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A new Sunday market will stay in The Quarters at 103 Avenue and 97 Street, which is still the long-term permanent home. Renovations to the year-round space in the Great Western Garment Company are on-going.

It’s quite possible this will all work out for the best. But I sure hope all parties can sit down, share their plans and find a way to move past the politics.

The Downtown Farmers Market is a gem. It was one of the first outdoor markets that really took off here, at least in recent memory, and convinced residents we really can have that ambling, outdoor culture many of us enjoy on vacation.

Each time I went, that’s what it felt like: a little vacation. Popcorn, music, sunshine all on a lovely, happening street.

Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia

Market spokesman Dan Young says it first learned it would likely have to leave in November, when it applied to the city to extend its lease. City officials said utility work for the west LRT extension could happen at any time and, in December, they told the market its lease would be terminated.

In February, the city confirmed the market could not be on 104 Street at all, Young said. But the market didn’t say anything publicly until March, when it reached an agreement to use 103 Avenue in The Quarters instead.

Young opened in The Quarters May 18. He only heard about the option to go back to 104 Street two weeks ago. He figures it’s a win-win, and bristles when I say some people in the 104 Street community have been offended. The market is an independent business, Young said, which has no more obligation to share plans with the 104 Street community than any other business.