Riverside plan ready to view

By Collin Gallant on November 14, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

A long-awaited redevelopment plan for Riverside will be presented to the municipal planning commission today, about two years after residents of the historic community called for such consideration.

The 76-page plan outlines the goal of preserving unique characteristics in the 100-plus-year-old community, reworking park space and spurring commercial development. It will be discussed by committee at council chambers on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

If approved it could move to council for further debate and a public hearing in December.

The study was launched in late 2016 shortly after residents expressed concern about the closing of Riverside School and the nearby Heald outdoor pool as part of budget cuts.

RELATED: Boat launch in Riverside? and Riverside plan will hopefully quell fears

Planners said that after a redevelopment plan for western downtown, a Riverside Plan could be a priority, and considering the amount of change in the area, a plan would be appropriate.

Since then, a new firehall, new flood berms, have been completed in the northside community that is linked to downtown by Finlay Bridge. As well, major sewer line upgrades have run though the community, and Riverside School land was sold to Covenant Health last summer, with the broad plan to redevelop the site as a newly built facility.

The plan, which will guide how the planning offices considers permit applications in the area, states Riverside was a diverse range of housing styles from the early 1900s onwards.

That should be considered when infill housing is proposed and “flexible” infill rules should give consideration to the nature of the neighbourhood, and preserving treed boulevards should be a priority.

Other measures are:

— “Refresh” Riverside Park and the Heald pool location as a “community focal spot, and perhaps fill gaps in the current trail system layout;

— Encourage Third Street commercial development, though keep the route a “low-volume” connector with possible controlled intersections at both ends of the commercial strip;

— The city’s land and properties offices is also examining whether to reopen the possibility of developing vacant western stretches of Third Street for residential construction;

— Avenue “Stubs” south of First Street would remain public property as they contain storm drains, though over the year controversy has arisen with neighbours claiming them as private driveways.

Redevelopment plans were completed in the River Flats in 2012, and the Herald area, west of downtown to the Regional Hospital Area, in 2016.

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