Vernon council OK's downtown curbside pick-up zones

Photo: Contributed

You’ll soon be able to shop in downtown Vernon without even entering a store.

City council on Monday approved a three-month pilot for 10-minute downtown loading zones to allow curbside pick-up.

Staff has recommended a start date of Dec. 1.

“I like the idea,” said Coun. Kari Gares. “Obviously, given the times that we’re in, assisting businesses is paramount.”

Still, she raised concerns about people who may overstay the time limit.

“It’s more or less on good faith that we’re allowing this,” said Gares, adding she would like the city to advise residents not to abuse the system. “That is always a worry of mine because we have had issues with that in the past.”

Last month, council directed staff to consult with the Downtown Vernon Association following a letter from the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, the Alliance of Beverage Licensees and BC Craft Brewers Guild. The groups had requested the creation of a program for designated pick-up zones so that businesses can enhance contactless curbside pick-up through the winter.

"Rather than permitting any business to convert parking spaces in front of their stores and restaurants into continuous curbside pick-up zones, these 10-minute loading zones could be utilized by patrons of multiple businesses while minimizing disruption to parking overall," said the staff report.

Administration recommends 12 locations on 30th Avenue (29th Street to 35th Street), with two curbside pick-up locations per block, one on each side.

The locations would consider parking volume, demand, requests from businesses, and would be identified using temporary signage.

The motion was carried unanimously.