The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is taking a close look at its main commercial, tourism and historical strip and how it should be improved — plus, what changes are needed, acceptable and unacceptable.
A public information session for the Queen Street secondary plan project is set for Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the NOTL Community Centre.
This long-term plan will guide how the town protects and enhances the Queen-Picton heritage district as it prepares for the area to grow and change. The goal, the town states, is to manage growth while respecting heritage, infrastructure capacity, the environment and community character.
At a minute level, the plan will look at other elements: improving pedestrian safety, walkability, accessibility, transportation options such as cycling; consider parking needs and potential alternative parking; review how streets, patios and other public spaces are used; fine-tune urban design and landscaping; and more.
“The secondary plan will provide valuable guidance for future investment and decision-making while helping the yown balance growth, accessibility, economic vitality and heritage conservation,” said chief administrative officer Nick Ruller in a media release in September.
The Nov. 17 information session is meant to be the first of a few public engagement events, though the Town of NOTL hasn’t shared when those next events will be.
This is part of the second phase of this project, which also includes concept development, where the town will prepare and evaluate three potential concepts for land use, building form, streetscapes, transportation, parking, servicing and future growth.
Following this phase, the town will draft the secondary plan, present it to council for consideration, revise, finalize, present it to residents in a statutory public meeting, then share the final documents with council for consideration before enacting it.
The secondary plan was discussed during a few council meetings this past year — it was invoked as a key factor that’ll decide how permanent patios should operate downtown, following the end of the temporary patio program last year.
In April, council voted against a short-term plan that would’ve allowed a select few businesses to reopen their temporary patios. Coun. Maria Mavridis advocated for completing the Queen Street plan first before reviving patios.
“I think we just need to properly follow the process,” she said at the time.
The public information session will be held in the community centre’s Simpson Room. To stay up to date on developments in the project, visit jointheconversationnotl.org/queen-street-secondary-plan.
