Kitchener wants input on the future of downtown. These residents share their visions

Closing King Street to traffic in downtown Kitchener to make it a pedestrian area with events and activities would suit DJ Walkem just fine.

Walkem, who lives in the downtown core, says she'd love to see more parks and playgrounds, too.

She said she likes that there are good community supports and activities for her young daughter, Lucille Scott. She said her kids specifically love when there are concerts and events in downtown. 

"They love when King Street is shut off and all the people are out and about in the streets," she said. 

New Kitchener resident and downtown restaurant owner Adam Sulemani said he would like to see the city close down King Street for events every weekend in the summer. 

"Especially in the summer, I feel like when they do shut down the streets, it engages a lot of people to come out here and the city does a lot better and prospers," he said. 

These kinds of ideas are just what the City of Kitchener is hoping for as it surveys people about the future of the downtown core.

City staff and the Downtown Community Working Group will work together to speak with residents about what they want to see downtown in the next 15 to 20 years. 

Since the pandemic, downtown Kitchener has seen a rise in business vacancies, with some experts pointing to lower foot traffic. As of January 2023, there was around 900,000 square feet of unused commercial space in downtown Kitchener. 

The city put out an online survey asking residents to rate what was most important to have in downtown, like green space, events, accessibility and sports. 

CBC News spoke to a few residents to see what their ideal downtown Kitchener looks like. 

Residents ask for more outdoor community space

University of Waterloo student Jahmoon Olembe said she lives downtown but mostly hangs out in uptown Waterloo, because it has more outdoor spaces to hang out in. 

"There's a lot of just open area Uptown where you can just sit with your friends, talk, grab, grab a bite to eat, and then just go study and go back to school," she said.  

"I think that's why there's more of an appeal for Uptown Waterloo. I feel like there's more seating, more areas to hang out, more things to do." 

More housing, a big grocery store 

Olembe says having more apartment buildings and grocery stores near downtown would make the area more "homie" and accessible for families. 

"I feel like before there were old like family restaurants there or places that I've always been and then I look and there's huge condos now, which is is beneficial," she said, adding that more apartment buildings and condos would make the downtown core busier. 

"At the same time, leaving those little core memories downtown I feel like would help the area."

John Davey said he would also like a large grocery store. Downtown Kitchener has a handful of small grocers, but Davey said a big grocery store could be a draw for residents. 

"I live fairly close to downtown, not that far. So just having a grocery store handy just so you can do your one stop shop and stuff like that as well is great," he said.