After reporting a successful first year, Edmonton hopes to continue making Rice Howard Way pedestrian-only for both stand-alone events and regular programming.
The summer street party series was a success, said Quinn Phillips, director of communications and marketing at the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, with nearly 650 people visiting the downtown entertainment district on its busiest day, which was Aug. 10.
"You can't really argue with the numbers of people coming down there," Phillips said. "I think it also just sets us up to be able to host events of all different kinds down there now."
City council approved opening a downtown entertainment district in the spring. On Saturdays from June 1 to Aug. 24, the business association ran programming such as live music, games, and art installations. Now that the district has been established, any organization can apply to close the street to vehicle traffic and hold a party there.
The organizers of the Economic Developers Association of Canada Conference in Edmonton chose to activate the downtown entertainment district on its opening night on Oct. 1. Tom Girvan, the city's director of downtown vibrancy, told Taproot there are pedestrian-only events planned for Rice Howard Way and other downtown streets this winter, too.
About 8,000 people came to the pedestrian-only Rice Howard Way during the summer event series, Girvan said. (For reference, downtown Edmonton's population was about 6,200 in the 2021 Statistics Canada census.) Restaurants along Rice Howard Way reported increased revenue and guest counts, Girvan said.
Not every business on Rice Howard Way was buoyed by the entertainment district. Wendy Turner, owner of The Artworks, said not many additional customers came into the store during the summer series. "Our sales were not increased from the increased activity, although it was definitely nice to have the additional energy on the street," Turner said.
Turner thought the signage for the events could have been improved. Drivers passing by would have seen "road closed" signs, but not much indicating that it wasn't closed for construction. "We're faced with that on a pretty regular basis downtown, and people are used to that, but they're also avoiding the area because of that."
The downtown entertainment district saw nearly 650 visitors on its busiest day in the summer of 2024. (Edmonton Downtown Business Association)
Turner said fellow business owners on the street encouraged her to get a liquor licence so she could serve alcohol and participate more fully in the entertainment district, but she said that would have been a "make-work project."
Restaurants on the street also reported hiring more staff and scheduling those staff for longer hours to support the increase in customers.
Some business owners and residents had expressed concerns about the reduction in parking from the street closure. Girvan said most businesses weren't concerned with the limited access, but Turner said the reduced parking was an issue for The Artworks, as many customers are running in to grab something quick, like flowers.
"(The city) did put in an additional loading zone around the corner, but it's challenging to make people aware of that and get them on board," she said.
The programming on the street ran from 1pm to 9pm, and Phillips said the hourly visitor counts were always lowest during the first hour. "What we really noticed is three o'clock to eight o'clock was when things would really start to pick up, so that's certainly something that we do need to consider moving forward," she said.
Girvan said events will likely start later in the day during future iterations of the downtown entertainment district programming.
Turner recommended that officials focus on cleanliness and perceptions of safety. She also said she thinks more thought should be put into the programming. "I think to draw people to an event like that, you need to put it a little over the top and make it a little bit less often," she said. Overall, though, Turner said she supports projects that "energize" downtown.
To sum up how she felt about the district, Phillips remembered a night when the Edmonton Oilers had a playoff game and the entertainment district was busy and vibrant.
"I remember sitting on the Rice Howard Way entertainment district and watching some of the national and international reporters walk down the street and just be like, 'Oh, wow, there's a lot going on,'" Phillips said. "I just think that it was such a good look for the city."