HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-11-03, Page 21THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011. PAGE 21. Continued from page 1
said.
Deputy-Reeve David Riach
agreed, stating that it would help
prevent people from parking where
they shouldn’t and create a
“recognizable safe parking area.”
Another concern for the
assembled stakeholders was seating
in the downtown core.
Vafiades said that the design of
any kind of seating would be
discussed at a later date but asked
what kind of seating was available
and whether it was sufficient.
Sparling stated that seating needed
to be increased, especially for
Festival-goers.
“We have nothing to connect
people to the Festival while they’re
waiting for shows to start or during
intermission,” he said.
Vafiades suggested the space in
front of the Blyth Festival box office
as a potential spot for new seating.
“It’s a good gathering place,” he
said.
McMullen agreed, stating that it
had the shade to be a seating area
and could be nicely complemented
with some outdoor art.
The group also discussed what
Vafiades coined “softscaping,”
including things like decorations and
vegetation.
Anne Elliott, a local business
owner, said the village had once
considered having a crabapple
festival, but that all the crabapple
trees they planted were vandalized,
and that any changes to the
vegetation and soft landscaping
should keep that in mind.
Options included planting trees in
planters, or in the ground using large
resevoirs of dirt to allow roots to
grow.
North Huron Community
Development Co-ordinator Connie
Goodall stated that, during a hertiage
study by the University of Waterloo
trees had already been discussed and
those conducting the study said that
the trees wouldn’t match the
village’s aesthetic and heritage.
Vafiades said that the
environmental benefit and aesthetic
appeal of trees would trump
heritage.
“As a rule of thumb, streets are
usually lined with trees,” he said. “It
creates canopies and provides
shade.”
Rick Elliott agreed, stating that the
trees in Seaforth on Highway 8
entering from the west are a great
example of how trees can be
effective.
“Those trees create a dark canopy
and it really feels like you’re coming
into something,” he said. “It slows
traffic down.”
Elliott also stated that the
township does have a tree plan,
but it deals with replacing lost trees,
not identifying where trees should
go.
Sholdice said that she was
concerned that there wasn’t enough
space to tackle any huge hardscaping
or softscaping projects.
“We need to balance any changes
with the limited sidewalk space we
have,” she said. “Niagara-on-the-
Lake looks nice when you drive by,
but [with all the planters and seating]
the sidewalks are very congested to
walk on.”
Vafiades stated that, if they did
consider things like trees or
additional seating, the
afforementioned bumpouts would
provide an ideal place to situate
additions.
The stakeholders also spent time
discussing the unique aspects of
Blyth and its branding.
While many people agreed that
Blyth is first and foremost a location
focused on Canadiana, Campbell
was a bit confused with the existing
branding.
“If Blyth is about Canadiana, why
use the Union Jack for your
branding?” she asked.
Vodden explained that the area
was still under British control when
Blyth was incorporated. The group
discussed possible rebranding, but
no ideas were predominantly
supported.
Other concerns raised included
lighting, both the replacement of the
now over-20-year-old street lights
and implementing new lighting for
both safety and appeal, training
everyone from sales associates to
business owners to be ambassadors,
potential walking tours, additional
parking areas and different heritage
projects to focus on Blyth’s historic
quality.
Seating in Blyth’s downtown core questioned
See histories and historic
photographs on the
Huron History section
of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
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