Summer-long Osborne pedestrian mall touted

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This article was published 02/07/2019 (2437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every summer weekend could be like Canada Day in Osborne Village, as local retailers consider turning Osborne Street into a pedestrian mall more often.

On Sunday and Monday, Osborne Street was closed to vehicles between River and Stradbrook avenues, welcoming an estimated 70,000 people for the Canada Day Street Festival.

Derek Collins, owner of PK Sports Pub and the Poutine King, was excited to open a giant outdoor patio for his first street festival since his business launched in October. But, he wondered, why stop there?

“Why don’t we do this for the summertime?” Collins said.

“Why don’t we ask the city to block from River to Stradbrook, and all the restaurants and bars could have permanent patios?”

He pitched the idea to the Osborne Village BIZ, which is excited to explore the idea of holding the patio party every summer weekend.

“There’s this community, festive atmosphere that comes from having street closures,” said BIZ chairman Justin Paquin.

“Whenever you close down a street and you allow the community to walk and enjoy the area, it really promotes the retail, it promotes the restaurant industry, and it creates a central hub for everyone to come and enjoy.”

Paquin cited pedestrian malls in Montreal, Calgary and Toronto as examples Winnipeg could follow. Coun. Sherri Rollins, who represents the area, added Quebec City to the list.

“Holy cow, yes,” Rollins said when asked about the idea. She spent the afternoon at the street festival, tweeting pictures of the inaugural Great Canadian Patriotic Pet Parade and other events. “In other cities, days like today are every day, every weekend,” she said.

“This type of feel is something we should be aiming for, not just on the national party day, Canada Day, but on the weekend when folks want a beautiful space to walk, take their bikes, shop, have a meal.”

When the street festival opened Monday, revellers began enjoying the kilometre-long street that was packed with patios outside the restaurants and bars, and street vendors selling their wares.

“It’s nice, with kids, to have somewhere we can sit and be outside,” said Amanda Jorundson.

“There’s not a lot of outdoor seating options in this entire area (so) having something like this would be beneficial,” said Justin Livingstone. “You’ve got four yeays here.”

“And three more from the kids,” Jorundson added for their group of two couples and three kids.

As of July 1, Brian Timmerman is the executive director of the Osborne Biz. He’s worked for the Winnipeg Police Service and numerous Winnipeg BIZ organizations. Paquin hopes he’ll advance the idea of closing Osborne Street more often.

Paquin said they’ll see if it’s feasible to close the streets for a party one weekend near the end of August. If not, they hope to try it out next year.

“We don’t see there being any reason why there can’t be a street closure on weekends, or at least a few weekends during the summer,” Paquin said.

tvanderhart@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @tessavanderhart