‘Please be kind’ – York shopping centre asks for people’s patience as it reopens
New signs adorning York’s Coppergate Centre appeal for kindness and patience as stores adjust to a slower-pace of retailing.
Messages on posters and bollards appeal for people to social distance, wash their hands, and ‘please be kind’.
Centre manager Pippa Unwin said: “Stores have been closed for ten weeks now, but the shopping experience is going to be very different when they re-open their doors, with limits to the number of customers who can be in each store at any one time.
“At this point, it is impossible to predict how many people will venture into the city centre this week, so we’ve worked hard to plan safe queuing areas for each store into the square and on Coppergate Walk to maintain social distancing.”
Many of the retailers in the centre, including Fenwick and Primark, have already announced their plans to re-open from Monday 15 June, with others expected to open their doors during the course of the week.
Long waiting times
Queues may be long with significant waiting times.
“Everyone is adjusting to the new ‘normal’, and inevitably, there will be things that need to change as we see how different measures are operating,” said Pippa.
“So we’d encourage everyone to be as considerate as possible – if something isn’t working, friendly feedback is very much appreciated so we can address any new challenges.”
Hand sanitiser stations have been set up in outdoor areas, and signs are being installed on pavements to indicate the two metre gaps in queues required for social distancing.
Both Castle Car Park and Piccadilly will be open for shoppers, and City of York Council has announced that the public toilets adjacent to the centre will also open from Monday.
‘Both Castle Car Park and Piccadilly will be open for shoppers’
Until, that is, Castle car park then closes, ‘to help York’s economic recovery’ apparently. (See other news story.)
Coppergate retailers should start planning for a reduced number of shoppers permanently because the greens are coming to get them.
They might also find that the closure of Gillygate and Leeman Road to cars, the temporary-yet-permanent one-way on Bishopthorpe Road, the nightmarish Groves traffic plan and the possible closure of half the parking spaces in other city car parks (floated recently) affects their trade.