'There's a stigma': businesses look to change Dundas Street's reputation

London, Ont. -

After two years of construction aimed at revitalizing downtown's Dundas Street, manager of Core Area Programs, Ryan Craven, says the City of London is now in “activation mode” to try and make the renamed Dundas Place, a spot families will visit.

“We’re working with the London Arts Council, the London Jazz Hub and other community programming partners to bring quite a bit of cultural programming to the street on the weekends especially, but trying to have stuff happening every day,” said Craven.

But even with the renovations and events taking place on the street, it still hasn’t been enough to change some Londoner’s minds about visiting the area.

This week the City of London took to social media for feedback on the additions to Dundas Place and was met with an overwhelming response from people raising concerns about drug use and homelessness.

Owner of Heroes Comics, Brahm Wiseman, has seen the increase in homelessness in the area since the start of the pandemic, but he also knows that the effort the city has put in to hosting free outdoor events can show positive results.

“They’re working when they happen, for sure, two weeks ago when we had (Free) Comic Book Day downtown, we brought over 1,000 people,” said Wiseman.

When events like these occur, Dundas Place receives support from the London Police Service and security agencies to create an environment that shies away from the street culture Dundas typically sees.

Both Craven and Wiseman urge the public to see for themselves.

“The idea with the activations and the events is that we want to fill the space with the type of activities that we want. The healthy pro-social behaviour that we want,” said Craven.

They're also being done in order to help local businesses on the strip recover from the financial burdens from lockdowns due to COVID-19.

“It’s not a reason to abandon your city or abandon downtown. I think the more that people come together, the more that people create safe and enjoyable spaces, the less you really notice that element,” said Wiseman.

For more information, visit Downtown London’s website.