Regina city council votes to keep Scarth Street Mall pedestrian-only
Proposal to allow vehicles shot down after public consultation
After public consultation, polling and debate, Regina's city council has decided to keep Scarth Street a pedestrian mall, scrapping a proposal to allow vehicles on the pedestrian walkway.
F.W. Hill Mall, commonly called Scarth Street Mall, has been pedestrian-only for nearly 50 years, and following a 10-1 vote on Wednesday night, city council has confirmed that will continue.
City officials had at one point proposed allowing vehicles and extending traffic onto the cobblestone area. But consultations held last summer suggested most people were in favour of keeping the downtown corridor, between 11th and 12th avenues, a pedestrian-only space.
The City of Regina released its proposed vision for the future development of Scarth Street Mall earlier this year, which recommended against re-introducing vehicles.
Council voted in favour of that recommendation Wednesday, with Ward 9 Coun. Jason Mancinelli casting the only opposing vote.
Getting more people downtown and making it a safe and vibrant space has been an issue in Regina for years, and the Scarth Street plan is part of that, says Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski.
"It fits into … the overall plan as we look at what does a vibrant downtown look like, what does a walkable, liveable city look like," he said in an interview on CBC's Morning Edition.
In consultations, "people were very, very clear that they wanted it to be primarily pedestrian-focused," he said.
"I'm excited everybody's talking about it.… Clearly the momentum is there, the desire to revitalize downtown is there."
Those conversations include students from a University of Regina geography and urban planning class, who have been working on design proposals for Scarth Street Mall.
"My biggest thing is parking, which is very controversial," Katelyn Lipp, one of the U of R students, said in an interview.
"It's hard to park there. They've talked about there being a lot of lots, but they're usually full, so I struggle with that," she said.
"I also think that there is a lack of nightlife. A lot of my research, we looked at the 24-hour city, and I really wanted to bring that into Regina."
Carter Workman, another student, said the lack of a grocery store and difficulty getting to downtown can make it harder to access for youth.
"I'd like to see something like we do with the Rider games, where you do like a pickup at the Southland Mall or the Vic Square Mall, and people can leave their vehicles, and there's just a bus that takes people to and from downtown," he said.
Student Britton Perkowitsch said she would like to see stores, bars and restaurants along the street with ambient lighting, heaters, and patios so that people can enjoy the space year round.
Work on revitalizing Scarth Street goes back years, with a tender document for a consultant issued in late 2022 initially proposing the idea of opening the area to vehicle traffic.
Officials say the infrastructure under the section of the street between 11th and 12th avenues needs to be replaced, which will mean tearing up the pathway's iconic cobblestones.
Construction was initially projected to start in 2024, but decisions made during the 2024 budget pushed the work back.
Currently, construction is not scheduled to begin until at least 2027.
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With files from Alexander Quon