An area for people to walk without the possibility of interacting with vehicles is in consideration as part of a new plan for downtown Kamloops.

It is a concept that was tested last year. Mayor Ken Christian says says a trial run was done last summer by closing 4th Ave to vehicular traffic and it seemed to work quite well, so it made sense to look at it as a part of this plan. “So that we had that kind of downtown plaza place where people can interact. It’s about conectedness. It’s about getting people in touch with each other and having an opportunity to sit and chat and have a coffee and have people places.”

Christian believes that blocking off an area to vehicles encourages people to stay a while longer. “Since [the trial] a number of properties have been earmarked for the potential of a pedestrian plaza and a number of businesses that would service the needs of that plaza. So that’s key to getting a core in the downtown area that people want to be in and they want to come down and we want to extend the periods of time that people spend downtown.”

Anyone can take a look at the 160 page draft plan that was presented to council this week. There will be opportunities for people to have input before a second draft plan is drawn up.