Complete Uptown Waterloo Public Square

[WatDot]

They already did last winter.

Was trying to do Christmas shopping one evening last December. Very few stores were open at 7pm on a Thursday. The skating ring was being well used though. Wish more business owners would see the benefit this square is having on bringing people Uptown, the City is definitely doing their part.

[plam]

Was trying to do Christmas shopping one evening last December. Very few stores were open at 7pm on a Thursday. The skating ring was being well used though. Wish more business owners would see the benefit this square is having on bringing people Uptown, the City is definitely doing their part.

This surprises me about Kitchener-Waterloo in general. I expect that stores should stay open till 9 on Thursdays and Fridays, and this isn't the case (except at malls.) What's up with that?

[uptownfoodcritic]

I've discussed this with many business owners in Uptown before. Their reasoning is that they have tried to stay open later and there is just not the customer traffic to warrant the extra hours. Most scale back their hours after trying it for a couple of months without success.

[IEFBR14]

Their reasoning is that they have tried to stay open later and there is just not the customer traffic to warrant the extra hour.

ISTM that will only work if all (or most) business owners do it and it's well publicized, e.g. ads in the Waterloo Chronicle and local radio stations that read something like, "The members of the UpTown Waterloo Business Improvement Area announce extended Christmas shopping hours. Throughout December we'll be open Thursdays and Fridays until 9pm..."

[BuildingScout]

Most scale back their hours after trying it for a couple of months without success.

A change of opening hours takes more than two months to become widely known so that is a useless data point. Also it only works if it is done by the majority of the businesses do it.

Most businesses open far too early around 9 or 10 am when most people are busy working and close right about the time people get off work (5 or 6pm) and are ready to do shopping.

[BuildingScout]

I expect that stores should stay open till 9 on Thursdays and Fridays, and this isn't the case (except at malls.) What's up with that?

Most businesses have the wrong shopping schedule. So much so that you can start and succeed on a major scale by simply providing better business hours. Two well known examples are Canada Trust (now TD Trust) and 7-11, which were, back in the day, the first convenience stores to have and advertise extended shopping hours.

[DHLawrence]

Most businesses open far too early around 9 or 10 am when most people are busy working and close right about the time people get off work (5 or 6pm) and are ready to do shopping.

That's something I'll never understand about "banker's hours" - why are all these people shopping or going to the bank at that time of day? GO TO WORK!

[IEFBR14]

That's something I'll never understand about "banker's hours" - why are all these people shopping or going to the bank at that time of day? GO TO WORK!

A couple of thoughts...
1. Increasingly people work shifts so traditional banker's hours are more convenient for them.
2. Increasingly there are two breadwinners whose kids go to day-care. A store that opens at 10am would let a working mom drop the kid off in the morning and have time to get to work at the store by 10am. (Presumably their spouse would start work early and leave early so as to be able to pick up the kids in the afternoon.)

That said, it makes more sense for people who work at regular 9-5 hours if stores were open from noon to 8pm or 9pm so they'd have plenty of time after work to go shopping.

[BuildingScout]

That said, it makes more sense for people who work at regular 9-5 hours if stores were open from noon to 8pm or 9pm so they'd have plenty of time after work to go shopping.

This has been true for a long time. A few decades back I happened to be at Conestoga mall on the same day from 9-11am and from 4-5pm, back when Conestoga used to close at 5pm on weekdays. It was quite a sight to see the empty corridors for the first two hours in the morning and then see sales staff evicting customers out of the stores at 5pm !

They still evict customers in the same manner on Saturdays presently. Conestoga mall could easily remain open until 9pm given the selection of restaurants, grocery store and cinemas atracting customers late into the night to the site.

[Spokes]

This surprises me about Kitchener-Waterloo in general. I expect that stores should stay open till 9 on Thursdays and Fridays, and this isn't the case (except at malls.) What's up with that?

In the cores at least it has a lot to do with the fact that while people work there, they all leave at 5pm and go back to the suburbs so businesses will then close at 6ish. The remedy to this is people living in the core, but even then it takes time for businesses to change.

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

Funds flow for fountain
BY: CHARLOTTE PRONG PARKHILL | WATERLOO CHRONICLE

Water could soon be flowing in the Waterloo public square thanks to a half-million dollar anonymous donation.

“We do have a significant donation from a corporation who does not want to be named,” said Mayor Brenda Halloran.

“I actually went and asked them if they would be interested. As the mayor I get to ask a lot of questions.” The $500,000 is expected to cover two-thirds of the estimated $750,000 bill for the water wall.

“That would be enough for us to really do the water feature the way we would like to do it,” Halloran said.

“We have this incredibly generous donation from a corporation which I think is just astounding. It’s a really good story.” Designs for the project are well under way and will probably be finalized in 2011...

To read FULL article on the Waterloo Chronicle's website, please click here.

[KevinL]

Who wants to be the anonymous donor is RIM, who found that project sponsorship with this city can have negative consequences and thus wanted their name nowhere near it?

[Urbanomicon]

Who wants to be the anonymous donor is RIM, who found that project sponsorship with this city can have negative consequences and thus wanted their name nowhere near it?

Hopefully they'll be just as generous if/when calls go out to private corporations to finance the LRT proposal.

[myfaceisonfire]

Does anybody else thing that 750,000 seems like a lot of money for a water fountain/feature?

[mpd618]

One of the things architect Jan Gehl writes about is how public spaces work much better when they have edges, preferably soft ones. I'm thinking that the Waterloo public square could be extended across Willis Way to get a second edge to it. This could either be through closing Willis Way, or through making it a shared, pedestrian-priority street.

[Galtonian]

I think it would depend, but I would like to see what its going to look like. There is already a water feature across the street in front of the parking garage consisting of three jets of water.

[BuildingScout]

I think it would depend, but I would like to see what its going to look like. There is already a water feature across the street in front of the parking garage consisting of three jets of water.

...and we only paid $650,000 for those!

[mpd618]

I think it would depend, but I would like to see what its going to look like. There is already a water feature across the street in front of the parking garage consisting of three jets of water.

I think that particular feature might be better used as space for people waiting for the bus.

[ViewFromThe42]

It was absolutely mind blowing to me at the time, but there was a trendy street I was on in Edmonton a year ago, and I quickly discovered that it was a point-eye contact-cross (ala roundabout dance) street, and you were intended to do this absolutely anywhere on the street. It definitely made it a more enjoyable stroll and adventure, especially considering it was January. It was also a 4-lane street as well.

[metropolis]

It is law anywhere in the province of Alberta for a driver to stop for a pedestrians if they step up to the curb in an attempt to cross the street. You would likely have experienced the same thing crossing any street in Edmonton. I have seen drivers get pulled over for failing to stop as a pedestrian attempted to cross while in Calgary.