Main Street, Dartmouth Revitalization Plan
 

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1017682.html

It’s a wide stretch of commercial road that’s been called Dogpatch, and way too vehicle-friendly, and now Main Street in Dartmouth is in line for an expensive, multi-year makeover, according to a new report.

The study, prepared by a consultant hired by Halifax city hall, says the busy strip could be a kinder, gentler place than simply a major urban thoroughfare to outlying communities.

It suggests street trees, planters, benches, lower lampposts and fewer billboards to make the area more attractive to people living nearby or working in the neighbourhood.

The first decade of the 30-year revitalization plan would see Main Street become "a tree-lined arterial (road) with improved pedestrian amenities and with entry points — or gateways — at each end of the area," says the report, part of which was obtained Saturday by The Chronicle Herald.

"There is a real need to improve architectural character, signage quality, streetscape character, pedestrian accessibility and public spaces and to explore opportunities for mixed-use development," it says.

The report, prepared by Ekistics Planning Design, says the streetscape project would cost $7.9 million. It says Halifax Regional Municipality and its funding partners would need to contribute about $300,000 annually.

A traffic study, land rezoning and the creation of a business improvement district are crucial elements of the plan, the report says. It also promotes the construction of a $30,000 "pocket park" on the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Main Street.

The report notes what Main Street users have known for years: "The proliferation of driveways along (the road) is a safety hazard for pedestrians, cyclists and automobile traffic."

Years in the making, the streetscape scheme should significantly improve the overall look of the Main Street area and make it more enticing for people travelling there. When people who live in the area were surveyed about proposed changes to the district, their main complaint was that Main Street resembled a highway.

One of the first physical improvements should be sidewalk enhancement, the report says.

Main Street, which accommodates about 43,000 cars daily, would benefit from more attractive lighting and an absence of billboards, a public workshop sponsored by the municipality was told in 2006. Billboards are "poison on that street," a commercial property owner said then. "They just make the street look like Dogpatch."

A public meeting to discuss the consultant’s report will be held Monday at Stevens Road United Baptist Church in Dartmouth. An open house begins at 6 p.m. and a presentation starts at 7 p.m.

Halifax regional council and Harbour East Community Council have already acted on some of the recommendations in the plan identified by the public as priorities, said Coun. Andrew Younger (East Dartmouth-The Lakes).

"Implementation will begin this summer, possibly with the first tender out in the next couple of months for park development and tree-planting projects, which are ones you want to get started early to give things time to grow," he said.

( mlightstone@herald.ca)


I dunno... this seems like a waste -- a 30-year timeline for trees and benches in Burger City. Sometimes a suburban strip needs to be just that, not something it isn't, or ever was.

That area will always be what it is and nothing more. It feeds off of the Circ into the outlying communities. The cars have nowheres else to go.

Yes, this seems kind of pointless and the (very small amount of) money could be spent on other streets that could actually be made attractive.

I don't think it's pointless at all! I don't think their 30 year plan only involves a couple of benches and trees. I've always thought this area was perfect for a redevelopment. Because of the higher traffic it could support a denser mixed used development that could truly enhance this area. Right now it's rundown and a disgusting suburban strip, and I hate going through it. I would love to see it redeveloped into something positive and something people would be proud of.

HRM unveils Main Street project
Dartmouth residents fill church hall to hear recommendations
By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG Staff Reporter
Tue. Jan 15 - 5:32 AM

[Coun. Andrew Younger (Peter Parsons / Staff)</p>]

Coun. Andrew Younger (Peter Parsons / Staff)



Hopes for a revitalized Main Street got a boost Monday night,

Area councillor Andrew Younger said it was standing room only at the church hall where the city unveiled recommendations for a $7.9-million, 30-year facelift for Dartmouth’s Main Street.

"It shows that people were excited and interested," Mr. Younger said of the attendance.

Area residents met at Stevens Road United Baptist Church in Dartmouth to hear the recommendations to make Main Street more attractive and safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and to help slow down the 43,000 cars that use the route each work day.

The first decade would see Main Street become "a tree-lined arterial with improved pedestrian amenities and with entry points — or gateways — at each end of the area," says the report.

The consultant’s report recom-mended trees along the street, planters, benches, lower lampposts, sidewalk enhancement, a small park at Woodlawn Avenue and Main Street and fewer billboards.

When people who live in the area were surveyed about proposed changes to the district, their main complaint was that Main Street seemed like a highway, the report stated.

As far as Mr. Younger was concerned, people liked what they heard on Monday.

"The one comment we got from a few people was they would like to see council make sure the plan is accelerated as opposed to this 20-30 year timetable that it’s on," Mr. Younger said.

This type of project worked in Toronto, which gave Bloor Street West a similar spruce-up, he said. And he pointed to Halifax’s Quinpool Road as a local example of a tree-lined street with a blend of shops and homes along one of the city’s main arteries.

It’s "pretty hard to speed on Quinpool Road, so it works," Mr. Younger said.

Quinpool Road doesn’t have a strip joint similar to Main Street’s Ralph’s Place, but both streets have adult video shops. But, Mr. Younger said, people have a very different perception of Main Street.

"You have to ask yourself, why is Main Street defined by that? When in fact, Main Street has all kinds of stores, some of which are very popular . . . yet when you talk to someone about Main Street, it’s often defined by X-Citement Video or Ralph’s Place."

One of the repeated questions at Monday’s meeting, Mr. Younger said, was "is it going to happen or is it going to be a report that just gathers dust?"

"In this case I was happy to report that some of the recommendations have actually been implemented and council has allocated some funding and the question is whether council will chose to allocate further funding to this."

The next step is to take the report to community council in the first week of February, where he hopes its members will recommend regional council accept it . Staffers are also already working on proposed changes to the land-use bylaws to allow some of this re-development to proceed. Community council will see those proposals at a later date.

But in the end, Mr. Younger said he hopes city council invests in the area.

"If you don’t do something in that area, you’ll end up having the area deteriorate," he said.

"It’s certainly cheaper to prevent that from happening than to see it happening and then try to fix it."

( pbrooks@herald.ca)

Looking out for Main Street
Halifax News Net
By Joanie Veitch – The Weekly News

It’s no surprise to Bill Mills, the first executive director of the Main Street Business Improvement District (BID) Association, that traffic and parking top the list of concerns about Main Street. With tens of thousands of cars driving along Main Street each day, getting in and out of the many businesses on the street can be challenging.
“A lot of people think of Main Street as a highway; simply as a means of getting to where they want to go,” Mills said.
The Main Street Business Improvement Association was formed a year ago, after a vote of businesses on and around Main Street. Creating a business improvement association was one of the recommendations of the Main Street Streetscape Study — commissioned by Halifax Regional Municipality — along with others about things such as traffic flow, making the area more friendly to pedestrians and upgrading public and private properties in the area.
Having successfully come together as a group, the Main Street BID Association hired Mills as the guy they figure can put their ideas into action.
His first few weeks on the job have been spent on the go, with cell phone in hand, setting up an office space and doing general administrative duties. Over the next few weeks he will be knocking on doors to talk with business owners.
Along with having lived in the area most of his life, Mills comes armed with a history of getting things done. He established BioNova, the Nova Scotia Biotechnology Industry Association and took the membership to about 85 biotech and medical device companies, universities and research institutions. He has also served on the Heritage Credit Union board for more than 20 years.
Initial plans will see banners and signage go up to denote the business improvement district area — from the crest of the hill coming to the Major Street intersection up to Chebucto Ford and the Akerley campus of the Nova Scotia Community College. The association is also hiring a summer student to clean up litter and do some infrastructure improvements.
Future plans include business facade upgrades and encouraging more mixed commercial and residential developments.
With the recent redevelopment of the old Canadian Tire site into a larger Sobeys, and rumours of a new Lawtons to go on the old Sobeys site, the area continues to draw lots of people. It’s just a matter of creating the right atmosphere to make them want to get out of their cars, walk around and stay awhile that’s the key, Mills said.
“We want to make this a destination, to bring back the sense of community the area once had.”
The most important role for Mills is to be the face of the association and to encourage people to continue to stay involved in the process, said Heather Johnson, chair of the Main Street BID Association.
“He’s kind of our watchdog to make sure that we, as a business community, move forward. Communication will be the big thing here. We have to make sure that what we do makes sense for the residents and for the businesses,” said Johnson.

joanie.veitch@gmail.com

Plan for Main Street aims to revitalize area, create cohesive look
Halifax News Net
By Joanie Veitch – The Weekly News

Building height and traffic woes were the top concerns raised at a public meeting last week to look at a draft plan to revitalize Dartmouth’s Main Street.
The plan, which drew a crowd of more than 30, features six development precincts, distinguished by names such as the village centre, the suburban edge and the esplanade, and aims to revitalize the area and create a cohesive look for any future development.
“We have to balance what we want with what is realistic and desirable for the builder,” explained HRM planner Marcus Garnet, adding that planners “can only set the stage. We cannot write the play.”
Garnet presented three-dimensional conceptual drawings of the proposed plan, showing mixed use of buildings with housing and penthouse suites on the upper floors of buildings, offices on middle floors and retail or other commercial enterprises on the main level. Parking would go either behind the building or below grade wherever possible.
High-rise residential buildings could go along the Circumferential Highway, where it wouldn’t affect the “feel” of the streets in the neighbourhood as much, Garnet said.
With buildings on Hartlen Street, Main Street, Caledonia Road and Tacoma Drive going up as high as five floors plus an attic, some people expressed concern about building height along the main drag of Main Street.
“This feels like you’re running into a tunnel or something,” said one participant, following a computerized “virtual fly-through” of the plan.
Although last week’s meeting was focused primarily on the architectural nuts and bolts, traffic along Main Street and the surrounding areas continues to be a source of frustration for many residents.
The city will be hiring a consultant to do a traffic study of the area, following a request for proposals that closed last week, said Roddy MacIntyre, an HRM traffic engineer. “Many residents have expressed the concern that anything we do to one area — such as Main Street — may force people into nearby residential neighbourhoods,” he said.
Using the draft concept plan, the traffic consultant will survey how traffic patterns may be affected. Changes to the plan will be considered based on the results of the traffic study, McIntyre said.
After a final public review, the plan will go to council “hopefully by spring,” Garnet said.
One part of the Main Street revitalization is already underway. Thirty trees will be planted this fall along the Hartlen Street boulevard.
“I’m very excited about the Main Street project,” said area councillor Darren Fisher, who attended the plan review. ”I'm looking forward to the planting of trees on Hartlen and the installation of the pocket park at Main and Woodlawn very soon.”

joanie.veitch@gmail.com

Yeah..because one-story strip malls are a lot nicer.

It's main street, right now it's one storey strip clubs ;)

But where would all the strip clubs and pawn shops go? NIMBY!

That's what I was referring to

I'm sure there have been better updates elsewhere over the past few years but anyway, apparently the people of the Main Street Dartmouth Community Improvement District haven't given up on their vision for the area, which includes a lot of as-of-right development opportunities:

http://www.villageonmain.ca/

http://www.villageonmain.ca/wp-conte...g-1024x676.png
http://www.villageonmain.ca/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb_0gdfI_HE
(Sorry I can't get the videos to embed)

Some bold interpretations of how the area could theoretically end up looking:


http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/n...sign-1.3216019


http://spacing.ca/atlantic/


http://spacing.ca/atlantic/


https://www.facebook.com/villageonmainNS/

https://youtu.be/0py3_k3iH74

And this one from some NSCC students (from the website: "The first 4 properties transformed are based on real projects")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFGprmATY2A


Current projects:

139 Main St. - The Horizon
http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/d...BG5RRDK.11.jpg
http://thechronicleherald.ca/communi...reet-s-horizon

77 Lakecrest Dr.
http://www.villageonmain.ca/wp-conte...7Lakecrest.jpg
http://www.villageonmain.ca/

174 Main St. – Garden View Village (slated to start this year)
https://i1.wp.com/www.gardenviewvill...wards-East.jpg
http://www.gardenviewvillage.com/

-----

I would prefer to see such investment in Downtown Dartmouth or Halifax but considering the current state of Main, I have to give the CID credit for their enthusiasm.

http://spacing.ca/atlantic/wp-conten...39-600x450.jpg
http://spacing.ca/atlantic/

You need the good drugs like they sell nearby to come up with some of those visions. :D

It would be a wholesale change, but not unfeasible. This vision reminds me a lot of Larry Uteck blvd.

I can very easily imagine this being one of those projects where people say it can't happen until it has happened, and then they won't be able to imagine how it was before

With Ralph's now closed there are some definite options now available.

Some "dreams" in these visions for sure but I'd love to see main get some density. A few towers sprinkled into the Tacoma area would help too.

That area of Main St. has been looking shabby for some time, so any revitalization will be an improvement, IMHO.

However, I do chuckle a little at the utopian renderings with people meandering on bicycles and children playing near a peaceful, deserted street, when it's actually one of the busiest thoroughfares in Dartmouth...

"Utopian" is a good word, Mark. I give full marks to the BID folks for their persistence in trying to reimagine this district but it's a tall order. Virtually all of the street from Woodlawn/Caledonia to the Parclo is characterized by aging, and often poorly maintained buildings, including utilitarian strip plazas interspersed with a few fast food chains and gas stations.

The rendering of 139 Main highlights this, fronted as it is by the decaying Army/Navy club building, arguably the biggest eyesore on the street (though there are several other worthy contenders).

There is great opportunity here but I see little evidence that most building owners on this street have any interest in improving their properties, content to wait for some future buyer with deep pockets to come along.

I still have this vain hope that something truly iconic might be proposed for the vacant Ford lands at Caledonia Road, something that could elevate the tone for the remainder of the street. Apparently Ford engaged CBRE to find a buyer for the property in November. One can only hope that a serious developer is interested.

Yes, I would really like to see some serious improvements in that area, with something really nice for the old Chebucto Ford lot.

I'm thinking, though, that there are other parts of the city, specifically the downtown Dartmouth area that would be more attractive for development investment at this time.

We'll see, though, I've learned to never say never....