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Downtown and the Public Realm

Chapter 17The 2nd Avenue East Seasonal Pilot

6,047 words · Mike Seiler · Owen Sound, Ontario

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A downtown street serves many purposes at the same time.

It moves vehicles.

It carries deliveries.

It provides parking.

It connects businesses.

It provides sidewalks.

It creates public space.

It affects residents living above and behind storefronts.

It provides emergency access.

And sometimes, for a few hours or a few days, it becomes something completely different.

A festival.

A market.

A patio district.

A place for music.

A place where children can move freely.

A place where people stop instead of simply passing through.

My existing proposal suggests testing a seasonal pedestrian-oriented section of 2nd Avenue East rather than immediately making a permanent change.

The word pilot is important.

This should not begin as a declaration that cars are bad.

It should not begin as a declaration that pedestrianization will automatically save downtown.

It should not begin as a permanent street closure disguised as a trial.

It should begin with a question:

Would temporarily changing the way part of 2nd Avenue East is used create enough additional public and economic value to justify the inconvenience and cost?

We can answer that question by testing it.

The pilot should therefore be:

temporary;

reversible;

measurable;

accessible;

business-aware;

resident-aware;

transparent about its costs;

willing to change when evidence says change is needed.

The objective is not to prove that the idea was right.

The objective is to discover whether it works.

17.1Begin With the Problem

Before closing any portion of a street, identify what problem the pilot is attempting to solve.

Possible objectives may include:

Those objectives are related, but they are not identical.

The City should publish the pilot's intended outcomes before it begins.

Otherwise, almost any result can later be described as success.

The Pilot Question

A simple version could be:

Can a carefully managed seasonal pedestrian area on 2nd Avenue East increase downtown activity and business opportunity without creating unacceptable problems for residents, businesses, accessibility, traffic, parking, deliveries or emergency services?

That is a question we can measure.

17.2A Pilot, Not a Permanent Closure

The first season should have a clearly defined beginning and end.

For example, Council might eventually approve a specific summer period or selected recurring days after consultation and operational review.

The final dates should not be chosen in this plan before affected businesses, residents and municipal departments are heard.

Before the Pilot Begins, Publish

Start date

End date

Days of the week

Operating hours

Exact street limits

Vehicle rules

Delivery rules

Parking changes

Emergency access

Transit changes

Accessible routes

Event calendar

How the pilot can be modified

How the pilot can be stopped

Residents should know exactly what is being tested.

17.3Define the Pilot Area Carefully

The phrase "close 2nd Avenue East" is too broad.

The City should determine:

Start Smaller Than the Maximum

The first pilot should generally use the smallest area capable of answering the question.

A smaller pilot:

If the pilot works, it can expand later.

If it fails, the City has learned without redesigning half the downtown.

17.4Directly Affected Businesses

Businesses on the pilot blocks will experience the change more directly than almost anyone else.

Some may see opportunity.

Others may see risk.

Both deserve to be heard.

Before Final Design, Ask Each Directly Affected Business

The City should not assume that every restaurant supports pedestrianization.

Nor should it assume that every retailer opposes it.

Ask.

17.5Directly Affected Residents

People also live downtown.

Their concerns may include:

Residents should have a separate consultation stream.

A business survey cannot stand in for residential consultation.

Resident Question

What would make the pilot improve your neighbourhood rather than simply create an event outside your window?

That should be taken seriously.

17.6Wider Downtown Businesses

Businesses one or two blocks away may also experience substantial effects.

Traffic may shift.

Parking demand may move.

Pedestrians may move.

Events may benefit one block more than another.

Consultation should therefore include the wider downtown.

Measure Spillover

A successful pilot should not merely move customers from one downtown block to another while creating the appearance of growth.

Where possible, evaluate whether the downtown as a whole receives additional activity.

17.7City-Wide Residents

Downtown streets are public assets.

City-wide residents therefore also have a legitimate interest.

The Resident Pulse system can be used to ask:

But directly affected business and resident feedback should be reported separately.

A city-wide majority should not erase a serious operational problem carried almost entirely by one group.

17.8The Both-Sides Standard

Before Council approves the pilot, publish the strongest reasonable case for and against it.

The Case For May Include

The Case Against May Include

Neither side should be mocked.

The point of a pilot is that both sets of concerns may contain truth.

Directly affected businesses should have a strong voice.

They should not automatically receive a private veto over a public street.

Likewise, City Hall should not ignore them because the street is publicly owned.

The correct approach is:

The City makes the public decision after giving greater weight to those carrying the most direct operational consequences.

If a substantial majority of directly affected businesses identifies the same practical flaw, Council should pay close attention.

If the problem can be redesigned, redesign it.

If it cannot, that may weigh strongly against proceeding.

17.10Deliveries

A retail and restaurant district cannot operate without deliveries.

This should be solved before the barriers arrive.

Map Every Major Delivery Requirement

Consider:

Potential Solutions

Depending upon the street configuration:

Do Not Create Conflict by Surprise

Suppliers also need notice.

A business may understand the pilot perfectly while its delivery truck arrives Monday morning and discovers it can no longer reach the normal entrance.

Clear communication is operational infrastructure.

17.11Curbside Pickup

Some businesses depend upon customers being able to stop briefly.

The pilot should identify alternative curbside pickup locations where necessary.

A customer picking up:

may have very different needs from someone spending an afternoon walking downtown.

Pedestrian-friendly should not mean hostile to every short vehicle trip.

17.12Accessible Drop-Off

Accessible parking and drop-off deserve particular attention.

A pedestrian street can be physically pleasant for someone who can comfortably walk several blocks while creating a new barrier for someone who cannot.

Before the pilot:

Accessibility Standard

A pilot should not be declared more accessible simply because cars were removed.

Accessibility must be evaluated as the complete trip:

arrival, route, destination, washroom, return.

People with lived experience should participate directly in the design.

17.13Emergency Access

Fire, police, paramedics and other emergency services must be involved before the street configuration is approved.

The pilot must preserve:

Movable Barriers

During a pilot, barriers should generally be capable of being removed quickly by authorized personnel.

Decorative infrastructure should never compromise emergency response.

Emergency access is a condition of the pilot.

Not a problem to solve afterwards.

17.14Fire Safety

Street activation can introduce:

Appropriate fire requirements should be established in advance.

Small businesses and community groups should receive a clear checklist rather than being expected to interpret multiple regulations on their own.

Safety rules should be understandable enough that people can actually follow them.

17.15Traffic

Closing a street does not eliminate the vehicles that would otherwise use it.

It moves them.

The pilot should therefore monitor surrounding streets.

Before the Pilot

Establish baseline traffic information where practical.

During the Pilot

Observe:

Ask

Did traffic:

A downtown pilot cannot be evaluated only from inside the barriers.

17.16Parking

Parking should be measured before opinions harden into facts.

Establish the Baseline

Identify:

During the Pilot

Measure:

The Parking Question

If 20 parking spaces are temporarily removed but 150 nearby spaces remain routinely available, that tells us something.

If nearby parking is consistently full and customers cannot access businesses, that tells us something else.

Use the actual conditions.

17.17Employee Parking

Employees may occupy parking differently from customers.

The pilot should work with downtown employers to identify whether longer-duration employee parking can be shifted to appropriate locations so high-turnover spaces remain available for customers and accessible users.

This should be voluntary or implemented through appropriate parking policy.

Employees should not simply be told to park farther away without considering:

17.18Transit

Transit operations must be considered before street access changes.

Questions include:

A pedestrian pilot should ideally improve downtown access without making public transit less convenient.

17.19Cycling

Cycling should be considered explicitly.

A pedestrian space may:

The rule should be clear before the pilot begins.

Bicycle Parking

If the pilot is encouraging active transportation, provide practical places to secure bicycles.

The street should not become crowded with bicycles chained to:

Plan for the behaviour being encouraged.

17.20Weather

A Canadian pedestrian pilot must survive more than perfect Saturday weather.

The pilot should monitor use during:

Provide Basic Comfort

Where possible:

Do not judge the pilot entirely from one spectacular festival day.

And do not judge it entirely from one rainy Tuesday.

Measure the season.

17.21Seating

A pedestrian street without places to stop becomes a wider sidewalk.

The pilot should include movable seating.

Possible types:

Keep a Clear Route

Furniture must not block:

The layout should be observed in real use.

If everyone keeps moving the chairs to another location, the public may be teaching us where the seating actually belongs.

17.22Shade

Temporary shade can be tested through:

Permanent structures should wait until the City understands where people actually gather.

Pilot first.

Build later.

17.23Planters and Beautification

Temporary planters can:

They also require:

Before buying dozens, know who owns those responsibilities.

Beautification should not create a summer maintenance burden nobody budgeted for.

17.24Patios

Restaurants and cafés may benefit significantly from additional outdoor space.

The pilot should create clear temporary patio rules where lawful.

Consider:

Fair Opportunity

The pilot should not be designed only around restaurants.

Retailers, service businesses and residents also use the street.

Patios can be important without allowing one type of business to privatize most of the public area.

17.25Retail Spill-Out

Suitable retailers could potentially use limited space outside their storefronts for:

Rules should address:

The process should be simple enough that a small business can participate.

17.26Pop-Up Vendors

Temporary vendors may increase activity.

They can also create concern among permanent businesses paying downtown rent and taxes.

Balance

Pop-up activity should complement rather than unnecessarily undercut existing businesses.

Consider:

Permanent businesses should be consulted on the vendor framework.

A pilot intended to support downtown should not accidentally create subsidized competition directly outside an existing shop selling the same product.

17.27Events

Events can help test the pedestrian environment.

But the pilot should not be evaluated only during events.

Programming could include:

Event Versus Street

Measure two different things:

Event attendance

and

ordinary pedestrian street use.

A successful concert does not automatically prove a daily road closure is successful.

17.28Quiet Days

Intentionally include days with little or no programming.

This is important.

Ask:

Does the space function when City Hall is not entertaining people?

If the street is lively only when substantial public money is spent on events, permanent pedestrianization may require a very different business case.

17.29Evening Use

A street can change substantially after businesses close.

Monitor evening conditions.

Questions include:

The pilot should have defined operating rules rather than assuming daytime conditions continue into the evening.

17.30Nighttime Noise

Residents living downtown deserve predictable expectations.

Event rules should establish:

A successful pedestrian street should not require nearby residents to sacrifice sleep throughout the summer.

Downtown housing and downtown activity need each other.

17.31Public Washrooms

The pilot should not increase downtown activity without considering washroom capacity.

Map:

For major event days, determine whether additional facilities are required.

Washrooms are part of the operating plan.

17.32Waste

Additional activity creates additional waste.

Before the pilot begins, identify:

Clean at Opening

Each morning, the pilot area should begin in a reasonable condition.

If expanded public use makes the street visibly dirtier, address the operating problem rather than accepting deterioration as the price of activity.

17.33Maintenance

The pilot infrastructure itself requires maintenance.

That may include:

Assign responsibility before purchasing anything.

A temporary pilot can still create permanent storage and maintenance costs if equipment remains afterwards.

17.34Public Art

Temporary public art could help make the pilot distinctive.

Possible forms:

Temporary work gives artists freedom to experiment without requiring every piece to become permanent.

17.35Children

One of the strongest tests of a pedestrian environment may be whether families use it.

Possible low-cost activities:

Children should still have appropriate boundaries from:

A pedestrian street is not automatically a playground.

It can safely support play when designed accordingly.

17.36Seniors

Seniors may benefit from:

They may also be more affected by:

Consult them directly.

A pilot should never claim to serve seniors without asking seniors whether it actually does.

17.37People With Disabilities

People with disabilities should participate in:

Review

Temporary installations frequently create barriers unintentionally.

That is exactly why people with lived experience should review them.

17.38Business Sales

One of the most important questions will be:

What happened to business?

The City should invite participating businesses to voluntarily report change.

Because private sales information is commercially sensitive, individual figures should not be published without consent.

Possible Anonymous Measures

Businesses could report whether sales during pilot periods were:

Businesses willing to provide more detailed confidential information could contribute to an aggregated analysis.

Compare Carefully

Sales vary because of:

The City should not claim the pilot caused every change.

Use several measures together.

17.39Customer Counts

Businesses may also voluntarily track:

These can sometimes provide more useful information than sales alone.

Again, aggregate where appropriate.

Protect private business information.

17.40Pedestrian Counts

The City should establish baseline pedestrian counts at selected locations before the pilot.

Then repeat them during comparable periods.

Count Without Tracking People

The objective is to understand movement.

Not identity.

Use methods that do not unnecessarily identify or profile individuals.

Possible measures:

Comparison Locations

Where practical, include nearby streets not directly inside the pilot.

This can help determine whether activity increased overall or simply shifted.

17.41Length of Stay

If residents spend more time downtown, that may matter economically and socially.

Length of stay can be explored through voluntary surveys rather than intrusive tracking.

Ask:

How long did you spend downtown today?

and:

Would you normally have stayed this long?

Simple questions can provide useful information without monitoring individual phones.

17.42Visitor Origin

A voluntary survey can ask whether visitors came from:

This helps understand whether the pilot attracts new visitors.

No precise home address is necessary.

17.43How People Arrived

Ask:

This provides useful transportation information without making assumptions about how people access downtown.

17.44Business Perception

At the beginning, middle and end of the pilot, ask affected businesses the same core questions.

For example:

Customer Access

Better, same or worse?

Sales

Better, same or worse?

Deliveries

Better, manageable or worse?

Parking

Better, same or worse?

Atmosphere

Better, same or worse?

Overall

Should the pilot:

Repeated questions allow movement in opinion to be measured.

17.45Resident Perception

Repeat a similar process with residents living in or immediately adjacent to the pilot.

Ask about:

Again, separate this from the city-wide survey.

Those experiencing the street every day deserve to be visible as their own group.

17.46Cost

The complete cost of the pilot should be published.

Include:

Contributions

Also identify:

Net City Cost

Residents should be able to see what the pilot actually cost municipal taxpayers.

17.47Do Not Hide Staff Time

A pilot may appear inexpensive because most work is performed by existing City employees.

That time still has value.

Where material, report staff involvement.

This does not mean every hour must be converted into a fictional savings calculation.

It means the City should understand the operational demand being created.

If permanent pedestrianization requires substantial recurring staff time, that becomes part of the long-term decision.

17.48Business Benefit Does Not Need to Equal City Revenue

A successful downtown pilot may not create direct municipal revenue.

Its benefits may include:

That can still represent legitimate public value.

The question is whether those benefits justify:

17.49The Mid-Pilot Review

Do not wait until the end of the season to admit a problem.

Establish a formal mid-pilot review.

Review

Possible Responses

Continue unchanged

The pilot is operating as intended.

Modify

Change:

Reduce

Shorten the area or operating period.

Pause

Temporarily reopen while a serious issue is corrected.

End Early

If the pilot is causing substantial harm that cannot reasonably be corrected.

This is not failure.

This is why we ran a pilot.

17.50Stop Conditions

Council should approve objective conditions under which administration can recommend or implement urgent changes.

Possible examples include:

Commercial concerns may require Council judgment rather than automatic closure because business outcomes are more difficult to measure immediately.

The principle remains:

A pilot should never become too politically important to change.

17.51No Moving the Goalposts

The City should publish success indicators before the pilot begins.

Possible indicators include:

Pedestrian Activity

Did it increase?

Business

What did participating businesses report?

Public Use

Did people spend time in the area?

Accessibility

Were identified barriers manageable?

Parking

Did surrounding capacity remain workable?

Deliveries

Could businesses operate?

Residents

What was the effect on people living nearby?

Traffic

Did unacceptable problems move elsewhere?

Cost

What did the pilot require?

Public Support

What do different affected groups think after experiencing it?

No single target should automatically determine the outcome.

The evidence should be considered together.

17.52Success Does Not Automatically Mean Permanent Closure

Suppose the pilot performs exceptionally well.

The next question is not automatically:

How quickly can we rebuild the street permanently?

There may be several successful models.

Seasonal Closure

Open to pedestrians during summer.

Normal street during winter.

Weekend Closure

Pedestrian use at predictable weekly times.

Evening Closure

Traffic during business deliveries, public space later.

Event-Based Closure

Only close for scheduled events.

Shared Street

Redesign to allow slow vehicles and stronger pedestrian priority.

Permanent Pedestrian Street

The most significant option.

The pilot should teach us which model best fits Owen Sound.

17.53Failure Does Not Mean Pedestrian Public Space Is a Bad Idea

If the first configuration fails, understand why.

Perhaps:

Or perhaps the street simply functions better carrying vehicles.

That is also possible.

The purpose of evaluation is to distinguish:

bad idea

from

bad design

from

wrong location

from

wrong timing.

17.54A Control Comparison

Where practical, compare the pilot period with:

Municipal evaluation will never be laboratory science.

A reasonable comparison still improves confidence.

17.55Independent Review

If the pilot becomes highly controversial, consider having the final data review validated by an independent party.

This does not necessarily require an expensive consultant.

The City may be able to use:

The objective is public confidence in the numbers.

17.56Publish the Raw Summary

At the end of the pilot, residents should be able to see the core information without reading a promotional report.

Publish

Pilot dates

Street area

Operating days

City cost

Pedestrian counts

Business feedback

Resident feedback

Parking

Traffic

Accessibility

Emergency-service feedback

Complaints

Positive comments

Changes made during pilot

Staff recommendation

Then allow Council to decide.

17.57No Marketing Report

The final report should contain a permanent section titled:

What Did Not Work

Include:

Then:

What Worked

Then:

What We Would Change

Then:

Recommendation

This aligns with the Open Government standard established earlier.

A public pilot should produce public learning.

17.58The Business Question Comes First

A pedestrian street filled with people while directly affected permanent businesses are materially harmed would require serious reconsideration.

Downtown revitalization should strengthen the permanent downtown economy.

That does not mean every business must experience higher sales.

Individual results vary.

But a pattern of significant harm among affected businesses cannot simply be dismissed because visitors liked the atmosphere.

Likewise

If a few businesses oppose the pilot but the broader evidence shows:

Council should not automatically abandon the concept.

Use evidence.

Not the loudest individual voice.

17.59Hospitality Cannot Be the Only Measure

Restaurants and patios may benefit more obviously from pedestrian space.

Retail and professional services may experience different results.

Evaluation should separate business categories where privacy and sample size allow.

Otherwise a strong patio season could hide problems experienced by other businesses.

17.60Private Property Remains Private

A pedestrian pilot increases public activity outside private businesses.

It does not give the City control over private storefronts.

Businesses remain responsible for their own:

The City manages the public street.

Not the private business.

17.61Street Performers

The pilot could establish simple rules for busking and small performances.

Rules might address:

The process should not be so complicated that spontaneous small-scale performance becomes impossible.

Public space benefits from some unpredictability.

17.62Public Expression

A pedestrian street remains public space.

Residents may:

Rules should remain behaviour-based and viewpoint-neutral.

A commercial activation program should not turn a public street into a privately controlled shopping environment.

17.63Sponsorship

Businesses or organizations may wish to sponsor:

Sponsorship should be transparent.

It should not provide the sponsor with control over:

The street belongs to the public.

17.64No Personal Tracking

Evaluation should not rely on invasive tracking of individual phones or personal movements.

There is a large difference between:

How many people entered this area?

and:

Which specific people entered, where did they go and what did they buy?

The first may be useful public information.

The second is not necessary for this pilot.

Use:

Privacy should be designed into the evaluation.

17.65Photography and Promotion

The City may photograph public events for ordinary municipal communication.

Event photography should follow normal privacy and communication practices.

The pilot should not become a database of identifiable visitors.

Marketing is secondary.

The first job is to operate the street well.

17.66Public Information

Before launch, create one clear information page.

It should answer:

What Is Happening?

Where?

When?

Can I Still Drive Downtown?

Where Can I Park?

Where Is Accessible Parking?

Where Are Deliveries Made?

Where Are Washrooms?

Are Businesses Open?

How Do I Reach the Area by Transit?

What Events Are Happening?

How Do I Provide Feedback?

A business owner should be able to send one link to a confused customer.

17.67Signs

Temporary signs should be:

Avoid excessive signs that make the area feel like a construction zone.

Wayfinding Should Identify

The pilot should make downtown easier to understand, not harder.

17.68Construction and the Pilot

Do not schedule a major pedestrian pilot during unnecessary conflicting construction if it can reasonably be avoided.

If construction is unavoidable, distinguish its effects from pilot effects.

A retailer who loses access because of simultaneous sewer construction should not have that entire sales decline attributed to pedestrianization.

Good evaluation requires context.

17.69Downtown Calendar

The pilot period should be coordinated with:

The objective is to create a coherent downtown season rather than multiple disconnected event calendars.

17.70Connection to the Civic Square

The Civic Square and pedestrian pilot should reinforce one another.

A resident might:

  1. visit the market;
  2. walk the pedestrian area;
  3. visit a business;
  4. continue toward the river;
  5. stop for food;
  6. return to the Civic Square for music.

That is more powerful than one isolated closed block.

Think in routes.

Not individual projects.

17.71Connection to the River

2nd Avenue East should also be considered in relation to the Sydenham River.

The pedestrian pilot should ask:

This will become part of the River as Civic Spine strategy in the next section.

17.72Connection to Owen Sound Outside

The future Owen Sound Outside program could use downtown as a starting or ending location for:

The pilot street could become part of that route.

Recreation should help create repeat downtown activity rather than exist as an entirely separate municipal program.

17.73Connection to Shop Local

During the pilot, make local businesses easy to discover.

A simple map could show:

Avoid paid ranking.

Every eligible participating business should have fair visibility.

The purpose is to help people explore.

17.74Four-Season Question

The first pedestrian pilot may reasonably focus on warmer months.

But if the concept succeeds, eventually ask:

What parts of this idea work in winter?

The answer may not be a winter street closure.

It could be:

Owen Sound should not design downtown solely around July.

17.75Insurance and Risk

Before launch, complete appropriate municipal risk and insurance review.

Consider:

Risk management should help make the pilot safe.

It should not become a reason to make public life impossible.

The proper question is:

How do we do this responsibly?

17.76Barriers

Vehicle barriers deserve careful design.

They must:

Temporary traffic-control equipment may not be visually beautiful.

Safety comes first.

If the pilot later becomes recurring, more attractive infrastructure can be considered.

17.77Security

Most pilot days should not require extraordinary security.

Larger events may.

Security planning should be proportional to:

The pilot should not feel like a controlled compound.

It should feel like a public street being used differently.

17.78Enforcement

Rules should be understandable.

If vehicles are prohibited during certain hours, clearly show those hours.

If deliveries are allowed until 10 a.m., make that clear.

If cycling rules change within the area, post them.

Enforcement should begin with communication where reasonable.

Repeated or dangerous violations may require formal enforcement.

17.79The First 100 Days

The pilot should not be rushed into operation simply to say it happened.

1. Establish Pilot Working Group

Include appropriate representatives from:

2. Define the Problem

Publish the purpose of the pilot.

3. Select Candidate Blocks

Develop options.

4. Map Operations

Identify:

5. Establish Baseline

Collect:

6. Design Temporary Layout

Prefer reversible infrastructure.

7. Cost the Pilot

Publish the complete municipal cost.

8. Establish Success Measures

Before launch.

9. Establish Stop Conditions

Before launch.

10. Council Decision

Approve the specific pilot only after the design and evidence are public.

17.80First Pilot Season

During the first season:

Week One

Observe intensely.

Problems will appear quickly.

Early Adjustment

Correct obvious operational issues.

Monthly Review

Track:

Mid-Pilot Review

Make larger changes if required.

Final Weeks

Repeat baseline measures.

End Date

Reopen the street according to the approved schedule.

Do not quietly extend the pilot because it appears popular.

If Council approved an end date, honour it unless Council openly changes the decision.

That preserves public trust.

17.81After the Pilot

Within a defined period, publish the evaluation.

Then Council chooses among:

End

Return to normal street use.

Repeat

Run another similar pilot.

Modify

Change:

Expand

Increase the pilot carefully.

Develop a Shared-Street Concept

Explore more permanent mixed use.

Investigate Permanent Pedestrianization

Only after strong evidence supports moving into formal design and capital planning.

No automatic outcome.

17.82Permanent Change Requires a New Decision

If future Council wishes to permanently alter the street, that should be treated as a new capital and transportation decision.

It should include:

Temporary planters and chairs do not answer those questions.

A successful pilot earns the right to study permanence.

It does not predetermine it.

17.83What Success Might Look Like

A successful first pilot could reasonably show a combination of:

Not every indicator needs to be perfect.

The question is whether the total public benefit exceeds the total burden.

17.84What Failure Might Look Like

The pilot should also be considered unsuccessful if evidence shows patterns such as:

A failed pilot is not wasted money if the cost was controlled and the lesson prevents a much larger permanent mistake.

That is exactly what pilots are for.

17.85The Political Test

This section needs one final safeguard.

If the pilot is proposed by the Mayor, the Mayor should be willing to accept evidence that contradicts the proposal.

The public should never be placed in the position where City staff feel pressure to produce numbers proving the Mayor's idea succeeded.

The question is not:

Was Mike right?

The question is:

Did this help downtown Owen Sound?

That is the only result that matters.

The 2nd Avenue East Commitment

I believe 2nd Avenue East is worth testing as a more pedestrian-oriented public space during part of the year.

I do not believe residents or businesses should be asked to accept a permanent street change based only on theory.

So the commitment is:

Consult the people who live and work there.

Define the pilot area precisely.

Start small.

Set an end date.

Solve deliveries before closing the street.

Protect accessible access.

Protect emergency access.

Measure parking and traffic.

Measure pedestrian activity.

Ask businesses what happened to business.

Ask residents what happened to their neighbourhood.

Publish every City cost.

Include quiet days so we learn whether the street works without constant programming.

Make changes during the pilot when needed.

Stop early if a serious problem cannot be corrected.

Publish what failed as clearly as what succeeded.

Reopen the street on the promised date.

Then decide whether the idea deserves another season.

A pilot is not a promise that the street will close.

It is a promise that we are willing to test an idea carefully enough to learn the truth.

If it makes downtown stronger, build on it.

If it needs adjustment, adjust it.

If it does not work, end it.

Try it. Measure it. Listen. Change it. Keep only what makes downtown better.

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