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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-10-11, Page 9�fje ;obertcIj. SIGNAL -STAR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1973 Businessmen, townspeople, tourists, lovers, senior citizens, artists, musicians, politicians 'and hippies to name a few, frequent tt "Square": A meeting of the' Goderich Business Men's Association was held Wednesday afternoon in the auditorium of the Goderich Arena to hear a presentation by Huron County Planners Gary Davidson and Nick Hill for redevelopment of the down town area of Goderich. At the last mdeting of the Association executive it was tigreed to approach the Plan- " Hing Department with a request Jo (10 such an improvement and re -development study and the planners agreed. A preliminary plan was prepared and. it was this which went before the Association on Wednesday. In announcing the meeting Association Secretary Treasurer Bob Swartman said the businessmen were "indeb- ted to these gentlemen (Mr. Davidson and Mr. Hill) who are highly qualified for the work they have given this project, much of which was on theirown time due to the pressure of work in their of- t•ic e" _ The presentation was put fot- ward1in four briefs; analysis, proposals, case studies and im- plementa'tion, using a number of visual aids, - In the analysis of the presen- , tation the planners noted "the , town of Goderich, and in par- * tic•ular the central 'Square', is laid, out in a unique radial and /here is no better example of .a,,, radial townplan on _the 'continent. The radial plan is derived from city planning con- cepts of the Roman architect Marcus Pollio Vitruvius who lived . in the first century B.C. "The radial plan of Goder,i1h is an extremely rare and valuable example of town plan- ning that has peculiar oppor- tunities and problems," the presentation said. "There are many functions to the 'Square'. It is a commercial centre, it is an automobile roundabout, it is a carpark, it iia landscaped park and it is a county administrative seat." "It is also a place of residence, for above the stores on the second and third floors are apartments. This diverse list of activities produces a truly stimulating environment that is shared by businessmen, townspeople, tourists, lovers, senior t citizens, artists; musicians, politicians, hippies and many others." "The Goderich 'Square' is therefore not only the commer- cial core of the town and the administrative seat of the County but it is also a "people place". The mature tree's shading the central park provides a most pleasant en- vironment for people to relax, stroll, and meet, the planners pointed out. "The architecture of the Goderich Square is composed of mainly commercial buildings that are located on the' eight sides of the octagon. Many of the original buildings construc- ted in the 1870's remain today and portray an elegant, classical style of simple but pleasingly proportioned brick facades. Decorative brickwork is confined to the cornice and d window arches, and there is uniform building; height to the original buildings- that lends harmony to the total com- position," the report observed. "The more recent architec- ture, sadly has had little respect for the earlier elegant style and comprises single - storey buildings of a variety of designs and building materials. The earlier compositional har- mony ,has been lost." "The park in the middle of the 'Square' is, the main natural feature and is a most - pleasant environment for the pedestrian with places to stroll and sit down under shady trees. The grassed park is moreover the location for a number of an- nual events which include an art exhibition, musical concerts and dances. Besides the park there are no natural features elsewhere in the 'Square'. The sidewalk fronting the stores around the 'Square' is sadly lacking in natural features."' Albeit `the many activities carried on in the Goderich 'Square' interrelate and overlap, the study was mainly concerned with the commercial environment and how it may be improved. "The grouping of businesses does not reveal any particular pattern other than the banks which are all located on corner premises. There has been a trend however over the last 25 years of small family stores being replaced -by financial in- stitution s and professional of- ' fices," the proposal pointed out. "Parking is on both sides of the road that encircles the square and accounts for 56 parallel parking spaces on the park side and 112 diagonal parking spaces on the commer- cial block side. Adequate parking_j is of concern to the business community and recen- tly a parking authority ,has been appointed to ascertain future parking requirements. As such recommendations for parking are not included in this report," the planners noted. "The quality of the commer- cial environment in the Goderich 'Square' is undoub- tedly in need of improvement This view is shared by many downtown businessmen and is one reason for this presen= tation. Because of the unique shape of the 'Square', deter- ioration of any one point is noticeable and effects the whole composition. It is a very delicate work of art which if maintained well can look quite superb but if abused can look terrible. Regrettably over the last quarter century the 'Square' has been abused. The original elegance and harmony of the architecture has bem damaged,, by new and insen- sitive building, the upkeep has been lax and colours with which buildings . have been painted lack appropriatness and joy. Some of the damage is irrepairable'but much of it can still be corrected. Many businessmen I have talked to are aware of these problems and in a time when many small town commercial cores are ex- periencing economic and physical uphea al,,_., it is vital that the quality of "the commer- cial environment aspire to ex- cellence," the planners told -the meeting. Three main proposals were outlined in the presentation for BRUSJLE, -�R� the original Classical design with pleasing proportions. height welds the composi-tion together. 1111',;11;1 111111111TTh iI `rIIIIT1Tif itllfTf1 lour could enhance the appearance of the Square immensly so it is proposed that" reldinNo front;n the drawn u and a colour co-ordinated scheme be fired, 9 Squire, are p ' No structural ,alterations are anticipated. Single storey structures of varying building materials, that destroy the former compositional harmony of the Square.