The Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce is encouraging the municipality to revive an idea rejected in 2013 – a one-way Cowrie Street.
The Chamber put the idea forward in a June 4 letter to Mayor Darnelda Siegers and council.
The letter says the Chamber “enthusiastically supports initiatives to make our community even stronger and more livable,” including council’s move to “allow flexibility for merchants on Cowrie and other downtown streets.” It then goes on to say several members have expressed concerns about the parklet idea that led to the approval of a street-patio pilot project.
The Chamber says it, and many businesses on Cowrie, have not been consulted, and it was sending the letter to “provide the views of our board of directors and several of our members that council consider options that are even bolder” and outline recommendations to “enhance the vitality and energy downtown, while preserving important matters like accessibility for all.”
The 2020 version of a one-way Cowrie is different from the one championed in 2013 in a very significant way. The Chamber is suggesting traffic flow should be eastward, not westward.
The Chamber says in the letter that parking should be angled and “back-in,” which would allow for around 50 parking spots on the south side of the street and “widened sidewalk/parklets options” on the north side.
The length of the one-way section is also shorter in the Chamber’s recommendation. The Chamber is suggesting a one-way section from Trail Avenue to Inlet Avenue “and perhaps to Wharf.” The 2013 proposal was for Cowrie to be one-way from Wharf Avenue to Ocean Avenue.
The council of the day, under mayor John Henderson who is now chair of the Chamber, abandoned the one-way Cowrie proposal after objections and concerns from Cowrie Street merchants, Sunshine Coast RCMP, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Sunshine Coast Transit and Sechelt's accessibility committee.
Other recommendations in the Chamber’s letter include designating some parking spots on Cowrie as short-term with enforced time limits, adding another crosswalk near Inlet Avenue, removing trees and replacing them with “plants in large pots,” adding public washroom facilities, and putting more picnic tables in Acacia Park.
“We encourage council to continue to be decisive and implement most, if not all, of these ideas immediately.”
Council has not yet had an opportunity to discuss the Chamber’s letter.
