Chill on Mill continues through summer

Creemore BIA has decided to proceed with the Chill on Mill initiative on Saturdays for the remainder of the summer after mostly positive feedback from businesses and residents.
The Business Improvement Area (BIA) decided to close the streets to motorized vehicles on Saturdays to foster a COVID-friendly shopping and dining experience by creating more space for people to line-up at stores and chill on Muskoka chairs that have been added to the street decor.
At a special BIA meeting on Tuesday, members reported mostly positive feedback and voted to carry the Saturday street closures through until Sept. 4, which is Labour Day weekend.
The feedback is supported by survey results that found 75 per cent said yes to continuing the event, and 25 per cent said maybe.
Some challenges have been identified with regard to transporting bulky and heavy items to vehicles parked outside of the chill zone but members are actively trying to come up with solutions, including the use of a communal wagon.
It was also noted that some bicycles were coming in hot early on in the program, a problem that has been mitigated with the use of cycle calming measures, such as barricades and messaging.
Based on feedback from members, the BIA also voted to activate the space in ways that meet pandemic health protocols, with the possibility of buskers being mentioned as an example.