The Town of Okotoks has released a ‘What We Learned Report’ from a second round of public consultation last fall for planned improvements in Olde Towne Okotoks.
According to the Town, input gleaned from an open house and online engagement last November was varied, with most comments centered on specific design elements.
Construction in Olde Towne along North Railway Street is scheduled to begin this spring and will take two years to complete.
Upgrades to the downtown area will include road and underground utility work and improvements to public spaces and streetscapes.
Sidewalks, boulevards and landscaping will be redeveloped to increase pedestrian safety and improve the downtown experience, and two parks in the area will be enhanced.
After an earlier round of consultation heard concerns over disruption to customer access, loss of parking and construction timeline, the most recent round focused more on streetscapes and design styles for everything from benches to bike racks.
The report included verbatim responses which showed not only was public input varied, but it was sometimes contradictory as what pleased one resident didn’t always sit well with another.
“I love the traffic circle plan. Need more of them instead of traffic lights,” one respondent stated.
“Need a traffic circle at Lineham crossing like we need a hole in the head,” said another.
“I like the bollards! They would help slow down the cars as well as improve pedestrian safety,” stated one resident.
“Bollards are unnecessary and ruin appearance,” said another.
One respondent urged the Town not to overlook the business community: “Do not take your quality downtown businesses for granted. Everyone will suffer if they don’t survive your attempts at revitalizing what’s around them. Your new benches and fountains and plantings won’t look good in front of ‘FOR LEASE’ signs.”
Another respondent liked the idea of mixed uses in the town core: “Great idea to have residential above commercial space. Allows for more utility out of a limited footprint. More people who live in the area will drive business and provide labour for those businesses.”
Okotoks council is expected to approve the final design shortly with construction anticipated to begin in the spring.
Check out the ‘What We Learned Report’ at shapeourtown.okotoks.ca/downtown.
