'A place for connection': Grand Opening of Gaukel Block in Kitchener

The City of Kitchener held the grand opening of Gaukel Block in Downtown Kitchener Saturday, officially marking the portion of Gaukel Street beside Charles Street West as a pedestrian-only street.

“It just shows that you know what streets can be used differently than only for cars. And what we're trying to do is make this particular street great for pedestrians, cyclists,” Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener said.

With the help of federal funding, the city created Gaukel Block, using ideas driven by the community.

“Really recognizing a lot of the needs in the downtown coming out of the pandemic, particularly a place for vendors, a place for connection, a place for community,” Darren Becks, the Manager of Downtown Development and Innovation for the City of Kitchener said.

“Knowing that it's very pedestrian friendly, dog-friendly cyclist friendly, you know, there's so much to offer that having even this shipping container is such a great addition,” Jennifer Robles, a vendor on Saturday said.

The idea came from Sam Nabi, the co-owner of Full Circle Foods, a downtown grocery store, who posted on social media in 2019 wondering if the street could be a permanent pedestrian spot.

The city noticed the message and began working with him to make it into a pedestrian-only street.

“The city has really rolled with it and there's all kinds of programming that I never even knew existed,” Nabi said.

“We're really noticing that it's becoming quite a corridor between Victoria Park and Carl Zehr Square, which was really one of our objectives, was to bring the two spaces together,” Becks said.

According to Nabi, it’s become a space that attracts people to the area and sometimes causes them to do more shopping than planned.

“When downtown does well, we all do well,” Nabi said.

The city said even when there aren’t events happening on Gaukel Stret, many people stop to take time and sit down at one of the picnic tables. They’re now exploring the idea of opening up similar areas around the city.

“We'd like to expand and maybe explore other streets that could do a similar experience,” Becks said.

WATERLOO ROAD CLOSURES

Summer street takeovers are also happening in Uptown Waterloo. A portion of Princess Street is shut down for patios and pedestrians and Dominion Lanes is again closed for restaurant use.

“People like to have that experience of being able to walk on streets that normally they wouldn't be able to do that. We've seen it in Toronto,” Tracy Van Kalsbeek, the Executive Director of the Uptown Waterloo BIA said.

Waterloo doesn't currently have permanent pedestrian roads, but city council recently approved the design of the Laurel Greenway plan. It aims to create a two-kilometre public park snaking through uptown Waterloo, from Waterloo Park in the west to Weber Street in the east.

“In that plan, there is contemplation of turning Willis Way into a pedestrian street. So we'll work with the BIA and the businesses there as well as the rest of our community,” Dorothy McCabe, the Mayor of Waterloo said.