LAC LA BICHE - On May 13, in a bid to drive more commerce and foot-traffic to downtown Lac La Biche businesses, the Lac La Biche and District Chamber of Commerce launched the Main Street Mondays initiative.
The program is hoped to draw customers to the downtown area, especially areas blocked by the current phase of the $32.5 million Main Street construction project.
Through this program, each Monday, a different business in the construction zone is featured on the Chamber and Lac La Biche Region social media pages. Customers with product receipts from the highlighted business are eligible to win promotional County Dollars to spend in local stores.
River McDonald, the executive director of the Lac La Biche and District Chamber of Commerce, said to date, the campaign has been going well.
“So far, we have seen quite a bit of success with the initiative and have heard good feedback from the businesses,” she told Lakeland This Week.
When asked how Main Street Mondays came to fruition, McDonald said Lac La Biche County staff approached the local Chamber office – which represents just over 100 businesses in the region – about doing an initiative to feature the businesses in the construction zone.
After talks with the County, she explained, it was decided that the Chamber would be responsible for visiting businesses in the construction zone, gathering information and deciding to have a weekly draw to encourage foot traffic in the area.
“Most businesses we have approached have been quite interested and excited so far,” she said, adding that Main Street Mondays will continue until the end of October, when construction for 2024 is expected to wrap up.
Since the one-block section of Main Street from 102 Street to 101 Street was blocked to traffic at the beginning of May, a temporary, wooden sidewalk has been installed to provide some front-door access to businesses in the construction zone. Despite the access, store sales and customer traffic have seen substantial decreases, report several business owners in the construction area.
The Lac La Biche POST newsroom has asked the Chamber for some specific numbers relating to the new contest and customer entries. Those figures are expected soon.
McDonald said the construction for this year’s portion of the Main Street Revitalization project has posed a few challenges to local merchants, but added that overall, feedback from businesses seems to be better than last year.
