Council gave its first endorsement supporting a wishlist of changes to Collingwood's downtown meant to make it more pedestrian-friendly and connected to the bay, among other things.
First presented to the public this past fall, councillors were presented with the new downtown master plan at a special council meeting on Jan. 6 which will guide the evolution of Collingwood’s downtown through 2051.
The plan was approved unanimously during the meeting, and now be forwarded to a future council meeting for final endorsement. Staff will start building a work plan to identify which parts of the plan should be implemented over the next five, 10 and 25 years, subject to annual budget approval.
“I was so excited when I finished reading this,” said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin during the discussion. “If we can make even half of this happen, it’ll be awesome.”
The town and the Downtown Collingwood Business Improvement Area (BIA) partnered for the work on the draft plan and both contributed to the cost of consultant Fotenn Planning + Design.
During public consultation, the consultant heard residents consider the downtown’s assets to be its waterfront location, historical and cultural significance, architectural heritage, strong local groups/organizations and a strong foundation of town studies and plans.
Some of the challenges expressed include a weak connection between the downtown and waterfront, a lack of a central open space, gaps between points of attraction, housing affordability/availability, challenges finding public washrooms, lack of clear wayfinding for pedestrians and cyclists, and a perception of safety.
Some of the suggestions in the plan include:
- hiring a downtown co-ordinator to oversee the implementation of the plan
- continuing to raise awareness around mental health and homelessness in the downtown,
- continue to support the evolution of the downtown from a car-centric to a people-first destination, and
- provide opportunities for downtown visitors to step down into the bay via stairs or some other landscape feature.
During council discussion, Coun. Kathy Jeffery suggested that a downtown co-ordinator shouldn’t be a new staff hire, and that an existing town staffer or team of town staffers should be carrying the charge, which passed by a unanimous vote as an amendment to council’s direction.
“I would have a horrible problem having to hire somebody every time we have a master plan to implement it. I think that’s the CAO’s job,” said Jeffery.
CAO Sonya Skinner clarified that approving the plan didn’t automatically mean that anyone would be hired, but that if it was determined that new staff resources were required they would come forward as part of the annual budget process.
“I think if we do everything in this plan, there’s a good chance we will need new resources,” said Skinner. “I have no expectation that council would endorse those resources through your decision today.”
Included in the plan is a suggestion to enhance the Loblaws frontage on Hurontario Street, create an open, public space in close proximity to town hall and formalize 84 Hurontario St. as a public space, and for the town to investigate the current building condition of the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena, and giving pedestrians the right-of-way on Hurontario Street between Second and Third Streets.
In terms of expanding programs the town already has, the consultant is recommending expanding the town’s rapid accessory rental unit program to support residential upgrades and conversions in downtown buildings, develop year-round programming for the downtown, explore partnerships to adaptively reuse the Federal Building, and provide increased transit focusing on the Blue Mountain link and Wasaga Beach (time and frequency). Providing year-round all-day public washrooms is also being suggested, although Jeffery also acknowledged the difficulty the town has had in the past with keeping any public washrooms open year-round.
“Every time we try to do public washrooms in Collingwood... we can’t keep them open (due to) safety, how people treat them and the maintenance costs just skyrocket,” she said.
In order to increase the attractiveness of the downtown to pedestrians to help curb car use, the consultant is suggesting creating a series of downtown pocket parks, formalize Creative Simcoe Street as an arts district, update the town’s downtown garden maintenance plan and create updated wayfinding signage focused on the downtown and waterfront.
Three members of the Collingwood BIA – Lynda Conway, Tim Cormick and general manager Sue Nicholson – all spoke generally in favour of the recommendations made through the plan.
“We’ve had success, but we can’t take that for granted,” said Cormick.
Nicholson spoke about her experiences representing Collingwood at the Ontario BIA Association.
“I can tell you, we’re the envy of downtowns across Ontario, but it could turn in a heartbeat so we really need to continue to invest,” she said.
To read through the full plan, click here.
