A conceptual drawing shows a pedestrian mall proposed for William Street in the ByWard Market. Supplied photo

The pilot project that has made William Street in the ByWard Market car-free since last summer has been renewed, to the joy of buskers and dismay of some motorists.

William Street at York has been open to pedestrians only since 2010, becoming a performance space for buskers and other street entertainers. But while the performers have been able to reap benefits from the initiative, some local businesses and drivers have been less than enthusiastic.

Jessica King, who works at the Frou Frou boutique on William Street, warmly embraced the concept of a pedestrians-only space when it was first introduced.

One year later, she's not so sure how she feels.

"This year, it's a little more confusing," King said. "They've changed not only the direction of the street, but which way you can turn if you're at the street and in a car."

The restrictions to cars have been detrimental for some shoppers, she added.

"I know a lot of our regular customers who come in during the week and like to just park and pick up a few things and go, they get kind of frustrated because they can't do that anymore," King said. "There's not a lot of places to park, and I think they've really just closed the wrong street."

Many buskers had the opposite reaction, saying that keeping the street open only to pedestrians has given them a much-needed space downtown to perform freely.

William Street will remain closed to traffic until the end of the summer.