Archive News from Digital Main Street

In the hotels of Quinte Region around Belleville, kiosks guide visitors to the hidden gems that locals and those in-the-know frequent. Unfortunately, if you’re not on Trip Advisor and Google My Business, you’re apt to stay hidden.  

As the Digital Main Street initiative proliferates through Ontario, economic centres like Kitchener-Waterloo, Port Hope, Hamilton, and Thunder Bay are re-energizing local main street businesses with digital tools.

Toronto’s waterfront can bean icy place in the winter which is why the BIA partnered with local startup AP1 to leverage innovative proximity technology and a scavenger hunt application to get Torontonians out during the most unforgiving months.

As of May, the West Queen West Business Improvement Area has connected the neighbourhood between Bathurst and Ossington with free wi-fi. While Rob Sysak, executive director of the BIA, says he excited about being a first mover, he envisions a future where all neighbourhoods offer the service.

Leveraging high speed networks and the proliferation of mobile devices, Bloor West Village and PeopleFlow have teamed up to track mobile movement, better understand who’s shopping in the area and figure out how to make the area more attractive to visitors.