Bolstered by very favourable responses from Aldergrove business owners about last year’s Langley Good Times Cruise-in and its impact on this community, the Aldergrove Business Association is on a drive to create awareness and planning for this year’s event.
The Cruise-in returns to Aldergrove on Saturday, Sept. 8 and it will mean Fraser Highway traffic will be closed as a thoroughfare all that day, as it was last year.
This year, however, Fraser Hwy. traffic will be closed between 272nd and 264th streets only, which is considered a better plan than redirecting traffic at 276th Street.
This opens up the use of the old Aldergrove Mall parking lot for public parking for Cruise-in attendees, and should have less negative impact for downtown businesses and their customer parking needs.
Aldergrove Business Association (ABA) president Jodi Steeves said that a Langley Township survey estimates the net improvement in business for the downtown merchants is $311,000, and if this year’s weather is better and attendance is up there should be even more positive results for business here.
A Township survey of 24 businesses within Aldergrove also found that two-thirds of respondents said there was no negative impact due to the road closures, and 83 per cent supported its return this year.
Most survey respondents also agreed that the Cruise-in raised public awareness of Aldergrove, even if most of them did not report an increase in their sales that day.
Steeves, a real estate agent, said she had anticipated delays in getting to an open house she had on the day of the Cruise-in but was surprised to find traffic moving fairly smoothly.
“I gave myself an hour to get to it from my home, but it turned out it only took me 12 minutes to there, I breezed through,” said Steeves.
The ABA will be on a drive to raise awareness and planning among business owners ahead of this year’s event. They are distributing posters to storefronts here and will be raising street banners shortly before the event.