Victoria may reform busking bylaw

Victoria may reform busking bylaw

by Bill Cleverley, timescolonist.com
May 28th 2011

Victoria could be tuning up its busking bylaw.

Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe has suggested possible changes to the city's street entertainment bylaw to both help entertainers pick up more change and to bring relief for merchants growing weary of listening to the same old tunes.

Suggestions include allowing buskers to sell products such as CDs or (in the case of sidewalk chalk artists) postcards of their work; developing a uniform sign that would indicate buskers are allowed to solicit donations and a change to the street entertainers guidelines that would make entertainers move every two hours or at the completion of their repertoire.

"The busker bylaw is always one about management. There are always little flashpoints of concern," said Coun. Chris Coleman, who chairs the community development standing committee that will review the suggestions next month.

"Coun. Thornton-Joe would like to have staff review it [the bylaw] and offer some possible good management strategies."

Allowing the sale of CDs would legitimize an existing practice for some, Coleman said.

"There are a number of people who, in the past, have hawked their wares without a busker's licence who bring in materials

-say carved materials -that's supposed to be their own work but isn't. This is saying if it's your work and it reflects what you're presenting on the street, it should be available."

Coleman said the idea of a standardized sign that says buskers can solicit donations comes because some tourists see the small licence tag buskers must display and think that they are actually being paid by the city.

The idea of having buskers move after two hours or once they've finished their repertoire -whichever comes first -is to bring some relief to established businesses. Current guidelines say an entertainer may play at any one location for a maximum of two hours and then must move at least two blocks away and not return for at least three hours.

"We've said that a busker should be allowed to play for up to two hours. That has been interpreted by some people to say: 'I've got this spot for two hours and I've only got two songs so I'm going to play them over and over again.' That isn't always the image we want. "

Coleman said any changes couldn't be made until next year. bcleverley@timescolonist.com



Original Page: http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Victoria+reform+busking+bylaw/4856625/story.html

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