Spring Garden: Upgrade or ‘die’
Malls winning retail fight, architect warns
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Thu. Sep 18 - 4:46 AM
People gathered Wednesday night for the Spring Garden Street Scape Project meeting were able to view some possible changes proposed for the area by viewing photographs and street plans from around the world. (Ted Pritchard / Staff)
Halifax’s key shopping street needs a major overhaul to fend off death at the hands of suburban malls, a local architect says.
"If we don’t start paying attention to Spring Garden Road, then it’s going to die," Hugh Davison said.
The downtown architect was one of about 100 people who turned out Wednesday night to a streetscaping workshop for the busy commercial street.
Members of the Terrain Group planners from Dartmouth and from Alan Baxter & Associates, an urban design firm from London, England, were on hand to explain some of the changes they’re proposing, based on public input and one-on-one interviews with street merchants.
"The window dressing is great, but the fact is, the street is pretty ugly," Terrain’s Barry Yanchyshyn told the group gathered in a ballroom at the Lord Nelson Hotel.
The South Park Street hotel anchors one border of the Spring Garden Road streetscape plan, while the other lies four blocks down at Queen Street.
At a projected cost of about $3 million, the upgrades focus on the street’s busiest parts and could include underground wiring, wider sidewalks outfitted with pavers, new street furniture and lights, upgraded bus shelters and installations of public art.
The street needs a major upgrade, Mr. Davison said in an interview after the presentation.
"Everyone at the city is always saying that Spring Garden Road is the busiest shopping area east of God knows where, and look at the place, it’s a dump."
While the proposed cosmetic changes would tidy up the street’s cluttered appearance, some of the other proposals — like integrating loading zones into a newly expanded sidewalk area — are also good news, said a Spring Garden storeowner.
"The trucks, the loading and the parking on Spring Garden Road are huge problems but easily fixed," Kurt Bulger, owner of Jennifers of Nova Scotia.
It would help if the city came up with some rules and guidelines, like permitting loading only before 11 a.m., he said.
"Somebody needs to take ownership in this town. Currently, there’s no control."
Mr. Bulger was hesitant to point to too many other drawbacks.
"Spring Garden Road, for all its foibles and screw-ups, still works," he said. "So, be very careful about the changes that you make because small changes in a town like this could be huge."
The executive director of the Spring Garden Area Merchants Association echoed those words. Bernie Smith said he has a list of retailers ready and willing to set up shop on the street as it is.
"Oh, if only I could enter into leases, we could lease 40,000 square feet right away," he said in an interview. "So we just want to make sure that we don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
"We need to get the right combination and we’ll just be mortified if we don’t."
Mr. Smith does allow that some quick fixes are in order.
"Some of the poles on the street are certainly left over from the electric trolleys and, I would claim, streetcars. So it’s time we brought it into the present century."
Input from the meeting will go into the final design for the street. The plan is then expected to be presented to council for advanced budget approval in the coming months.
(
apugsley@herald.ca)