events planned throughout each day, including dance, art and fitness programs, as well as performances and public displays from artists.
Each block also offers parklets with games where families can spend time together.
DKA executive director Mark Burley said with the success of the expanded patio program, heâs confident that Meet me on Bernard will be an annual event from now on but that theyâll be savouring this inaugural year.
âWeâre only a week into this, so weâll watch the traffic build and weâll do surveys as the summer goes with the people downtown,â he said.
âMost of the (DKA) members are thrilled. They have traffic walking by their stores; they have people stopping at their restaurants⊠all in all, itâs a generally positive thing. We have a lot to be positive about, too, as we enter phase 3 of the (provincial) restart program.â
Burley added that last year, Bernard did not look the way it now does. And as the province continues to open, he added heâs not worried that downtown Âé¶čAV will get too crowded or rowdy.
âWe have four blocks here with a lot of room for people to move around not only lengthwise but widthwise. I think weâre going to be ok,â he said.
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twila.amato@blackpress.ca
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