City announces ‘Love Kingston Marketplace’ to take shape later this month

City staff have refined and updated the lane closures planned for the downtown core this summer in order to accommodate businesses who are looking to uphold social distancing while reopening.

Originally announced on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, these changes will make space for the Love Kingston Marketplace, a hub for creative experiences created by the City aimed at rejuvenating the downtown over the next several months.

The pedestrian-only spaces will begin to take shape during the week beginning Monday, Jun. 22, 2020, and it will take approximately a week to implement the traffic safety measures.

Here is a list of the streets that will be affected and how:

• Brock Street will be reduced to a single travel lane from Ontario Street to Wellington Street, and the King Street intersection will remain open for traffic traveling along King Street.
• Clarence Street will see some existing on-street parking repurposed to accommodate a lane shift.
• Market Street will be fully closed.
• Princess Street will be reduced to a single travel lane from Ontario Street to Division Street, and the cross streets will remain open. 
• The City will also be designating a pickup and delivery area on Brock Street and each block of Princess Street. These spaces will be available to businesses for outdoor expansion based on the needs of each business. This might include the placement of retail fixtures, patio furniture and space for customer line ups.

Mayor Bryan Paterson says that he is looking forward to these changes and how they will aid Kingston’s economy, which relies heavily on independent downtown businesses.

“I’m excited about our plans for the downtown to create some more space for pedestrians and more opportunities for businesses. This is a new initiative and we continue to work with community partners and businesses to ensure we get the details right,” Mayor Paterson said in a statement.

“I look forward to seeing how these changes will help us reimagine the downtown over the summer.”

Parking

On-street parking on Princess St. is unavailable. Some on-street parking areas located on the nearby cross-streets will be changed to create short-term pick-up and delivery areas. City parking lots and garages will remain open.

Downtown residents and businesses with questions about these road and lane closures may visit CityofKingston.ca/marketplace or contact Customer Service at 613-546-0000 or [email protected].

The City would like to remind residents that physical distancing remains essential as the local economy reopens based on the direction of the province.