Civic leaders have heard an earful from Vernon’s business community.
The results of the fourth annual business walk have been released.
“The program provides us with a great snapshot of the current economic conditions, and provides businesses with an opportunity to provide feedback to the City of Vernon and other business service providers,” said Kevin Poole, economic development manager.
“Ninety-two per cent of businesses stated that their business was either steady or growing, which is reflective of the economic growth that Vernon is experiencing.”
However, a number of issues arose to the surface during the Oct. 28 event.
“Concerns regarding parking are commonly heard in the annual business walks,” said Poole.
“In particular, several businesses located in the city centre expressed the need for more adequate customer and staff parking, as well as loading areas. Businesses outside of downtown also had concerns which ranged from poor parking lot layouts to access issues and unsafe crosswalks.”
And safety was identified as a business challenge, second only to parking.
“Safety concerns included comments regarding aggressive panhandling, increases in the transient population and the impact of drug use and addiction in terms of littering,” said Poole.
“Business concerns involved both the safety of staff and customers alike. These concerns were most pronounced among downtown businesses and among businesses located at the Fruit Union Plaza, the Vernon Square shopping centre and the Shops at Polson Park.”
Another topic discussed was area specific events and marketing.
The business walk participants included the City of Vernon, Community Futures, the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Vernon Association.