BRZ working to improve downtown business environment
By Lethbridge Herald on September 16, 2022.
Sarah Amies
Downtown Lethbridge BRZ
As we navigate our post-COVID world, the future is looking bright for the businesses, residents, and workers in the Lethbridge Downtown Business Revitalization Zone.
2022 has been a wonderful year thus far. We are thrilled to host and administrate the brand-new Festival Square space. After our successful June 2022 Grand Opening we have seen weekly Farmers Markets, small concerts, roller skating derbies, pub patio action, church related celebrations for congregation and community and are averaging four events a week.
Of course, as we move through the year and beyond, we intend to increase the number of these events and invite folks in Lethbridge and area to regularly check our website for announcements of the same. Our Ambassador Street Engagement team has performed wonderfully this year. This program combines promotions with an on-the-street presence providing a point of daily connection with businesses, residents, and tourists on the streets in our downtown a visible and welcoming presence.
The Ambassadors also distribute business to business flyers, maintain blogs and social media accounts, conduct walking tours, distribute downtown event information, assist with the promotion of the downtown district including identified community events, activities and initiative through direct interactions with the public, provide downtown-based information and way-finding directions for residents, businesses, customers, and visitors, create Dive Into Downtown videos featuring businesses within the zone, assist with parking kiosks and with programming and presence at events and public spaces in the downtown district.
We continue to work with the City of Lethbridge in managing our Clean Sweep Program.
This valuable program seeks to positively contribute to a clean, safe, and vibrant urban core, with specific attention paid to the Downtown District. Core services include cleaning up garbage, including needles and needle debris, sweeping sidewalks, shoveling snow, raking leaves, basic landscaping including watering and flower planting, and other related needs.
Our Needle Debris Hotline guarantees that we will pick up garbage left from drug activity sites, anywhere in the city, within 24 hours and assures citizens that we are caring for the whole city in these matters.
This year we produced our first annual report within which we detail all the activities we undertook in 2021. Along with colourful graphics and impressive statistics, we are proud to announce that we leveraged under $200,000 garnered from the membership levy into over $650,000 worth of services within the downtown and surrounding city.
In addition to ensuring a vibrant and bright downtown all year round we have also been looking to the future and are busy developing our 5-year business plan and increasing our membership engagement strategy.
The Lethbridge DBRZ team is confident for the future of our zone and we extend the a warm welcome and invitation to visitors and residents to come back downtown to rediscover why this is the area where the heart of our city beats loudest and proudest.
12-11
Waste of effort and money. We will never venture downtown until they did it of the undesirables. Too dangerous.
And pay for parking st exhorbitant rates? No thanks.
My heart does beat loudest downtown because it causes me fear to be there .
Somehow promo’ing the downtown while suggesting you are picking up needles and drug paraphernalia seems somewhat at odds with your message? Why not include that surveillance by LPS will be increased and SWAT will be at the standby to ensure a wonderful shopping experience.
Do you not see the problem? Or is it “oh well, we will just live with it like the Chamber of Commerce?