The city has a thriving economy and a strong sense of community. Tourism, as well as a strong manufacturing base and growing service industry sector, form the economic foundation. A high proportion of seniors live in Owen Sound and influence the local market demand for services and amenities, passive and cultural recreation. Owen Sound is a regional cultural centre and functions as a base or point of departure to other outdoor recreation tourism attractions in the surrounding region.

Downtown Infrastructure

At their annual retreat in 1999, city councilors were again trying to grapple with their gnawing infrastructure problem in the downtown: Sewers and services had been needing upgrading for 20 years, but the concern over lost business during a dusty and dragged out construction process had led past councils to postpone the project. This time, when the councilors emerged from their retreat they hired a consulting firm to prepare a master plan to offer the downtown business owners something to look forward to after construction. By December of 2000, a team of consultants led by Hough Woodland Naylor Dance Leinster, a Toronto-based landscape architectural firm, had completed an extensive public consultation process and finalized the ?EUR??,,????'??Owen Sound Harbour and Downtown Urban Design/Master Plan Strategy.?EUR??,,????'??

Harbor and Downtown Urban Design/Master Plan

The master plan, which deals with an area much larger than just the core, nonetheless recognized that Owen Sound?EUR??,,????'???s downtown is ?EUR??,,????'??a handsome district of heritage buildings, exhibiting fine architectural detailing and structures of local stone and ornate brickwork.?EUR??,,????'?? It recognized that the downtown core was vibrant and balanced, with no obvious gaps in the existing retail mix. The report also pointed out that the city excels at event tourism. For more than 20 years Owen Sound has hosted Summerfolk, an outdoor music festival in August, and the more recent Festival of Northern Lights in the winter, Hottest Yard Sale in July, and a Celtic Festival in September.

Key planning strategies of the master plan are to:

• TStrengthen the image and identity of the downtown and harbour
• Consolidate retail, resist fragmentation
• Enable more intensive programming
• Create integrating linkages and connections
• Accommodate future large scale development

Eclectic heritage describes the character of Second Avenue, wherein the streetscape elements reinforce the heritage nature of the historic building facades and create a fun pedestrian-oriented walking/shopping experience. Tenth Street is identified as a regional scale city entrance route primarily oriented to vehicular traffic with ?EUR??,,????'??gateways?EUR??,,????'?? and enhanced intersections.

Project Scope and Phasing

Nevertheless, the deadlines were met and construction began and was completed, on schedule.

The city?EUR??,,????'???s commitment to the master plan is further illustrated by the fact that the project was not limited to the physical limits of the necessary infrastructure replacement, but rather extended to include:

• the plaza in front of City Hall;
• walkway connections to off-street parking (e.g. the Percy England Parkette next to City Hall, Carney?EUR??,,????'???s Lane in the block south of Tenth Street);
• walkway connections to the harbour walkways in several locations.

Second Avenue

• Each block has a ?EUR??,,????'??mid-block crossing?EUR??,,????'??: a widening of the sidewalk with benches, planters and barrier-free pedestrian street crossings that line up with walkways to off-street parking lots.
• There are grouped plantings of trees at key locations (and in planters where possible) in the downtown core, rather than lining the street refocuses attention back to the architecture of the building facades and storefronts.
• Trees create a ?EUR??,,????'??street edge?EUR??,,????'?? at the north and south ends of the design area where buildings tend to be set back from the property line.
• Used concrete paving for main walking surfaces accented with deeply coloured unit paving with reduced beveled edges (?EUR??,,????'??Fineline?EUR??,,????'??? by Oaks Concrete Products in mahogany blend colour); walkway surfaces at mid-block crossings and corner intersections.
• Black cast iron lightpoles with acorn style luminaires (metal halide lights) and a high level of detailing (King Luminaire); height of luminaire relatively low to enhance pedestrian scale and experience; poles fitted with arms for banners and hanging flower baskets.
• Matching banner poles were sized to accommodate hanging banners, cross-street banners and seasonal cross-street lighting (King Luminaire and Holophane).
• Screen-printed reinforced vinyl banners emphasize cultural heritage of the city.
• Used street furnishings and fixtures with an eclectic historical character: Toronto Fabricating benches, trash and recycling receptacles; Holophane bollards, Jaro telephone booths; Trystan tree grates; Terracast polymer pots; local Ledgerock ?EUR??,,????'??Eramosa?EUR??,,????'?? cut limestone for heritage street name markers and City Hall plaza paving stone.
• Colourful horticultural displays (hanging baskets, pots and ?EUR??,,????'??wire-art?EUR??,,????'?? topiary).
• Custom made seasonal cross-street lighting displays based on Christmas lighting used to decorate the downtown in the 1950s.

City Hall

• Total redesign and reorientation to create a street-level plaza for community gatherings and events (plaza design intended to complement the early 1960s architecture of City Hall and clock tower)
• Front steps designed to double as ?EUR??,,????'??stage?EUR??,,????'?? for flag-raisings and festivals (barrier-free access to City Hall doors and stage platform provided via unobtrusive ramps).

Tenth Street

• Continuation of paving materials and patterns used on Second Avenue.
• Black cast iron lightpoles with tear-drop luminaire (metal halide lights) mounted at a higher height appropriate for scale of street; poles fitted with arms for banners.
• Matching banner poles grouped at entrances to the downtown for ?EUR??,,????'??welcome?EUR??,,????'?? banners.
• Screen-printed reinforced vinyl banners emphasizing natural heritage of city and region.
• Brick pier and wrought iron fencing along outer edge of sidewalk to re-establish street edge and urban character in locations where commercial buildings were not at property line (i.e., gas stations, fast food outlets).
• Enhancement of ?EUR??,,????'??Salvation Corners?EUR??,,????'?? (intersection of Tenth Street and Fourth Avenue) with planters, benches and interpretive plaques explaining history of four stone churches at this corner. An interpretive plaque one block west explains the history of ?EUR??,,????'??Damnation Corners?EUR??,,????'?? where there once stood four hotels/bars whose proximity to the bustling harbour made for a raucous intersection. Incidentally, the four church communities enjoy pointing out that while all of the churches at Salvation Corners are still standing, all four hotels at Damnation Corners are long gone.

Community Support

Throughout the project, local business owners from the Downtown Improvement Association (DIA) were brought in and were extremely supportive. Community pride runs high, and the city is seeing the fruits of its investment.

This downtown streetscape work is merely the first phase of the changes proposed in the master plan. The other challenges are further linking the downtown and the harbour; developing the River Works Lane and Fisherman?EUR??,,????'???s Walk (the area along First Avenue between the river and the backs of the businesses fronting onto Second Avenue); and eliminating the parking in Market Square; and Eighth and Ninth Street improvements.