Sarnia's main drag is being converted to pedestrian-only traffic starting this Friday.
City council has approved a Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce pilot project that will close Christina Street between Wellington Street and George Street, on weekends until September 27.
The area will only be accessible by foot from 4 p.m. on Fridays until 10 p.m. on Sundays.
Chamber CEO Allan Calvert said it should help downtown shops and restaurants recover from the pandemic.
"There's no question that we are in challenging times and we need to direct people to that part of the city to spend their shopping dollars and be exposed to that area," said Calvert. "As opposed to simply driving people down there and squeezing by on sidewalks, by opening the street, we are giving people social distancing and encouraging retailers and restaurant owners to push their wares into the street to capitalize on capturing some of this traffic."
Calvert said a printed map of all public parking lots in and around the downtown will be provided to all retailers and they're working to accommodate people with special needs.
"We're in the process of obtaining not only a couple of golf carts, but some volunteers to escort those people through this area," he said.
Calvert said the pilot will be monitored closely to ensure its functionality works.