http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1017682.html
It’s a wide stretch of commercial road that’s been called Dogpatch, and way too vehicle-friendly, and now Main Street in Dartmouth is in line for an expensive, multi-year makeover, according to a new report.
The study, prepared by a consultant hired by Halifax city hall, says the busy strip could be a kinder, gentler place than simply a major urban thoroughfare to outlying communities.
It suggests street trees, planters, benches, lower lampposts and fewer billboards to make the area more attractive to people living nearby or working in the neighbourhood.
The first decade of the 30-year revitalization plan would see Main Street become "a tree-lined arterial (road) with improved pedestrian amenities and with entry points — or gateways — at each end of the area," says the report, part of which was obtained Saturday by The Chronicle Herald.
"There is a real need to improve architectural character, signage quality, streetscape character, pedestrian accessibility and public spaces and to explore opportunities for mixed-use development," it says.
The report, prepared by Ekistics Planning Design, says the streetscape project would cost $7.9 million. It says Halifax Regional Municipality and its funding partners would need to contribute about $300,000 annually.
A traffic study, land rezoning and the creation of a business improvement district are crucial elements of the plan, the report says. It also promotes the construction of a $30,000 "pocket park" on the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Main Street.
The report notes what Main Street users have known for years: "The proliferation of driveways along (the road) is a safety hazard for pedestrians, cyclists and automobile traffic."
Years in the making, the streetscape scheme should significantly improve the overall look of the Main Street area and make it more enticing for people travelling there. When people who live in the area were surveyed about proposed changes to the district, their main complaint was that Main Street resembled a highway.
One of the first physical improvements should be sidewalk enhancement, the report says.
Main Street, which accommodates about 43,000 cars daily, would benefit from more attractive lighting and an absence of billboards, a public workshop sponsored by the municipality was told in 2006. Billboards are "poison on that street," a commercial property owner said then. "They just make the street look like Dogpatch."
A public meeting to discuss the consultant’s report will be held Monday at Stevens Road United Baptist Church in Dartmouth. An open house begins at 6 p.m. and a presentation starts at 7 p.m.
Halifax regional council and Harbour East Community Council have already acted on some of the recommendations in the plan identified by the public as priorities, said Coun. Andrew Younger (East Dartmouth-The Lakes).
"Implementation will begin this summer, possibly with the first tender out in the next couple of months for park development and tree-planting projects, which are ones you want to get started early to give things time to grow," he said.
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I dunno... this seems like a waste -- a 30-year timeline for trees and benches in Burger City. Sometimes a suburban strip needs to be just that, not something it isn't, or ever was.
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