Drinks outside on Rice Howard Way? Council to review proposal next month

Rice Howard Way (CTV News Edmonton)

Edmonton could have a downtown outdoor entertainment district as soon as June 1.

If approved, Rice Howard Way — located just off Jasper Avenue between 100 and 101 Street — would become a pedestrian-only zone on Saturdays from June to August.

People would be allowed to drink alcohol in the district as long as it's purchased from businesses in the area.

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Rice Howard Way was selected because of its walkability, low traffic, and number of bars and restaurants.

"We're super excited about the entertainment districts. We've seen this in other cities and it works really well," Downtown Business Association Executive Director Puneeta McBryan said. "People always reference European cities…you should be able to just have a glass of wine or a beer and stroll around and put up seats in the street and kind of treat it more like a plaza.

"It's shown to attract a lot of people and make a really big difference on things like vibrancy and safety and it's good for the local economy."

Streets would remain open to traffic at the 100A Street intersection for parkade access.

McBryan said Rice Howard Way works well because it has businesses and not many residents, but added 104 Street is also under consideration.

"This is really just hopefully a gradual move toward more relaxed, less fences, less red tape, let's just open up the street and have great events there, whenever it makes sense."

A proposal will go to city council next month.