[lucasmascotto]

Green space delayed
The Hamilton Spectator
By: Dave Churchill

Stoney Creek residents have been waiting a long time for improvements to a downtown parkette.

Now it seems the wait is going to be a little longer.

The small but prime piece of land at King Street East and Jones Street has been awaiting some improvements for years, said area Councillor Brad Clark, who has publicly laid the blame for recent delays on a contractor from Concord.

The $400,000 project includes an open green space area, a circular walkway with benches, and a mix of trees and shrubs. The work should have been completed by now, Clark said.

"There is a lot of frustration from the community. It's really a small parkette."

Clark said Pine Valley Enterprises had the lowest bid to complete the work but added, "I guess they've had trouble getting a subcontractor."

He said it was his understanding that a subcontractor hired to do stormwater, water tap connections and concrete work walked off the job before the project got under way.

Calls to Pine Valley Enterprises to ask about the delays weren't returned Friday.

While the delay is frustrating, Clark said he is enthusiastic about the impact the project will have on downtown Stoney Creek. Once the parkette is complete, the next big step will be rebuilding King Street, which will be done in consultation with the BIA and local residents.

Clark said the changes to King will help retain a small-town feel. "It's really quite exciting. It will make the downtown much more walkable for residents and tourists."

Ed Strecker, the head of the Olde Stoney Creek Business Improvement Area, said some of the merchants have grown tired of looking at the construction site surrounded by fencing.

"We're trying to tell people we're going to have a beautiful area when it gets done," Strecker said. "We've seen the pictures and it looks great but we just want to see it get done."

Work has been spread out over a number of years with the bulk of the capital cost set for 2014 and 2015.

Draft plans of the streetscape will be unveiled later this year to the BIA's merchants and residents. In 2014, public works will begin upgrading the sewers in advance of the rebuilding of King Street in 2015.

David Zimmer, a senior landscape architect for the city, said the parkette project has had some delays because of weather and other unexpected issues related to stormwater connections at the site.

Getting a subcontractor to complete the concrete work has also been a problem, he said.

"The site is all serviced and the water is in," he said. "Once the concrete gets done, things will move along quickly."

Zimmer expects Pine Valley to be back at the site in the next two weeks.