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The Citizen, 2012-03-08, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 8, 2012 Volume 28 No. 10 AGRICULTURE - Pg. 12Federation holds annualdinner for politicians BIA - Pg. 18 New branding initiativeproposed for BlythSCHOOL- Pg. 11Trustee provides updatedtransition timelinePublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: New Streetscape Master Plan presented in Blyth Brussels university project promising says Hawley Good for a laugh Vanessa Hicks and Jim Armstrong shared a laugh on Saturday at Cinnamon Jim’s while Hicks and her crew of students from the University of Waterloo took a lunch break from doing their research around the village. Hicks, a Masters candidate and head of the project under Dr. Robert Shipley, oversaw the students as they fanned throughout the community. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Jim Vafiades, landscape architect and project manager for the Blyth Streetscape Master Plan, gave the first glimpses of what a remodeled main street in Blyth might look like during a presentation he made at the Bainton Art Gallery in Blyth on March 1. Vafiades works for Stantec, a consulting firm hired by several local interests including the Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA), the Blyth Idea Group (BIG) and North Huron Township to plan for changing the way downtown Blyth looks. Vafiades showed slides of plans for the village’s main street which include remodeled sidewalks, “bump-outs” to encourage legal parking and increase visibility at corners as well as special cross- walks that are more visible than those currently in use. The plan is to highlight the village through making it a more appealing place and providing more greenery, more seating spaces and redesigned public areas like the Greenway Trail and the courtyard in front of Memorial Hall. While there were some concerns about the “bump-outs”, or parts of the sidewalk at intersections that would be extended out to provide safety and stop people from parking illegally while not overlapping with current traffic areas, the response was positive from local residents, business members and represen- tatives from the BIA and BIG. Vafiades started the meeting by showing what he had been told during previous public meetings what the important parts of Blyth area. “As far as significant features, we have been told that the Blyth Festival Theatre complex and the Greenway Trail are significant features,” he said. “Significant attractions include the Blyth Festival, the Huron Pioneer and Hobby Association Reunion, Canadiana, the Blyth Farmers’ Market and the arts community.” Vafiades explained that any changes should seek to highlight these factors and listed that as a major reason for changes considered to King Street which runs to the Blyth Community Centre where many events are held. He stated that culturally, the final plan will reflect the agricultural roots, livestock, grain and leather production and railroad history that the town is steeped in as well as Blyth’s strong sense of community. Specific problems the final plan will address include the excessive speed of through-town traffic, unsafe intersection crossings, inefficient parking layouts, outdated street lighting, minimal pedestrian seating areas, underutilized municipal lands, lack of street trees and shade and a general lack of identity. He stated the general lack of identity was more about having a hook to draw people in. “A lack of identity or sense of place is something we’re looking at,” he said. “We need something that would set Blyth apart from other destinations and bring people here as it’s a unique location.” The first issues: excessive traffic speed and unsafe crosswalks, are ones that Vafiades stated could be addressed with the ‘bump-outs’ as well as some decorative fountains and seats focused on Blyth’s agricultural backgrounds. “One of our design objectives was to create a gateway, some place that would say a traveller is entering downtown Blyth which is some place unique,” he said. “One idea we had was to create a mill-stone statue, providing both a symbol of Blyth’s heritage and seating options. It could be accompanied by planters and small tree shades and really give the impression that this is a place worth visiting.” Vafiades said that kind of ornamentation can cause people to slow down. Changes at the Blyth Memorial Hall courtyard include doing away with the existing hill and replacing some of the grass with walkways to provide a safer, less congested place for people to congregate. The changes would also create smaller areas that could be used for outdoor art shows and movie showings. Other changes included a proposed redevelopment of the Greenway Trail and development of the parking areas near the Blyth Festival Theatre and Memorial Hall to provide a safer experience after dark. Funding options will need to be explored before any of the changes can be considered and a final, detailed design will also need to be created according to Vafiades. After that a plan for the redevelopment would be laid out to ensure that the same area isn’t being worked on several times either by the streetscape redesign or by utilities workers. To see the planning drawings, visit The Citizen’s website at www.northhuron.on.ca With the sun peeking out sooner and sooner every morning, it’s time to spring forward as daylight savings time takes effect once again on Sunday, March 11. Yes, before hitting the hay on Saturday night, be sure to move your clocks forward by one hour as we’ll lose an hour of sleep that night. Daylight savings time takes effect at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. A who’s who of the Brussels community gathered on Saturday afternoon at Cinnamon Jim’s when 20 students from the University of Waterloo descended on the village. As reported in the March 1 issue of The Citizen, 20 students from the University of Waterloo, along with their student supervisors and professors were in Brussels on Saturday doing research for a project being taken on by Dr. Robert Shipley. Five students were assigned to work on a potential walking trail being developed around Brussels, while 15 planning students were each assigned a property in the village. The planning students were then asked to document as much history on the property as they could find and assess the property’s heritage value in the community. The group arrived in Brussels shortly after 10:30 a.m., despite the cold and windy weather, and worked until shortly after noon, when they were welcomed to Cinnamon Jim’s for lunch and some time to talk with members of the community. The students spent over an hour speaking with Paul and Kathy Nichol, Don McNeil, Jim Armstrong, Ralph Watson, David Blaney and several others about what the strengths and weaknesses of the community are and what the students should be focusing on in the weeks to come. Kathy Nichol, owner of Solace on Turnberry and member of The Brussels Build, said that hopefully the project will impress upon everyone how important the village’s main street is. “We’ve now had ideas generated, now we have to put them into action,” Nichol said. Huron East Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley said she couldn’t be happier with how the afternoon went and that she expects great things from the group of students in April. Hawley said it was important not only to see the students in Brussels, but to see such important people from Brussels out and interacting with the students. She says it will be these people who will pick the project up and run with it once the students have delivered what they’re working on. “Now they’re going to become ambassadors for the village on this project,” Hawley said. Hawley said having the students in the village for the first time was an important step in the process and that it not only helps them understand what the village has to offer, but helps those in Brussels to know what outsiders see as the strengths of the village. “There is a lot going for Brussels,” Hawley said. “It is a prosperous community with some very successful businesses.” Hawley names, specifically, the Brussels Industrial Park and Brussels Livestock, among others. It is tough to convince others that By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 19 By Denny Scott The Citizen Time to spring forward