The Central Park Society has proposed a plan to reinvigorate and redesigned the Main Street gateway to Smithers.
“It’s been a conversation of many people of what to do with this [Main Street and Highway 16] part of town,” society member Allan Cormier said. “So we threw our ideas together, and asked Tanya [Margerm] to help.”
Margerm has worked extensively with a brownfield project in Terrace, Cromier said, who was happy for her assistance.
The plan they drafted included a “facial” for the Central Park Building; more benches out front, a portico that could double as a band stand, more of a solid surface in front of the art gallery (currently, they say there are drainage problems in that spot) as well as a wheelchair accessible entrance. They also wanted to take the trees out from the front of the building, trees they say impair the view down Main Street.
“We were looking at how to make the Central Park building the punctuation mark for the entrance,” Margerm explains. “So make it more visible, more appealing.”
For the brownfield, there are some limits for development, Margerm said. Mohawk had previously told council that while they have no intention to sell the property, the town was welcome to propose another use for the land, but that use couldn’t involve any ground breaking, and Mohawk employees would need continued access. Structures, while welcome, would need to be able to be moved for this purpose.
For this property, they proposed it be converted into a courtyard type atmosphere, complete with trees, shrubs and a place for people to sit and enjoy the day, also providing an outdoor picnic area.
“People will want to stop,” Margerm said.
Deputy Mayor Jo Ann Groves said the project was interesting, and looked forward to further discussions on what to do with the gateway.
“I really was impressed with the way they connected the two — Central Park and the brownfield where Mohawk used to be — it will be a great gateway to Main Street,” Groves said. “Hopefully it will draw tourists to our Main Street.”
Definitely, it’s a plan that council will consider, she said.
“We still have a discussion around that whole area as to how we’re going to develop it,” Groves said, who noted that the town does own a fair bit of land there. “We want to make sure we do it right.”
They do want to ensure that everyone’s needs are met, such as the Visitor’s Information Centre. Before anything is done, council does need to approve the project, as does Mohawk, Groves noted. Financial considerations were not discussed at this time.