City of Nelson’s Stores to Shores program takes next summer step
By Nelson Daily Staff
Shoppers will be happy to know the City of Nelson has installed longer parking zones to provide visitors option of parking their vehicle for an extended period of time as part of Nelson City Council’s on-going efforts to implement the key public recommendations from the Sustainable Waterfront and Downtown Master Plan (SWDMP).
The improved zones are now located at new eastern and western gateways to the city — Cedar Street and Victoria Street respectively — providing tourists and locals the ability to shop, dine and wander through the downtown and waterfront more leisurely.
There will be approximately 20 four-hour parking spots located on the south side of the 200 block of Victoria and more four-hour parking stalls will be located on the 700 and 800 blocks of Vernon Street — approximately 30 parking spots along these two streets.
City Council’s consultants have also developed a plan to improve traffic circulation throughout the downtown by adding more angle parking along an extended one-way portion of Victoria, through to the 300 and 400 blocks in the near future.
Additional improvements include the addition of left-turn bays on Front Street and an overhaul of the five-way Cedar/Vernon/High Street intersection and the Hall Street Revite slated to begin in September
After thorough public input and planning, the City is ready to kick-off one of Nelson’s most important recent development efforts — the Hall Street Corridor Revitalization.
As part of the SWDMP’s directive to establish strong pedestrian connections between historic Baker Street and the city’s beautiful lakefront, Hall Street — the only direct route connecting the two areas — will be beautified and improved over the next few years.
The first phase of the Hall Street Revite will start in September, after the summer tourist season.
The 2014 phase will see the creation of a new plaza on the 500 Block of Hall and improvements to IODE Park.
The project will be tendered shortly and construction is set to commence after the Labour Day long weekend.
“There are a number of new developments being planned in the downtown and waterfront from the private sector and it is our job to invest in our public infrastructure” said Mayor John Dooley in a media release.
“Council has done significant planning and community consultation over the past three years and it is exciting to see real projects happening” adds Dooley.
Railtown is also getting ready to add a major tenant as the Chamber of Commerce continues renovations on the CP Stationhouse, located in the Railtown District.
The building envelope has been fully restored with new windows being installed during this phase of the project.
The Chamber plans to move into the building by December 2015. The City will be completing a sustainable neighbourhood plan for the Railtown neighbourhood in early 2015.
Other City of Nelson downtown improvements include:
- The completion of Nelson Hydro’s Downtown Conversion — providing more reliable power to downtown businesses, plus improved traffic flow, pedestrian safety and new historical amenities.
- The recent completion of the City’s new high speed fibre optic broadband network, which has already attracted a number of public and private sector clients
- A second instalment of beautiful newly donated sculptures placed throughout the downtown.
