Kitchener has come up with $2 million plan to bring Queen Street back to life.
The historic street is in need of repairs and the city wants to redesign the area so that it’s much more appealing to residents and shoppers.
Business owners are already behind the plan.
“I think it’s going to bring more and more people [downtown] and grow this downtown core as a whole,” says Wade Leaman from B @ THEMUSEUM.
“The idea is that it could help with retail sales,” says Brandon Sloan, Kitchener’s manager of long-term planning. “It could help with reducing vacancies. It can help spur even more development.”
The plan would see the improvement of a two block stretch between Duke and Charles Street at a cost of $1 million. Another $455,000 will be used to redesign Vogelsang Green, $200,000 to improve the parkette at Charles and Queen Street and Halls and Goudie’s Lane.
“We’re looking at wider sidewalks,” says Sloan. “We’re looking at having decorative globe LED lighting. Get more of a historic feel as well with some heritage markers.”
The goal is to attract more people to the downtown core.
City councilors will review the proposal at a planning committee meeting on Monday.
If approved work could begin as soon as 2019.
