The Belmont Street parklet is getting a new look in an effort to address neighbourhood concerns and undesirable activity.

Last summer, the city received a petition signed by 120 residents, businesses and business patrons expressing “distress” over the activities in the parklet and seeking action from the city to address their concerns. While the uptown parklet has been a popular place for some residents to sit and relax, it’s also been a place where some people smoke, drink and congregate in the evening.

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Erica Mashig, the city’s manager of arboriculture, horticulture and parks and open space planning, said the original design had a “porch and lawn” concept that included a wood decking area (the porch) with bistro tables where people could socialize, drink coffee and eat from local businesses, and the lower artificial turf (lawn) area with casual seating and space for outdoor games. It was surrounded by concrete barriers to keep traffic from entering this area.

“After about a year, year-and-a-half of its time being open, slowly things were removed from the parklet, including the artificial lawn and the games – mainly because they were causing issues at nighttime. People were using the parklet after hours,” she said. “Over time, the bistro tables have taken a bit of a beating, and the parklet has aged over time.”

To address issues with the parklet, the city met with stakeholders, who identified concluded the parklet needs to be redesigned, as it needs to be smaller and look better visually. It was also determined that the parklet needs: to have different seating and fewer tables; to be disconnected from Tim Hortons; to have new and better signage; to have increased maintenance; to have increased and enhanced landscaping; to see more enforcement of city bylaws, such as no smoking and drinking; to have more programming for family-friendly activities, such as food vendors and events; and to be limited to use between dawn and dusk.

“This new, refreshed design does look at designing the parklet as a small park,” Mashig said. “It is not just for seating and drinking coffee. There is actually a large flex space for programs and activities, more like a park.”

On June 10, council directed staff to proceed with the redesign and construction of the Belmont Street Parklet. The city’s 2019 budget includes $15,000 for this project.

A staff report to council noted the majority of stakeholders representing residents on or near Belmont Street would prefer that the parklet be completely removed, but representatives from the Uptown Business Association and one residents from Belmont Tower supported a redesign of the parklet to encourage positive, family-friendly activities in a refreshed space.

So, what’s the plan?

The new design for the parklet includes a reduced deck area and expanded greenspace, including more planted areas and the addition of shade trees. The tables and chairs will be removed and replaced with fixed seating, the size of the parklet will be reduced, the concrete barriers will be replaced with tree planters, and seating will be “flipped” and oriented away from Tim Hortons.

“That’s something that people mistake it for today – that it’s Tim Hortons patio, which it is not,” Mashig said. “It is a public space for everyone. A much greener, more colourful, brighter space.”

In addition, the city will provide larger and more signage at the parklet, will improve light levels at night and will limit hours in the parklet from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“We will be improving the light levels in the streetlights above the parklet so it’s obvious what’s going on there at nighttime and maybe less desirable for nighttime activity,” Mashig said. “The Uptown Business Association has also offered access to their surveillance camera just outside of their mall.”

According to a staff report, residents who are being disturbed by late-night noise will be encouraged to call the police non-emergency number to restore peace to the neighbourhood.

While the city has heard comments from the community that there have been some challenges with the parklet, Coun. Mary Trentadue thinks it’s good overall for the community and provides a place that people in that area can enjoy and where they can sit and spend some time. She believes that regular enforcement and drive-bys are required to manage “some of the issues that occur late at night” because people aren’t going to want to call the police every time it’s noisy in the parklet.

“I think that some people will abide by a parklet with a closed sign, but I think some people will not,” she said. “I would like to be more proactive in the enforcement rather than waiting for people to contact us and tell us there is a problem.”

A June 10 staff report stated that deconstruction of existing parklet will commence in late spring or early summer and construction of the new parklet will follow.