Investigation underway to close lower Main Street permanently

A city staff investigation that could lead to the permanent closure of lower Main Street will get underway soon now that council has voted unanimously in favour of the idea.

Coun. Adam Cooper presented a motion to move ahead with the idea Tuesday with a goal to further revitalize Galt's core and boost local tourism by hosting events throughout the year.

Council's approval sets the process in motion to gather public feedback as well as a list of pros and cons before staff return to council with a recommendation that takes any financial implications into account before 2025 budget discussions.

Cooper said the success of the summer street closure has grown every year since it launched in 2021.

"We're at a stage right now where we've got an incredible revitalization of downtown and this has had a significant part in that," he said, pointing to Gaslight District as an example that proved people will show up to events by the hundreds, even in winter.

This is the fourth year the city has closed lower Main between May and October and by the end of this season the Dowtown BIA will have hosted 88 events, BIA executive director Brian Kennedy told council Tuesday.

Speaking in full support of the proposal, Kennedy said the BIA is already considering a week or weekend closure of lower Main sometime this winter to get a better idea of the community response to winter activations.

A permanent closure would allow the BIA to install infrastructure like lighting and staging to support larger events.

"The easier we can make on the coordinators of those events, the more successful they will be," he said. "Having these events right in the downtown will certainly serve the businesses and the community alike."

One of those event coordinators, Galt Jazz founder Dave Ottenbrite, called it an important opportunity and urged the city to take the necessary steps to make the year round closure a reality.

Main Street business owner and developer Terry Polyak told council he also fully supports the closure, saying that when he arrived a little over four years ago, "the street was somewhat tumbleweeds in a sense" with broken glass and unsavoury things here and there.

"I look at it now and I think about how far we've come," he said, adding it's largely due to the street closure.

He's counted 10 significant renovations and 14 new businesses in addition to about 26 new and renovated apartments along lower Main.

People he's talked to who are new to Cambridge or are returning "are just blown away by the downtown core," especially the street closure, he said.

"We need to pick up on the momentum we've created and enhance all of this," he added. "I think it could be really successful on so many different levels."

Cooper said he thinks it's in everyone's best interest to take the reins on this and "turn this into a place that's similar to the tourism panache that you get in Niagara On The Lake, St. Jacobs, Elora. Why should they have all the fun? We can do it here."