After years (decades?) of talk about how downtown would be a lot more inviting if Argyle Street was a pedestrian-only zone, in 2015 the city did something about it. The “Mingle on Argyle” pilot project brought a fresh coat of paint to the street, along with a refreshing take on the whole “streets are for cars” mindset by trying a shared street: a design concept where pedestrians are given priority over vehicles. The street became closed to car traffic on weekends while shop stalls, music and other activities were allowed to take over the space.
The project came with some controversy. The price tag of painting decorations on Argyle was an easy target, especially when many other roads were left without basic painted lines after the particularly long winter. But generally it was a success, and council is actively going through the process to choose a proposal for making a shared streetscape permanent, with an eye to expanding the idea onto other downtown streets. To make sure you remember what it was all about when it comes back to council in coming weeks, we made a video asking the project coordinators if they thought Mingle on Argyle was worth the effort.
This article appears in Nov 12-18, 2015.
Nice idea but in reality, no one mingled on Argyle. People still used the sidewalks when the street was closed. Some walked on the street when it was open. The paint faded FAST and it looked shoddy. The local construction kept many away from the area. There was no real economic benefit arising from the plan. And it was a tiny block in comparison to walking malls in the centres we are attempting to mimic.
Lots of people Mingled on Argyle, all the business owners really enjoyed it and so did the public. if you don’t believe me watch this.
https://youtu.be/0bn61yZYyHo
It’s a great idea, in fact fantastic and works in a lot of places, just not in Halifax.
Argyle will have to always remain open to traffic due to deliveries unless they widen Sackville Street and install a delivery lane. This way delivery drivers have somewhere to park and walk to deliver what’s needed. Though I’m not sure how many people would want to do that.
Another point is the weather. It’s really pointless to shut down any street and turn it into pedestrian only roadway with most of the year here is chilly!
Last I understood is now the street is actually mixed use, pedestrian and any other mode of transportation, including cars. Honestly, you’re just asking for trouble.
Also the street itself is short and there isn’t much going on past Argyle Bar and Grill until you cross Sackville Street. I have seen this done before countless times but it was done in Miami, Toronto, Budapest and Dubai to count a few. In all these situations, the roadway was designed for that purpose and there were allies behind the shops where deliveries go.
So in reality, unless this changes, Argyle will remain a non-pedestrian roadway!
It was great, and I’m really looking forward to when the convention centre is done and the whole thing is pedestrian ‘centric’. Downtown is growing, and so nice to see this good planning come to fruition.