Business wants retail voices heard in core’s future development

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

One of Strathmore’s oldest businesses is challenging local politicians and town staff to make bolder efforts in consulting downtown retailers regarding changes to Strathmore’s core, specifically amendments to parking limitations.
Strathmore’s Florist owners Brian and Linda Code are still trying to recover from financial woes suffered because of last year’s downtown revitalization on Second Avenue – and they’re not the only ones.
With council’s suggestion of possibly changing downtown’s two-hour parking to three-hour parking, Brian Code addressed council on Feb. 7 to make sure his concerns were heard, retailers were included in decision making and to secure his business’s future.
“I respect council’s right to make decisions for the Town of Strathmore, but I don’t feel this respect is given back to the downtown retailers,” said Code. “It is clear that our thoughts are not wanted. There has been no formal process of any kind to involve all stakeholders in a decision that dramatically affects us all. This has also been demonstrated clearly in the lack of the critical review of the revitalization project.”
A downtown seminar involving downtown business owners in 2017 revealed that the two-hour parking continues to be a concern for business owners and affects their customers negatively. Councillor Bob Sobol had previously brought the issue before council on June 21, 2017 requesting the restriction be extended to four hours. The motion was denied. He brought the subject back to council earlier this year when he asked council to consider extending it to three hours on Jan. 10. No decision had been made on extending the hours.
Councillor Sobol also shed light on an unofficial petition conducted by a local business owner that included 55 signatures – all but three were from employees or business owners – in favour of extended hours. Strathmore’s Florist was not on that list.
However, Code argued that the downtown businesses rely on access to parking to provide convenience and prevent customers from seeking service elsewhere. With the exception of the tattoo parlor or hair salons, Code said there is no reason for customers to stay in the downtown for longer than two hours.
With parking available at Kinsmen Lake, the former Co-op parking lot, the Alliance Church parking lot and side streets – that can be used for employee parking – he stated extending parking hours to three will reduce accessibility for all customers.
“When you talk about a downtown vision, it is our life every day, and all of us survive by assuring maximum customer accessibility,” said Code. “If access is limited, today’s customer simply goes somewhere else and may continue to do so. Every customer counts. Every time you take away these competitive advantages you are saying you do not believe retail is the future of downtown and make it even less desirable to maintain a business here.”
Councillor Denise Peterson also provided some feedback from other community members, including some stating that the minds of the planning committee and the town were already made up, that input from businesses on Second Avenue were never considered, and that town council and staff fail to listen to the people regarding the downtown revitalization.
Councillor Jason Montgomery also agreed with Code’s comments.
“I hate to be a flip-flopper,” he said. “We were presented with a petition that we at the time didn’t know the background of entirely. We want to do the will of the people. We need to drive traffic to the downtown. If you look at the number of employees who work in the downtown and park their vehicles down there, what percentage of the parking spaces are being eaten up by the people who work downtown? That’s an important thing to consider.”
Council also discussed the possibility of passes to be handed out by specific businesses for those customers who require more than two hours for an appointment. While town staff also addressed the issue of consulting with downtown businesses – an open house that took place on Feb. 13 to discuss the revitalization on Third Avenue, doing physical interviews with business owners, and providing a survey in hard copy or online – Code felt the town needed to be more aggressive.
“I’ve been told I should leave it to talented young town staff and simply be a cheerleader, but I have an incredibly vested interest and I do have the right to express my opinions,” he said. “The disregard for the downtown retailer’s needs and livelihood is apparent. Someone has a new improved vision in which we are not included. I challenge you to change this attitude and actively involve all stakeholders by making sure we’re all consulted before dealing with an issue. We need a spirit of corporation rather than imposition from the town.“
Code proposed town staff take the petition to every business on Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Council assured Code that his concerns were heard at the regular council meeting, that the open house was only the first of several to generate input from the downtown core, and that if the meetings were missed, a written statement can be submitted by community members.