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Naturally Refreshed in Harrison Hot Springs,08-02-16 | News
Naturally Refreshed in Harrison Hot Springs
by CTQ Consultant




The village of Harrison Hot Springs is a tourist-based community in British Columbia. Its slogan, "Naturally Refreshed," refers to the hot springs for which it is named. Recently, the village's main thoroughfare, Esplanade Avenue, was refreshed and revamped. CTQ Consultants did the landscape architecture, urban design, and civil engineering for phase one of the streetscape revitalization in 2013.



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On the south side of the one-way Esplanade Avenue, businesses, restaurants, condominiums, hotels and shops cater to tourists and the population of about 1,500. The north side is the beach side, with a dike, a linear park, beach access, a lagoon, and angled parking spots. The Village Council acknowledged that the original avenue was outdated; they sought a solution that involved reducing vehicular traffic, enhancing pedestrian experience, and ensuring safety for all users.



Redesigning the street involved cooperation from the Village, CTQ, business operators, and property owners, all who had different opinions on what should go where. Some business owners requested benches at their fronts, others wanted anything but a bench, and still others complained that the trees would block their signage. Ultimately, the groups were able to reach compromises, including the use of backless benches that allow pedestrians to choose whether to sit facing the businesses or the lake.



Prior to the street's refreshing, there was only one streetlight on Esplanade Avenue, located on the business side. Now, decorative light poles run the length of the street on both sides, providing more than just illumination. The streetlights are a place to display banners and pennants, adding a colorful, kinetic aspect. Additionally, seasonal flower baskets or Christmas and holiday ornamentation can be hung from the poles. The sidewalks use three sizes of concrete paver in an ashlar pattern.





Access to the linear park is limited to existing staircases on the dike, and ramps elsewhere for disabled access. CTQ designed raised mid-block crossings at two locations to make access to the stairs easier and to reinforce the area's walkability. Sand and charcoal colored concrete pavers denote the crossings. These colors were chosen specifically to bring the beach feel to the street.




Nestled in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, 60 miles east of Vancouver, the picturesque Village of Harrison Hot Springs is a tourist-based community of just over 1,500 people. A designated BC Resort Municipality, it is a well-known vacation destination for outdoor enthusiasts. The namesake hot springs and the 40-mile long glacier-fed Harrison Lake are major attractions for tourists who come to stay in the Village.

Harrison Hot Springs has a slogan affixed to its logo: "Naturally Refreshed," referring to the recuperative powers of the spring fed waters found in the area. "Naturally Refreshed" could also refer to the community's main street, Esplanade Avenue, where the Village implemented phase one of complete streetscape revitalization in 2013. The project was more successful than the community had imagined, bringing new life to the tired and neglected appearance of this resort community's only waterfront commercial street.

Planning
The one-way Esplanade Avenue has businesses, restaurants, hotels, condominiums and tourist shops on the south side only. The dike, which serves as flood protection from the lake, runs along the north side, with angled parking, a linear park, a sandy beach, a swimming lagoon and Harrison Lake, with Breckenridge Glacier as a backdrop.

The Village acknowledged that their signature street looked stale and dated. CTQ Consultants was retained to create a streetscape character that would reduce the dominance of the vehicle, enhance the pedestrian experience, ensure safety, and create amenity areas, seating options, shade and beautification.

Stakeholders were kept updated through a digital 3D model and the presentation of street plans and cross sections. A kit of parts illustrated the proposed street furniture, and a landscape planting palette illustrated all of the proposed plant material, including trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennials, which would become an integral part of the streetscape...a streetscape which, prior to revitalization, was completely devoid of landscape along the sidewalk.

Creation
The sandy beach on the shores of Harrison Lake provided the inspiration for the sidewalk surfacing. A sand color ashlar pattern was created using three sizes of concrete pavers. This allowed the flexibility to introduce randomly placed charcoal pavers of varying sizes to break up the sand color and introduce a playful visual element of bringing the beach to the sidewalk.

Access to the linear park is limited to specific stair locations. (Existing ramps provide disabled access to the dike and linear park.) CTQ enhanced these access points by providing raised mid-block crossings at two locations along Esplanade. The concrete unit pavers in a herringbone pattern become a natural extension of the sidewalk treatment. The mid-block crossings also reinforce Esplanade Avenue as a pedestrian realm, and provide vehicular traffic calming elements.

Prior to the revitalization, opportunities for seating did not exist along the length of the commercial portion of Esplanade. Backless benches were placed along the length of the sidewalk frontage to allow for seating to focus on the storefronts or on the mountains and Harrison Lake linear park.

Originally, there was only one streetlight on the entire street, on the south side. New lights, which extend the length of the street on both sides, can have banners and pennants placed on them, creating a colorful and kinetic aspect. Additionally, the lights provide a framework for hanging flower baskets in the summer, and Christmas and holiday ornamentation.

The existing aging infrastructure was in desperate need of upgrading, so the entire street was reconstructed to address the need for major improvements to storm, sewer, water and natural gas lines. Geotechnical investigations revealed the subsurface of the street required geogrid reinforcing to strengthen the subgrade. A fast track construction schedule during the tourist shoulder season assisted in ensuring a smooth transition period for the project.

CTQ is proud of completing phase one of the Esplanade Ave Revitalization and is currently finalizing the construction of phase two.



As seen in LASN magazine, August 2016.






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