New signage and changes to the waterfront will be coming to Huntsville over the next few years.
Town councillors approved both the Community Wayfinding Strategy and the Waterfront Strategy at Wednesday’s General Committee meeting.
Both strategies went through public engagement last year. The town asked residents for feedback and suggestions about the look, location, and purpose of signs, as well as what changes they’d like to see made to Huntsville’s waterfront.
Town staff still need to finalise branding and then put out a Request For Proposals (RFP) to manufacture and install the signs, which Kirstin Maxwell, Director Of Development Services, said will keep a consistent theme for any new signs over the next decade.
Maxwell added the current plan has the first signs going into the ground at the end of the summer, starting with signs pointing to locations such as downtown, the Canada Summit Centre, Muskoka Heritage Place, and Lions Lookout.
Karin Terziano, Mayor of Huntsville, suggested working on branding and the RFP at the same time, as this project has already taken a fair amount of time. She added that the installation should start in May or June, with Councillor Bob Stone noting that new signs have already been on the discussion table for a decade.
Notable proposals in the Waterfront Strategy include a redesign of Dara Howell Way to be a shared space for cars and pedestrians, permanent public washrooms at River Mill Park, and moving the park’s community garden to another location.
Steve Hernen, Director of Operations and Protective Services, stressed that the Waterfront Strategy is merely a guideline, and any actions within would still need council approval to go ahead.