The city says it wants to increase the value of Sparks Street, day and night, through all seasons, including creating a better pedestrian experience, greening the area, as well as improving cycling and local programming.

The City of Ottawa says it's established directions for future improvements to Sparks Street, based on a study its been conducting over the last several months, but it's looking for more public input.

The city opened a storefront at 79 Sparks Street, in 2018. Since then, city staff have been working on a new plan for the pedestrian mall, using the storefront to engage with Sparks Street users, offer project information and work with stakeholders.

The city's goal is to increase the value of Sparks Street, day and night, through all seasons, including creating a better pedestrian experience, greening the area, as well as improving cycling and local programming.

The city says it needs residents' feedback once again, as it begins to develop detailing parameters and guidelines for all aspects of the streetscape.

Residents are invited to visit the storefront at 79 Sparks Street to review and offer feedback at the following times:

Thursday, March 21, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Outside of these hours, anyone can arrange to visit the space and review the plan in progress by contacting mysparksstreet@ottawa.ca.

City Council, the NCC, and the Sparks Street Mall Authority will all consider the public realm plan for approval this fall.

Once approved, staff will launch a detailed design and engineering phase, when there will be more opportunities for feedback on more detailed aspects of the streetscape.

Pedestrian mall users can also look forward to more pilot projects and programming refinements that will advance the vision and objectives of the street as a dynamic, year-round meeting place and venue for cultural expression.