Vernon’s 2900 Plaza to be paused for the summer of 2024

The Downtown Vernon Association plans to pause the 2900 Plaza program for the summer of 2024.

On Feb. 26, Vernon's City Council will receive a presentation from the association to stop and rethink the 2900 Plaza summer block program this year after businesses showed less support.

The event closed the 2900 block of 30 Avenue to traffic last year to provide entertainment to pedestrians and stimulate downtown business through hosting live performances, activities and markets.

In 2023, the Plaza was only open 27 of the 42 days due to severe smoke and heat which caused cancellations. This was the second summer, out of three, that the Plaza was impacted by weather events.

The Downtown Vernon Association wishes to pause the initiative for 2024 as support went down, the risk of cancellation due to weather events and because of the frequency of these weather events. Further, the Plaza took away street parking resulting in lower revenues for businesses during July and August.

The association believes it is time to reimagine the 2900 Plaza and, in the meantime, pause the program for July and August while they deliver surveys and conduct focus groups to rethink the plan.

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