The owner of a well-established men’s clothing store downtown St. John’s would like to see the pedestrian mall on Water Street become a weekend thing.

As it stands, four blocks of Water Street are barricaded seven days a week for nine weeks. However, Byron Murphy, the proprietor of Byron’s Clothing, says foot traffic does not account for a significant amount of his business.

He would prefer to see the mall as a Thursday evening to Sunday evening event with the road shut down, then the street reopened for Monday-Thursday day.

Murphy not only works downtown and has for the past 33 years; he also lives on Water Street. He says making the mall a weekend thing could also extend its longevity.

He says it should be business as usual Monday-Thursday; then have the outdoor mall on weekends complete with programming. Otherwise, Murphy is concerned that the mall will die a slow death.