Quote:Sam Nabi was walking downtown on a recent Sunday, when he looked down Gaukel Street from city hall, and got an idea.

He could see the clock tower from the 1924 city hall three blocks away in Victoria Park. Gaukel was closed to traffic, as it will be for the rest of 2019, to allow construction of the Charlie West condo tower.

Why not permanently close the short street to traffic, and create a pedestrian- and bike-friendly connection between the downtown and the park, he thought.

He floated the idea in a tweet: "Closing Gaukel St. hasn't really affected downtown traffic as far as I can see," he wrote. "How great would it be to turn the entire street into a pedestrian promenade? It would link the park, the Victoria Park ION station, and City Hall."

"It seems to have stirred a lot of people's imagination," Nabi said of his idea. Conversations continued online, and soon a group of about a dozen supporters had put a more formal proposal they are circulating to city officials, the downtown business association and several other groups.

His "Gaukel Greenway" proposal soon attracted comments from about four dozen people, most in favour, including Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and Coun. John Gazzola.

"I'm really loving this idea," Vrbanovic tweeted, adding that he would take the idea to city staff. Gazzola called it "a great idea."

(02-28-2019, 09:30 AM)Spokes Wrote: Kitchener resident proposes turning Gaukel Street into a pedestrian promenade

Quote:Sam Nabi was walking downtown on a recent Sunday, when he looked down Gaukel Street from city hall, and got an idea.

He could see the clock tower from the 1924 city hall three blocks away in Victoria Park. Gaukel was closed to traffic, as it will be for the rest of 2019, to allow construction of the Charlie West condo tower.

Why not permanently close the short street to traffic, and create a pedestrian- and bike-friendly connection between the downtown and the park, he thought.

He floated the idea in a tweet: "Closing Gaukel St. hasn't really affected downtown traffic as far as I can see," he wrote. "How great would it be to turn the entire street into a pedestrian promenade? It would link the park, the Victoria Park ION station, and City Hall."

"It seems to have stirred a lot of people's imagination," Nabi said of his idea. Conversations continued online, and soon a group of about a dozen supporters had put a more formal proposal they are circulating to city officials, the downtown business association and several other groups.

His "Gaukel Greenway" proposal soon attracted comments from about four dozen people, most in favour, including Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and Coun. John Gazzola.

"I'm really loving this idea," Vrbanovic tweeted, adding that he would take the idea to city staff. Gazzola called it "a great idea."

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/9197502-kitchener-resident-proposes-turning-gaukel-street-into-a-pedestrian-promenade/

(02-28-2019, 10:58 AM)MidTowner Wrote: I seem to recall one or more users here musing about this in the past. It's a great idea; I hope it has legs. It would be a wonderful thing for downtown Kitchener.

(02-28-2019, 10:16 AM)Spokes Wrote: Ya, you could phase it in.  It's closed right now, so when construction doesn't need it closed, just don't open it.  Then eventually, open it on the other side of Charles.

(02-28-2019, 02:00 PM)robdrimmie Wrote: We talked about Hall's lane a bit in the conversation here about this idea (I can't find it though, I'm really bad at searching here). There's other parking that's only accessible from Hall's lane as well I think, between Gaukel and Ontario. But if cars have to enter Hall's from Water and exit from Ontario I don't think it would be terribly problematic. They would cross Guakel but there would be far less vehicle traffic than on Charles anyway.

(02-28-2019, 02:00 PM)robdrimmie Wrote: We talked about Hall's lane a bit in the conversation here about this idea (I can't find it though, I'm really bad at searching here). There's other parking that's only accessible from Hall's lane as well I think, between Gaukel and Ontario. But if cars have to enter Hall's from Water and exit from Ontario I don't think it would be terribly problematic. They would cross Guakel but there would be far less vehicle traffic than on Charles anyway.