After what turned out to be a successful, well attended first day in July, Open Streets Brandon is having a second day on Sunday, August 16.
From 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Lorne Avenue from Stanley Park to Rideau Park will turn into a car-free space. There will also be live music, interactive booths, and children’s activities.
“The first open streets, we were not sure what to expect and it turned out better than we imagined,” said Emmy Sanderson, Executive Director of Brandon Downtown BIZ. “There were lots of people out. It was really a hot day but people still came out. I myself had a great time going up the road. There were lots of kids activities. The first event was really a proof of concept, like, ok, yes this works!”
Other cities have tried similar concepts and found them very well received, and the opening day of Brandon’s Open Streets pilot project was similarly well received.
“It’s such a neat community builder,” Sanderson said. “For me, with Downtown BIZ, anything that brings people downtown and builds community is what kind of feeds my soul. What I loved about the open streets was people coming down, walking, and running into people they knew and connecting and having conversations in a different sort of space.”
The pilot project was also a showcase of how walkable downtown Brandon can be. With that stretch of Lorne Avenue closed to vehicle traffic, people walking, cycling, or even rollerblading found it an easy area to navigate.
“From personal experience, I live in the core neighbourhood and work downtown, and walkability was one of my big attractions to being in that neighbourhood,” said Sanderson. “It’s great in the summer. I think anybody that rides a bike in Brandon will admit that biking is hard. I know we have bike paths, but if you want to bike to work or bike to school, it’s not always easy. Active transportation is something that is really important to a lot of people and something that there’s really room for growth in Brandon.”
The next Open Streets day in Brandon is scheduled for September 13.
