A Centretown community organization is working on a new program to encourage local businesses to spruce up their storefronts.
Plans are ongoing to create a program that would formally recognize businesses’ efforts to keep clean, says Shawn Menard, president of the Centretown Citizens’ Community Association.
“The main goal is to encourage businesses to clean up their appearance. We hope it will lead to cleaner and safer streets for folks,” says Menard.
The program would have volunteers go door-to-door to local businesses, raising awareness of storefront maintenance and explaining the program’s benefits. Special certificates of recognition would be awarded to establishments that keep clean.
Menard says while the program will be geared towards all of Centretown, high-traffic commercial areas such as Bank Street would be the main targets.
The CCCA’s Safety Committee drafted the program’s initial proposal and got approval to start putting together an official plan at the board meeting Jan. 20.
Bob Graham, co-chair of the committee, says the outward appearance of businesses has a direct affect on community safety.
He says the committee is concerned messy business areas create a negative atmosphere and encourage loitering, aggressive pan-handling and property crimes.
Gerry LePage, executive director of the Bank Street BIA, agrees maintaining an orderly appearance, particularly when dealing with graffiti, has been a big problem for Centretown businesses.
He says untreated storefronts could lead to bigger issues down the road for the entire trade community.
“You have graffiti that projects the feeling of an unsafe type of environment,” he says. “People perceive that, and they won't frequent the neighbourhood and then your market base for those businesses is gone.”
He adds there are definitely storefronts in Centretown that can benefit.
While he agrees cleanliness should be a priority for businesses, LePage says it’s hard to predict how storeowners will respond to the CCCA’s program.
He says they can likely expect varying degrees of response.
“Some businesses take extreme pride in their store-frontage and you see them out in the warm weather sweeping but then of course you get businesses that don’t and won’t,” he explains.
Jane Wyatt, owner of Book Bazaar, located on Bank Street, says she thinks the program is a good idea but it shouldn’t be necessary. She says businesses should be taking the initiative.
“We certainly try to clean up in front of our store,” she says. “I think we all should take responsibility for our space and keep it tidy.”
But LePage says that at a time when the economy has small businesses struggling to survive, cleanliness and safety, although important, might unfortunately become less of a priority.
Menard says participating in the program might actually give some businesses an edge.
“I think a lot of times there is a correlation between the storefront and the success of the business,” he explains. “It encourages customers to come in.”
Menard says the program may seem like a small step right now, but it’s a step in the right direction. “If we can raise awareness that this is important for the community and beneficial to the businesses that participate, then this program can be effective,” he says.
The committee’s goal is to have the program running by late March, just in time for spring cleaning.