From Kingston to Gatineau, cities are grappling with how to close streets

It's been a contentious debate in Ottawa since the early days of the pandemic: whether streets should be closed to vehicles so that people can get outside safely, and if so, where and when that should happen.

But that debate's not just taking place in the nation's capital.

Elsewhere in eastern Ontario and western Quebec, communities are grappling with similar questions about how to parcel out public space in the COVID-19 era.

Here's what a handful of municipalities are doing.

Kingston

Kingston, Ont., has decided to close sections of four streets to vehicles starting June 22, while also allowing businesses to take over adjacent parking spaces for patios or other purposes.

Princess Street, a bustling downtown thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants, will see a single-lane closure stretch for eight blocks — similar to what some in Ottawa had hoped would happen on Bank Street.

Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson said the city's compact downtown core has meant both pedestrians and businesses were feeling "a bit constrained" by the need to physically distance.

"We're taking a very detailed, very specific approach where each block that we're closing is going to be specifically designed," Paterson told CBC Radio's All In A Day Friday.

"If you've got restaurants, then we'll have space for extended patios. If you've got stores, we'll have space for retail displays. We're trying to really create each block as we go."

The city — which as of Friday had no active confirmed cases of COVID-19 — will also be "animating the space" with musicians and public art, said Paterson, who added he wasn't too concerned about large crowds.

"People will adapt. And we won't get to a place where there's just too many people in one space."

Gatineau

Gatineau, Que., has plans to modify traffic on rue Jacques-Cartier between boulevard Gréber and rue Saint-Louis, but that may not be the end of it.

There are other stretches being considered, including a partial or full closure of a few blocks of rue Prinicipale, which runs through the commercial heart of the city's Aylmer district.

For Coun. Audrey Bureau, who represents the district and supports the idea, it will be important to first get buy-in from the neighbourhood's businesses.

One way to do that, she said, could involve figuring out a way to attract the crowds that have been congregating near the Aylmer Marina as Quebec loosens its physical distancing rules.

"We need to be cautious of the fact that we have some businesses on the street that are already going through a very stressful period," Bureau said.

"So we need to really consult [with] them and make sure that if we do this, we do it the right way."

There's currently no date set for Gatineau's street closures.

Elsewhere

In Cornwall, Ont., city staff prepared a report that looked into whether it made sense to close a downtown stretch of Pitt Street between First and Third streets until Labour Day.

The report said many business owners who weighed in online were opposed to the idea, claiming that more parking spaces would be of "greater assistance."

Cornwall Transit also opposed the plan, citing disruptions to bus routes and a requirement to move its downtown terminal.

City council accepted the report at its last meeting, without voting on it.

No firm decisions around street closures have been made in Pembroke, Ont., one way or the other, according to Heather Sutherland, the city's economic development and tourism officer.

"We have just started our discussions on economic recovery and are compiling ideas," Sutherland wrote in an email to CBC News. "So at this point, I can't say what tentative plans we might have."