Noise over the state of Trail’s downtown has been hushed by a much-anticipated plan that will look at revitalizing the city’s core.
While the public waits to find out what recommendations MMM Group Limited’s $85,000 study has in mind, members of the Downtown Opportunities and Action Committee (DOAC) have already had a sneak peak and Trail council will get its look this month.
“The plan will address many of the long-standing issues but we didn’t get to this place overnight and we won’t get out of it overnight,” said Trail councillor Kevin Jolly, who is also chair of the DOAC. “But what we will have is a clear pathway to move forward as a community and a plan our citizens can get behind.”
Jolly said many of the suggestions made by the consultant firm related back to points brought up at a meeting held last October, when 75 attending residents weighed in on what they liked about their city’s core and where improvements needed to be made.
While a preliminary report is available on the city’s website at this time (click here), Jolly won’t disclose much about the plan until it’s officially presented to the public, shortly after the April 10 Trail council closed-door presentation.
“There is going to be a sort of heritage theme, an industrial theme, in certain places,” he said.
“We’re going to work toward greening the downtown space as much as we can, improving downtown guidelines around any sort of renovations and making full utilization of the riverfront as best we can.”
He also noted a simple investment in signage could go a long way in attracting the traveling public.
“We want to make sure that people are clear that when they come down the highway, they don’t just see green lights and keep going, they see very well-marked signage that steers them to where we want them to go and draws them into the downtown core.”
Trail has set aside $100,000 in its draft budget for DOAC projects, which will be presented in the plan, under its capital program. Other big-ticket capital expenditures include about $256,000 for Phase 3 of city hall renovations; nearly $360,000 for upgrades to the Trail Memorial Centre and almost $2.9 million for work – including heating, ventilation and air conditioning improvements – at the Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre.
The preliminary document can be downloaded from the city’s website by selecting the “Downtown Opportunities and Action Planning Committee” and then selecting the “Downtown Revitalization Plan” or click here.