FERGUS – A COVID initiative that saw a part of Provost Lane in Downtown Fergus closed down for a sitting and dining area is getting an upgrade.
A deck and frame has been installed on Provost Lane, just off St. Andrew Street West.
Fergus BIA chair Kim Jefferson confirmed it is a BIA project and will be a covered patio that can be used from May through to November.
“We’re doing sunshades, benches and accessible tables in there as well,” Jefferson said. “We’ve built it so that it’s wheelchair accessible from the sidewalk whereas before it wasn’t.”
This part of Provost Lane has been closed down to traffic in the warmer months through COVID and would have tables and umbrellas people could sit, eat and have shade.
“Our umbrellas kept getting stolen or broken or different things like that, so we were having to have added costs,” Jefferson said.
“This way, with the sunshade it’s going to be better, nobody has to do maintenance on them, they’re going to be put up in May and then taken down in November.”
The patio is being built so it can be taken apart for winter or moved to another spot in the future if it is decided Provost Lane is no longer suitable.
Jefferson said the BIA is also hoping it can host music, events or classes.
For example, during the Fergus Scottish Festival, she said there was entertainment set-up on the street but this could be moved to the patio.
“We could have them actually on there and there’d be more seating for people because it was pretty crowded standing,” Jefferson said.
There’s no timeline for completion but it will be coming down by Nov. 1 for traffic and snow clearing on Provost Lane before going back in on May 1.
