The City of Parksville’s Memorial Avenue streetscape and utility upgrades project, which kicked off in May, is now well underway.
The project will plan, design and oversee construction upgrades to aging underground water, storm, and sanitary sewer lines along Memorial Avenue, as well as improvements to the streetscape with the aim to maintain the historic street trees and enhance their health.
Under the guidance of project contractor, McElhanney Ltd., and the project team, an assessment of the trees was completed and a series of public engagement events were held and are ongoing. The project team is pleased with the response received from the community; input is helping to define why Memorial Avenue is important to residents and also what Memorial Avenue should look like in the future.
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The underground storm, sanitary and watermains on Memorial Avenue have reached the end of their service lives and require replacement. Memorial Avenue and the trees which line the street have grown into an important living monument of civic participation and contribution. Known as one of Parksville’s most beautiful and historic streets, the 34 century-old elm trees which line the street were donated by a local women’s organization to memorialize fallen veterans from around the Parksville area. Preserving the trees and their legacy is a priority of the project.
The project team has endeavoured to provide barrier-free participation options as well as a high level of transparency and communication and to date, have accomplished or are working on the following:
· Dedicated project email address to facilitate questions or concerns memorialave@parksville.ca.
· Project website memorialave.ca with history of the street, detailed information about the condition of each memorial tree, future public engagement opportunities and up-to-date project information.
· Regular project updates to local stakeholders which are also posted on the project website.
· Pop-up booth at the Summer by the Sea Street Market to let the community know about the project.
· Walkshops shared what has been learned about Memorial Avenue and the health of the trees and also started to explore possible street design.
· Online survey with about eighty responses; results will be reviewed and included in a future report.
· Community design workshops on July 10 will refine community feedback and help participants co-design the streetscape upgrades.
Questions about the project may be sent to memorialave@parksville.ca.
— NEWS staff, submitted