The city is looking to get feedback on their 'University Avenue Gateway' project that's in the works

The City of Waterloo is looking to shake up University Avenue to better celebrate the region's contributions to learning, innovation, and business.

Thursday evening, the public is invited to come to Waterloo City Hall to check out draft concepts for the 'University Ave Gateway' and pitch in their own ideas as well.

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky tells the Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS, there's very little in terms of signage or art to signal to people that they were entering the University district. One of the very first things you see pulling off Highway 85 was the city's sewage treatment plant.

"We're actually quite fortunate that our sewage treatment plant looks as good as it does, cause that's the first thing you see when you get off the highway, so maybe we need a little bit more trees there."

The project is in partnership with the Region of Waterloo along with the Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Waterloo, and Conestoga College, who all have campuses along the stretch of road.

Jaworsky says University Ave was "aptly named" and should be shown off and celebrated. He mentions the fact Waterloo Region was home to four Governor General Architecture Award winning buildings, all of them just off of the avenue.

He adds the city would eventually redo the road, so they should take the opportunity to "make the right investments."

"We have to redo University Avenue, so instead of doing it just to replace what we have there and have the exact same thing that will last another 25 years, let's do it right. And let's make sure that we make the right investments, and you can do a lot of things with landscaping; look at what we've done all along the ION, through Waterloo Park."

The mayor says plans were still "in an infancy stage", but they hope to make the avenue more pedestrian friendly with wider sidewalks, cycling lanes, and more greenery.

Residents can give their thoughts by attending the information session at Waterloo City Hall from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday. You can also head to engagewr.ca to give your input.

