A vision for revitalizing Bradford’s Downtown core

By Miriam King Bradford Times September 16 2010
After a public workshop, stakeholder input and extensive site analysis, consultant Graeme Burt of planningAlliance has produced a preliminary Downtown Revitalization Strategy for Bradford, and a preliminary Vision statement.
That vision sees a revitalized downtown as “the hub of social, cultural, commercial and civic life in BWG. Historic buildings will be celebrated through adaptive reuse. New development will be respectfully integrated in form, massing and style, infilling gaps and drawing in new residents and activities… a unique mix of activities and services, a vibrant, inviting street environment, and an attractive visual identity.”
In a second Public Workshop scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 22, stakeholders will be asked to consider the proposed vision. “What have we missed? What should we change?” Burt said.
He was presenting an update to Council on Tuesday, and noted that the first question that had to be answered was: “What is the downtown? Defining Downtown Bradford is a question we’ve been grappling with.”
His proposal: the length of Holland St., excluding the “Agriculture strip” (Bridge St.), and West Holland, “which is not downtown, but something different.” What remains is the stretch between the new civic node at Professor Day Drive, and the GO Station, extending north and south of Holland St. by one block.
The first workshop not only asked participants to identify the Downtown, but what they liked, and disliked. They liked the restaurants and cafes, the access to services, the small-town scale and feel of the downtown, and the existing design features – from streetlights to flower baskets. They didn’t like the traffic congestion, the uneven sidewalks, the lack of green space, the limited retail choices. They identified a need for improved pedestrian connectivity, more residential and mixed-use options downtown to provide a built-in consumer base – and strongly recommended locating a Town Administration Centre, and its jobs, in the Downtown.
One of the key drivers of Revitalization is the Province’s Places to Grow legislation, Burt told Council, which requires municipalities to account for 40% of their growth through intensification in the existing built-up areas, by 2015. “That’s a tall challenge in some municipalities,” he said; in Bradford West Gwillimbury, the Town is slated to grow from a population of 25,000 in 2006, to 52,000 in 2031 – and from 8,000 jobs, to 18,000 jobs.
To achieve that within the provincial framework, he predicted a need for over 272,000 sq. metres of new space in the downtown core, including apartment buildings up to 12 storeys tall. “Bradford, like it or not, is going to see some transformational changes over the next decade.”
Burt used maps to identify undeveloped/vacant land, properties that present opportunities for redevelopment or infilling or even upper storey additions – and used computer-generated graphics to present 3 possible options: focussing growth at the Four Corners; allowing consistent growth all along Holland (the “Avenue” approach), or focussing growth at the nodes of Prof. Day Dr. and the GO station.
Councillor Peter Dykie Jr. worried that if there is intensification, “there’s no parking”, or greenspace for families downtown. He added, “The problem we have in a lot of apartments downtown is the noise level – the trucks going through.”
Burt agreed, but reminded the Councillor that the study is “big picture” and long term – incorporating features that range from completion of the ring road, to traffic calming, green space, and parking. Among the design features being considered: Holland St. reduced to 2 lanes in the downtown, with permanent parking on either side of the street, wider sidewalks, bike lanes, trees and benches. “We’re exploring that with Nick Poulos (the Town’s Transportation consultant),” as an option to make the downtown “more pedestrian friendly, safer.”
The study also looked at possible sites for a new Town Hall – identifying the campus lands on Holland W., the Four Corners area, Bradford Arena and GO Transit node as possible locations for a 50,000 sq. ft. building.
The west end of Bradford “is going to take care of itself,” but the downtown needs reinvestment by the Town, and a major commitment, said Mayor Doug White. He agreed with Burt, that “the challenge of the Downtown goes beyond 1 Mayor, 1 council. It’s a multi-year endeavour.”
But Councillor Leduc asked for a 5-year plan, a “short-term vision with a long-term goal,” that would come with costs and dollar amounts. “Our business community can’t wait to 2031.”
And Councillor Mark Contois acknowledged that the study calls for public buy-in, to restore and redevelop the downtown. “But what do we do if the owners of these businesses don’t buy into it?”
Burt told Council that design guidelines, ways of implementing those guidelines, and incentives would all be part of the study – starting with the next workshop. “It’s really about building excitement… and a buy-in,” to avoid being just another document on a shelf.