One way to try to get the shoppers to keep coming downtown

 

Parking metres in downtown Kelowna

Close-up of the sticker on a parking metre in downtown Kelowna

Like many car-centred cities, Kelowna has a problem keeping consumers downtown. In the summer it is not as much of an issue as downtown is right next to the lake. As you might expect in a summer tourist town, the lake and the adjacent downtown shops attract a lot of attention.

But, come Labour Day and the departure of the tourists the downtown shops go into a bit of a slow period. In 2012, the situation was made even worse by a major constriction project that saw the main street, Bernard, ripped up for three months.

This "FREE Saturday Parking" offer has evidently been going on for a couple of years in Kelowna.

I think it is a great idea. Even if it has little effect, the city can be seen to be doing something to support the downtown businesses. Kelowna's main shopping mall, Orchard Park, seems very similar to scores of other malls across Canada with a pretty generic assortment of retailers. As in many other cities, the interesting independent retailers are found downtown. They deserve your business and I applaud the city for supporting them.