Goderich Signal Star, 2011-11-09, Page 32Wednesday, November 9, 2011 • Signal- Star 31
an strategist suggests education, accommodation,
linary tourism and a design for the future
Milburn
Signal -Star
ve the opportunity to
t the community as
rational destination,
Ininent urban strate-
; ge Dark. The thing
ng to take vision and
Is.
)resented as keynote
r at the Business
trent Area's Annual
l41eet on November 3,
in his hourlong pies-
laid out more than z
It -blank facts about
)derich was versus
hould be. One main
on arose toward the
is presentation when
sked his thoughts on
ng lost heritage. His
Lis clear- Don't.
at such a rapid rate; this type of
strong, authentic small town
doesn't exist in a lot of places.
You have one that is absolutely
a jewel in the Ontario land-
scape, and I think that the
diversity of the place, the way
you deal with design going for-
ward- is the measure of how
you're going to come forward
with success."
Pointing to Cambridge,
Stratford and Brantford and
other communities that have
been invigorated with the
installation of satellite college
and university campuses, Dark
said flat out, Goderich needs a
school.
"There are people buying
entire blocks of the downtowns
to reconvert them. The best
school of architecture ,in
Canada is the University of
budding is good, sound and solid,
don't remove it because it's
tant to your past.. 1f you're
ng something for today, build it
lay, make it look like today and
lough care and attention Into It
Puy like me60 years from now
be giving you a hard time if you
Id to remove it
)t. Do not build 1870
in 2015. It'sfake, and
rur time and suggests
have enough intelli-
actually create some-
ur own time" he said.
this.comes from the
We've built so much ...
rld which actually will
Ind the test of time.
[ler-value the land in
n; build of your time
enough that, in time,
it to make it a historic
diversity, quality
built for the corium-
, n credible need to
ucation, accommo-
d theatre, Dark said
can and should tees -
self as a must see
11.
1 oes it mean to be a
1 downtown in 2011?
t to do with diversity
to do with demo -
Ind design. Small
)ntario are actually
ring. They're being
1 into urban centres
— George Dark
Waterloo, and i't's not in Water-
loo, it's in Cambridge, Every
basement. eveiyvacant second
floor, every square inch that is
inhabitable has been inhab-
ited. Imagine hundreds of
18-24 year-olds spending their
entire days downtown. There is
an amazing artistic level of
endeavor that has invaded the
downtown?'
Along with touching on
other big ticket ideas, such as a
much more integrated experi-
ence for culinary tourists as
well as the opportunity to cre-
ate what could be award-win-
ning Public Gardens, Dark did "how himself to do ft?"
"I see nothing wrong with
there being a municipal devel-
opment corporation. for
Goderich which Is charged
with maybespeeding things
up, the best parcels don't go in
the wrong direction, maybe
allowing the public realm
projects to actually bring them-
selves forward ... Building for
the community that you want
rather than waiting for a
developer to 'how up and arguing with
them endlessly to decide their direction"
"I was here hours after [the tornado]
happened and it broke my heart. Now is
your opportunity to goback and get it
back again. That's the kind of thinldng that
you have to do" he said.
For 15 years, Dark and his family have
"moved herein June and moved back out
after Labour nay"
"My intention is to continue to come
here for at least the next 25 year& I want to
give you give you some ideas that I think
might be helpful for you to help me expe-
rience those 25 years into the future."
"You will need sharp pencils and a lot
of different colours. You have to take all
of the diversity you know you have here
and bring it into one place. Look at build-
ings by quality. Build different, get some
education, great accommodation, get
theatre, give yourself structure to the
markets. Stop to eatbecause you'll be
tired at this point, then find a vehicle that
is capable of borrowing more money,
advanced governance with dealing with
real estate an a community basis, not an
individual basis, and go at your Square in
a way that in 20 years, when someone
coming from Japan visits Canada, they'll
want to visit Goderich to see the
Goderich Public Gardens." ,
George Dark is an urban designer,
landscape architect and Fellow with the
Canadian Society of Landscape Archi-
tects and a full member of the American
Society of Landscape Architects. George
has over 30 years of professional experi-
ence and since joining the firm in 1987
has led a variety of projects including
new commun;ty plans, urban regenera-
tion strategies, campus master plans,
open space master plans, streetscape
designs, design guidelines and public
policy documents. Dark's work focuses
on the quality of urban environments
and he regularly coordinates large groups
of diverse professionals and excels at
guiding projects through complex
approval and consultation processes.
November 12th
@ 10am - 3pm
Clinton Legion
Branch #140
For More Information
Playas Call Laude
0 905-553-4302
Dominique Milburn Godh *i -star
George Dark fielded: questions from the room following his presentation at the
BIA Annual General Meet Nov.. 3. He addressed downtown parking by saying "I've
never had a problem parking here," and "don't focus on storing cars, focus on
drawing people."
ANNOUNCEMENT
Drs. Peter & Robin Wiley
are very pleased to welcome
Dr. Sophie Farrell
as the new owner of
Clinton
Veterinary Services
Peter and Robin would like to thank all the clients
for their loyalty and support over the years and the
privilege of caring for their animals.
Dr. Sophie Farrell and Dr. Heather McGregor and
the staff of Clinton Veterinary Services look -forward
to continuing to care for your pets.
Robin will be returning part-time after taking some time to
spend with her family.
•