Ottawa's Byward Market

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

That's very bad. I'd argue worse than the Ottawa situation. For sure, we need to close down a few streets, at the very least ByWard and William on each side of the Market Building, permanently (not just summers). That could be done with $0 investment.

This seems like a no brainer but the businesses that currently exist on the west side do depend on that parking. I live in the Market and even I have stopped into the Fish market only because there was a spot right in front. To me it's the through traffic we should stop first. George York and Clarence could all be cut off without losing precious parking. This could create momentum. La Botega for example could end up with an outdoor seating area and maybe stop whining about precious street parking.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

This seems like a no brainer but the businesses that currently exist on the west side do depend on that parking. I live in the Market and even I have stopped into the Fish market only because there was a spot right in front. To me it's the through traffic we should stop first. George York and Clarence could all be cut off without losing precious parking. This could create momentum. La Botega for example could end up with an outdoor seating area and maybe stop whining about precious street parking.

The businesses may think they depend on those spots, but for every driver who might stop there you could gain any number of customers who would be drawn by an improved public realm. Studies show that in all sorts of places.

I’d rather start with seasonal closures - summer and the holiday season at least - and then expand as the concept is proven.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by phil235

The businesses may think they depend on those spots, but for every driver who might stop there you could gain any number of customers who would be drawn by an improved public realm. Studies show that in all sorts of places.

I’d rather start with seasonal closures - summer and the holiday season at least - and then expand as the concept is proven.

I hear this argument a lot and ollectively yes most examples show an improvement but do buesinesses really not know what is best for their business. For exampe Lapointe Fish I reffered to isn't getting a lot of walk in tourists. I guess La Botega must get some Italian big shoppers who drive from the suburbs that they don't want to lose even if they get a few more sandwich shoppers where they have more competition. I guess my point is the through traffic doesn't have a lobby and even traffic wise it wouldn't make a difference so let's eliminate that first.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I hear this argument a lot and ollectively yes most examples show an improvement but do buesinesses really not know what is best for their business. For exampe Lapointe Fish I reffered to isn't getting a lot of walk in tourists. I guess La Botega must get some Italian big shoppers who drive from the suburbs that they don't want to lose even if they get a few more sandwich shoppers where they have more competition. I guess my point is the through traffic doesn't have a lobby and even traffic wise it wouldn't make a difference so let's eliminate that first.

What most of the examples show is that businesses consistently overestimate the importance of parking. No doubt that would vary by business, but I’ve got to think that even for a business like Lapointes, a big proportion of their customers in the Market aren’t driving.

I have nothing against stopping cross-traffic, which might be easy as you say. What that doesn’t do is create more public space to draw more people to the area.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

This seems like a no brainer but the businesses that currently exist on the west side do depend on that parking. I live in the Market and even I have stopped into the Fish market only because there was a spot right in front. To me it's the through traffic we should stop first. George York and Clarence could all be cut off without losing precious parking. This could create momentum. La Botega for example could end up with an outdoor seating area and maybe stop whining about precious street parking.

If you were driving past and stopped only because there was a spot in front, then weren't you the through traffic you want to stop?

What I don't understand is why people are having hard time using the parking garage? No need to circle the Market looking for the spot, do the parallel parking dance, worry about hitting someone, fiddle with the parking machine, remember your plate number, remember your time and worry about overstaying. Just insert the credit card on the way out and done. It's even slightly cheaper (I think).

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by phil235

What most of the examples show is that businesses consistently overestimate the importance of parking. No doubt that would vary by business, but I’ve got to think that even for a business like Lapointes, a big proportion of their customers in the Market aren’t driving.

I have nothing against stopping cross-traffic, which might be easy as you say. What that doesn’t do is create more public space to draw more people to the area.

Sure but they don't get more walk in business from making the market more of a leisure destination. I think for sure the suburban owners of these busineses don't realize the pedestrian power but the more residents we add the less retail in the market so there is a disconnect.

I think the William Mall being extended all the way to Clarence would add a centreal spine and doesn't require closing any parking access other than the exit from the city lot.

Originally Posted by zzptichka

If you were driving past and stopped only because there was a spot in front, then weren't you the through traffic you want to stop?

What I don't understand is why people are having hard time using the parking garage? No need to circle the Market looking for the spot, do the parallel parking dance, worry about hitting someone, fiddle with the parking machine, remember your plate number, remember your time and worry about overstaying. Just insert the credit card on the way out and done. It's even slightly cheaper (I think).

I live two blocks away so stopped rather than park at home and walk back but I guess it would have meant I have to drive around to Murray but that's something I am willing to live with. I am not even against the cut through traffice my point is more we don't have a lobby group that will protect it. We have managed to strangle a lot more useful commuting routes with complete streets so don't see complaints about closing off George and especially York and Clarence that are already not very useful routes to anywhere.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

What I don't understand is why people are having hard time using the parking garage? No need to circle the Market looking for the spot, do the parallel parking dance, worry about hitting someone, fiddle with the parking machine, remember your plate number, remember your time and worry about overstaying. Just insert the credit card on the way out and done. It's even slightly cheaper (I think).

The likelihood the spot in front will be available is pretty close to zero. Do store owners think they are driving to the market, checking the spot and going home if it is not available? Or is it some sort of a bait and switch where they tell customers there is a spot out front even though it probably won’t be available?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

What I don't understand is why people are having hard time using the parking garage? No need to circle the Market looking for the spot, do the parallel parking dance, worry about hitting someone, fiddle with the parking machine, remember your plate number, remember your time and worry about overstaying. Just insert the credit card on the way out and done. It's even slightly cheaper (I think).

I certainly go directly to the City parking garage. Save myself the stress.

[Acajack]

The market is barely more than a 10-minute drive from our place in Gatineau.

My wife loves La Bottega so we often shoot down just to go there. We park illegally right here. (I stay in the car, she goes in.)

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4269...5410&entry=ttu

[Kitchissippi]

I was in the market the other day and was underwhelmed after seeing this. I hope it's not over-curated and overpriced.



Farther down on York this concept seemed more interesting:

[rocketphish]

Coming to a shipping container near you: Modular storefronts debut in the ByWard Market

Sarah MacFarlane, OBJ
June 12, 2024 1:09 PM ET



A small business accelerator program that uses revamped shipping containers to help entrepreneurs get a toehold in the market is making its local debut with The Gift Shop, a pop-up art gallery for underrepresented artists, in the ByWard Market Friday.

Stackt is a marketplace concept launched in Toronto in 2019 that is based on a modular, moveable design made of shipping containers. The Stackt model offers small business owners an affordable “testing ground” to experiment with a physical storefront or new concepts. Since 2019, Stackt has worked with more than 3,000 business owners.

Since its inception, the Toronto Stackt marketplace has evolved into the Toronto Flagship Marketplace, an entrepreneurial hub at 28 Bathurst St. near Front Street that takes up an entire city block and houses 10-100 retail, hospitality and art businesses.

“The Flagship has become a vibrant ecosystem of commerce and connection, everything that brings customers together in a unique environment — a city block built entirely out of shipping containers,” Stackt founder Matt Rubinoff told OBJ. “They’re built upon a modular approach, so if we had to pick it up and move to another site, we’d be able to do that.”

The Flagship recently extended its lease for the government-owned land on which it operates in Toronto, and Rubinoff is setting his sights on expanding across the country.

Starting Friday, Stackt shipping containers will start popping up in more Canadian cities, including Ottawa, thanks to the company’s small business accelerator program, Stacktx. Designed to support small businesses and connect entrepreneurs with networks and resources across the country, Stacktx has developed a grant program that will allow selected businesses to inhabit a shipping container storefront free of charge for a month.

The program will set up three shipping containers, one each in Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver, that will host small businesses on a monthly rotation. To launch the project in Ottawa, Rubinoff said the ByWard Market was chosen as the “ideal location.”

“The Stacktx program gives an opportunity for businesses to access resources, partnerships and a physical component, which is a very important piece,” he explained. “We can provide physical space for businesses to be in there for one month and secure high-foot-traffic areas and premium locations for a ton of engagement with customers, all free of charge to the businesses, which is great access to the community.”

The Gift Shop pop-up in the ByWard Market will launch June 14 and provide exposure for under-represented visual and performing artists.

Imani Busby, founder and curator of The Gift Shop, said the project provides retail space to sell artwork, as well as serving as a hub for performing arts, all to support artists from marginalized communities.

As a small business owner, Busby said the Stacktx program has allowed her to take the step toward a physical storefront and connect with the Ottawa community.

“It’s a very accessible model that allows a small business owner like me to have a storefront for a month and see how their work and ideas work in a brick-and-mortar model,” said Busby. “So that was exciting for me to be able to test it out in a storefront, see how things sell and the impact things have for a community for artists who have been systematically marginalized by society.”

Busby, 22, launched The Gift Shop last year with the goal of creating a “creative hub.” Busby said she gained a “well-rounded perspective” on the art industry and its shortcomings.

“I had this intersectional lens that taught me what happens at all these different levels and I observed the dynamics with artists being left out of conversations or lowballed with prices,” she explained. “I want to build something that helps bring people to a place of informed self-advocacy and economic self-sufficiency so that they can thrive.”

Rubinoff said Busby’s business model was an ideal fit for Stacktx’s debut in Ottawa.

“It’s ideal because The Gift Shop supports other businesses and artists there and has everything from living room concerts to prints from artists that are on display,” said Rubinoff. “It’s great to have that curation and support of a number of different artists and entrepreneurs within the same space.”

Beyond her month-long presence in Ottawa, Busby said she’s hoping to bring The Gift Shop to more cities across Canada.

Rubinoff said that Stacktx plans to work with 11,000 small businesses over the next 18 months and hopes to maintain a presence in Ottawa past the year-long term — perhaps even following in the footsteps of the Toronto Flagship Market.

“The units themselves are modular and can be moved around, but we’d like to stay beyond the fixed term,” said Rubinoff. “I definitely think the Flagship model can be a possibility in places like Ottawa, too.

“When we find a location that supports that growth and expansion and has that opportunity, we would love to explore that.”

https://obj.ca/shipping-container-st...byward-market/

[rocketphish]

Toronto company launches business-accelerator program with a shipping-container pop-up in ByWard Market
The public opening of the pop-up shop in Ottawa is scheduled for Friday.

Lynn Saxberg, Ottawa Citizen
Published Jun 13, 2024 • 2 minute read

Imani Busby will spend the next month in Ottawa displaying the work of queer, trans and BIPOC artists in a cleverly kitted-out shipping container located in one of the busiest corners of the ByWard Market.

“I’m excited to be here,” the 22-year-old artist-curator from Toronto said. “I think it’s a beautiful city, a beautiful location and I’m happy to be part of the community. Everyone has been so friendly.”

The high-profile opportunity to expand her pop-up gallery, called The Gift Shop 3.0, is the result of a business-accelerator program launched by STACKT, a Canadian company that operates a shipping-container vendors’ marketplace in Toronto. Set up in a vacant, neglected lot on Bathurst Avenue five years ago, the flagship market features more than 100 shipping containers, with businesses offering beverages, food, art, events, a basketball court and space to hang out. It covers 100,000 square feet, and recently extended its lease for 10 more years.

In Ottawa, just one container is devoted to the accelerator project, dubbed STACKTx, as part of a deal with the ByWard Market District Authority. It will be in place for at least a year, featuring a new business each month. Busby’s shop is the first in Ottawa. Similar single-unit ventures are expected to launch in Calgary and Vancouver this year.

The vision for STACKTx is to nurture small businesses in Canada, said company founder Matt Rubinoff, who’s in Ottawa for the public opening of the pop-up shop on Friday.

“A large percentage of businesses fail,” he observed. “We’re trying to decrease that. We want them to grow and thrive.”

Small businesses can sign up online for the STACKTx accelerator program, which also provides resources, education, mentorship, social events, conferences and more, Rubinoff said. Corporate partners such as the software company Xero help keep it free.

If selected for a free month in the retail unit, the winning business receives additional support from the company, such as adapting the space to suit the business and working with a visual merchandiser to display products effectively.

Rubinoff says it’s a great opportunity for a small-business owner who wants to try out the retail sector without having to commit. Ottawa-area businesses are encouraged to apply.

“Some of these businesses may only exist online, so this is a perfect stepping stone to see if retail is something they want to explore further,” Rubinoff said.

It’s not Busby’s first time in a storefront, but it is her first time doing business outside the Greater Toronto Area. She hopes to expand her network of artists and professionals, help emerging artists develop business skills, host events and sell some art.

“I want to be able to help artists sell their work and become economically self-sufficient through their practice,” she said.

Events will take place on a low deck constructed around the unit. The schedule includes a series of workshops on topics such as grant-application writing and digital marketing, an artists’ roundtable, “activation” events and musical performances every Friday starting June 21.

A grand-opening party is planned for 6-11 p.m. on Saturday.

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...-byward-market