INNISFAIL – COVID or no COVID, fun is about break out on Main Street.
On May 10, council gave final approval to an administration plan for the historic west end downtown block to get a facelift. Nothing fancy or expensive mind you but something with a little bit of jazz, glitz and plenty of imagination but mostly just plain old-fashioned fun.
“When we were working with 13 Ways a word that kept coming up was making your community fun, make your downtown area fun. We see the farmers market hopefully going ahead in the downtown,” said Coun. Jean Barclay, adding it could be and important boost to help out businesses devastated by the pandemic. “We know that eating facilities and restaurants are having a great deal of difficulty, on again and off again, and now no patios.”
Earlier this year Barclay told council it was important for the town to get some life into the downtown area following a report from administration it wanted to retain an outside consultant to work on a Downtown Urban Design Plan.
Barclay said she was not looking for anything massive or expensive, just something that might help many citizens get over the COVID-19 pandemic blues.
Meghan Jenkins, the town’s director of community services, was tasked to answer the call to come up with some ideas. Last month, she proposed, and council accepted, an idea to transform the empty lot at the southwest corner of 50th Street and 50th Avenue into a year-round gathering space.
“At the time this came forward we were thinking this would be a great corner spot for people to be able to sit and enjoy the downtown market and maybe enjoy some take out from our local restaurants, and have a place to sit down and enjoy it,” said Barclay.
And now with outside help there is more, and the transformation will soon begin.
Jenkins came back to council on May 10 with a recommended motion to spend $20,000 in leftover monies from the $50,000 budget for the Downtown Urban Design Plan on two key areas in the downtown historical block between 50th and 51st Avenue – the vacant southwest corner of Bankers Corner, and the mid-block crosswalk/cut beside Collective House on the south side of Main Street. Council unanimously approved the motion.
Jenkins said the $20,000 would be spent for the transformation of both sites, including lighting, paint, barriers, plantings, structures, and furniture. Council was told administration has already started getting pricing for what is needed, with some items being repurposed from the public works department.
“The next focus is getting the materials, and potentially volunteers, and actually seeing some physical changes,” said Jenkins, adding work will “hopefully” start in the next couple of weeks. “We’ve already has some preliminary conversations about how to implement and how to get those things actually constructed.”
Several consultant designs were included in council’s agenda package. Barclay wanted to know if those artist renderings would be replicated.
“We aren’t necessarily looking to replicate exactly what is in there but we will be utilizing those concepts and those ideas to kind of refine them as we get materials onboard to come help us paint and build,” said Jenkins, adding its hoped community volunteers will offer a helping hand in giving the block needed splashes of creative and fun inspiration.
She said the downtown makeover project will carry into the winter, noting the Bankers Corner lot has been leased for a year. Jenkins said the town will now be working internally later this year to update the Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan. But for now though, fun this summer in the downtown is the town’s primary and paramount objective.
“Yes, it is all about fun. I love the idea of getting the community involved in a crosswalk design and having the winners be able to participate in helping paint those crosswalks,” said Barclay. “This is a start. Start small. Take small steps, and build it out from there, and it takes years to do that.”
