ELORA – Visitors and business owners loved that Metcalfe Street and West Mill Street in Elora were closed to vehicular traffic on weekends during the summers of the pandemic, but two years later there is mixed opinion on doing it again this summer.
Five community members delegated to council at its April 19 committee of the whole meeting on the issue and CAO Dan Wilson also presented council with a parking strategy report outlining how the program went and how staff sees it going forward.
The first bitter pill to swallow is the fact that Pearle Hospitality needs to start using its parking lot at 30 Carleton Place again.
Pearle had an agreement with the township that allowed the public to use the 61-space lot, but that agreement expires on July 1.
The parking lot will now be exclusively for Pearle’s staff and guests and that effectively reduces Elora’s parking capacity by 61 spots.
There are 50 on-street parking spaces on Metcalfe Street and 21 on West Mill. Four vehicles can park on the road allowance on Carleton Place, so altogether a net increase of 14 spots if the streets are left open.
A survey by the Elora BIA indicates 52 per cent of respondents are in favour of regular weekend road closures; 27% support road closures for long weekends and special events only, and 21% do not support road closures at all.
Wayne Bridgman has a residence and business on Metcalfe Street, and he told council the road closures meant he lost access to his driveway.
That lost him some business from customers who couldn’t carry large or heavy items to their cars, and it was frustrating to have to compete with tourists for parking.
He said the road closures helped restaurants, who could spread their patios onto the road.
“But it was not an equal playing field,” he said. “You need to consider all the shops and not just restaurants. Keep our roads open.”
John Kears, whose wife Renata owns the Karger Gallery, said the street closures direct pedestrians to Metcalfe and West Mill and actually discourage them from visiting shops and restaurants on East Mill Street.
He said with street closures due to construction of the Badley Bridge in 2019 and then two years of pandemic impact, and proposed infrastructure work on East Mill Street slated for 2023, East Mill businesses need to have a good summer this year to help them weather another year of interruptions next year.
Conversely, Cathy Brosseau, owner of the Handsome Devil Bistro, spoke in favour of the road closures, as did Geoffrey Wilde at the Wilde Tart.
“The decision to close the street in 2020 and 2021 saved my business,” Brosseau said.
“And it’s something we still need. We’re not out of COVID yet.”
Katie Sewen said a positive side effect of the road closures was that local residents ventured downtown on weekends as well, instead of trying to avoid the tourists as they used to do.
Wilson’s parking report also recommended running a shuttle bus on weekends and holidays from Elements Casino, where there is plenty of parking, to a few locations in Elora and Fergus, including Victoria Park in Elora, downtown Elora, Bissell Park, the Wellington County Museum and Archives and a few locations in downtown Fergus and possibly the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex.
Councillors wrestled with the decision but ultimately decided to close the streets in Elora four weekends this summer and let the BIA decide which weekends would work best for members. They also approved the shuttle bus proposal.
Fergus didn’t have the same challenges as Elora with street closures and council also agreed to close Provost Lane from May to October as occurred the past two summers.
No parking spaces will be affected and the street served as an outdoor seating space with picnic tables and umbrellas.
