Downtown St. Catharines

The downtown core of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada is defined by the city as the area between Highway 406 on the west and south, Geneva Street on the east until it reaches St. Paul Street then Niagara Street north until it meets Welland Avenue.

The area was originally known as a storehouse for goods at the crossing of an Iroquois trail over Twelve Mile Creek. Curving Indian trails formed the foundation of the downtown streets as they appear today. Among them remains the largest and most historically significant of the city, St. Paul Street - the spine of Downtown St. Catharines. Construction of the first and second Welland Canals behind St. Paul Street quickly elevated the area into a prosperous hub for commerce and industry in the Niagara Region.

The downtown's extensive history left an impressive showplace of heritage sites in the core. Architectural landmarks reveal the stories behind St. Catharines varying roles as the former seat of Lincoln County, a popular health-spa destination, and the premiere retail centre for Niagara. Like many downtowns in North America, the area experienced significant decline as shopping malls and power centres in the suburbs took over as major shopping destinations. Today, the downtown is experiencing its lowest vacancy rate since 2000, with over 120 shops, boutiques and over 50 culinary establishments. It has become particularly popular among Brock University and Niagara College students who frequent the many bars and clubs that are centred on St. Paul & James Streets.

Citizens of St. Catharines often complain of the lack of parking and inconveniences associated with one-way streets in the core. On April 3, 2006, St. Catharines City Council voted in favour of returning two-way traffic to the downtown core, at an anticipated cost of $2 million. As of October 2009, most of the conversion work is complete but is too early to determine whether two-way traffic has been successful in making streets safer, slowing down traffic and boosting business. The addition of two-way traffic, especially to St. Paul Street, played a role in the Ontario Wine Council's decision to modify the Niagara Wine Route to pass through downtown St. Catharines in 2014.

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Wikipedia