It’s been three weeks since a stretch of Toronto’s Village neighbourhood was closed to vehicle traffic and many people using the area say the atmosphere is a welcome change.

Two blocks of Church Street between Wellesley and Alexander Streets have been closed to cars and cyclists since June 19 as part of a pilot project aimed at giving pedestrians more room to walk around and provide a boost to local businesses at the same time.

CityNews spoke with multiple residents and several business owners to evaluate how the project has been working so far.

“I find it enjoyable to just walk more comfortably on the streets,” one resident said. “I’ve lived here for 30 years, and you see a difference in the atmosphere.”

After several weeks of pedestrian-only access, the City officially held a ribbon-cutting event for the project on Friday. 

The concept of pedestrianized streets is popular in Europe and other big cities across Canada, and residents of the Church-Wellesley Village hope that it sticks around for years to come.

“I always wished we had the same thing like in Montreal,” another resident added. “I was always like ‘Why don’t they have that in Toronto? On Church Street?’”

While some nearby business owners told CityNews they haven’t noticed a significant increase in customers during the day, many others say the pedestrian-only pilot has helped create a more welcoming atmosphere and brought more people onto the street.

“Well, this is a pilot project, so obviously they are going to examine details and the things that went right and wrong,” George Pratt, owner of Flash nightclub and chair of the Church-Wellesley Business Improvement Association, told CityNews. “I would like to see it come back again next year and maybe for a longer period of time.”

“Maybe from May to September,” he added.

The pilot project is expected to cost about $500,000 after initially being budgeted at roughly $150,000. 

Councillor Chris Moise says about $300,000 of those funds is tied to policing and private security. He says those costs will have to come down if Toronto hopes to expand pedestrian-only streets elsewhere in the city.

“One of the complaints we’ve received is that there is too much security,” Moise said. “It’s a bit of an overkill.”

“Hopefully, over time, we can reduce the security here because I think it was a bit much,” he added.

Toronto Police tells CityNews it spent about $25,000 on paid-duty officers during the pilot’s opening weekend, with most of the police presence provided by officers on regular duty. 

Police say future pedestrianization projects would still require careful planning around public safety and emergency access. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Olivia Chow says she’s open to more pedestrian streets.

“If the businesses and the residents, if they think that it’s something that they want to do, absolutely the City of Toronto will consider it,” Chow told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

The Church Street pedestrianization pilot is scheduled to continue until August 21, after which the city will review the results before deciding on any next steps.