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Page 8, Why Fr. Pres, Wednesday, April 261995 A by1 ViD eh W H1 j1111,ý" j iTB"' q l i1 i Future look of commercial areas to be studied "The area has gotten away from council as far as- its esthetic values" By Mike Kowalski Two ditinctly different areas of Wbitby wiil soon ho put under the planner's microscope. Town council has cleared the way for urban design studios of downtewn Brooklin and the Dun- das Streot-Thickson Road cor- ridor te ho undertaken this yoar. Toronto consulting firm Walker Nott & Dragicevic has been commissiondte dovobop guidelines that will shlapethie future appearanceofBokn and the Ii>udas-Thickson area. Aithough it haddagreed îast year teo 0the stuios cuny only recently settled on the con- sultants. Walker Nott will rcive jut under $130,0 00 for its wokwhich muet ho compie- ted by D ehr. Te studis have been enthu- siastically endoraed by the ward counciliors for Brookhin and oast; Whitby -- Don Mitchell and Den- nia Fox, respectvely. «This is something I -have been- working on since I was first elected (in 1988),» said Fox. «tsin response te my and local businesses' concerns that the area reflect Wbitby's amail- tewn charactor " he explainod. «Tho area h as gotten- away> from council as far as its esthetic values. Hopefuily, onceth designs are m place in about a year, we can do some improve- monts te upgrade the whole area te something we can ho proud Of." Theso improvemonts» would not only enhance the corridor's appeaance, but can likely ho doe at relatively little cost, Fox holieves.. «What im looking at are tcnlike tree plantmngs, park honchesi,flower bedsl,water foun-_ tains ... something te, mako it stand out, rather than the GJol- don Mile stretch of Scarborough, that's what it looks hike now.» In addition te drafting pro- posais covering public property, the consultants will also ho asked te recommend standards for businesos located on Thick- son and Dundas, Fox noted. Admitting there is «always that possibility» of the municipa- lity forcing reluctant merchants te spruce up the appearance of thoir stores, Fox quickly con- ceded that council is limited as to how far it can go. «We can't tell them te changeý the architecture of the actual building. That's private projgerty and we can't force themn, ho said. "But we can co-ordinate it. Rathor than have each business go their own architectwe are doing it for ail of them. Tis will ho -a roference for them te draw on.»i Fox hopos most business owners along the corridor will embrace the study and its even- tuai proposais. «It s not just the esthetics rm worried about, but the survival of businesses,"ho stressod. «What can we do te make shoppers go t the area and not bvoassit ~Merchants face competit*on from -not only downtewn Whitby, but other commercial centres such as Rossland-Road-Garden Street and the nearby Ohw Centre, Fox said. «simportant where competi- tion is the toughost for businessos te ho concierned. Un- bass the area is improved, why would people want te go therer» The study areds boundarios will ho Hwy 401 and Crawforth Street on Thickson and Anderson Street and Kendalwood Road on Dundas. if, as Fox anticipatos, the cor- ridor study wiil try te mathl some of the flavour of smail-tewn WVhitby inte a highly urban area, thon the planning consultants need go no further than Brooklin for their inspiration. In fact, one might viow tho Brooklin portion of their man- date as an attempt te prevent tho village from suffering the very same problems that cause Fox concern. «What we're basically trying to do is manage new growth while respocting the existing character of the village,» explained Mit- chell. «We want te preserve our honi- tago buildings, not lose them,» ho Witha ppulaionof under 2,000, -Brookfln is projected te grow te 13,000 b y the Year 2011 and nearly 25,000 in 2021. Work on extending water and sanitary sewer services te accom- modate this growth will ho com- pleted this yoar. When concern was expressod by village residents that shop - pmg piazas and strip mails woud srin uparond roklin to~ ~ ~O th-otien fthe. down- town, council took moasuros to provont this from oScu.rng A provision of W hbys new officiai plan stipulates that future commercial devolopmont ho directod to the isting down- town firet. Howovor, stops will also ho takon to ensure that new devo- lopment is compatible, Mitchell said. For instance one issue to ho addressed by l~e consultants is streotacapes. Accordmng to the study's terins of reforence, provision must ho mado for a «podestrian-orionted commercial coro» that will incor- porate landscaped public and pri- vate areas, complementar build- ing.forms and setbackr,signage, building materia1s and colours. «I'd lke to seo- a street front similar, to downtown Whitby, basically an 1800d' look,» Mit- chell addod. Other issues to ho reviowed include parking, the feasibility of closing Roebuck Street to croate a village square associated with Grass ark and identification of herit a srctures in conjunc- tion wth the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Commit- tee. ANNE AWA N, who operates the newly opened New Beqinnings Maternity store at Pearson Lanes in downtown Whitby, shows some1 of the clothing Rtems to Charlotte McConkey. The store offers casual as. well as, career wear, and ligerie.Photo by J.rmy Dresa, WNlby Fr.. Presa Strategy process to, begi As part of the process te croate an economic deveiopment istra- tegy for Durhanm Region, a meet- ing wýiil hoheid at the Whitby municipal building on Wednes- day, May 3, 7:30 p.m. It is one of severai meetings to ho hoid throughout the region in what wilbe the first rart of the proceas, te discuss strengths weaknesses, opportunities an1 threats associated with Durham Regfion and its economy,» accord- ing te Doug McKýay, chair of the DurhamRegion Economic Devo- iopment Advisory Committee. 'he Region approved the crea- tion of a strategy earlier this year, te, address manufacturing agriculture and teurism as wef as training,. employment and in- corne needs.' The Region aims te have the study completed by Decemhor. Aftr the round of meetings on strengths and weaknesses, there will meetings (May 23-25)abu economic goals desired by the community, thon meetings (June 20-22) te discuss ideas and actions on how te improve the Region economy. There wiil aioo an oppor- tunity te comment (Octoer) on a draft of the study.. Members of the committeo are Jeif Schissier, Ontario Skiiis Development Whitby; John Kirk, Bank, of Montreal, Oshawa; Elizabeth Woodbury, Whitby General Hospital; Dave Broad- bout, CAW Locali 222; Brian Smith, General Motors of Canada; Colin Sinclair, Oshawa Centre Ltd.; Ouif Mets, St. Mary's Cernent Co., Bowman- ville; Ted Smith, danry£armer, Sunderland; BarbaraB]lack, for- merly of the Social Deveiopment Cuncil Aax-Pickering-,Paulie Laing, burham Board of Educa- tion; Gail Lawlor, consultant, Energy Matters,. Pickering; Paula Liishman Paula Lishman Ld., Biacksteck; Ricky Poters, Lakeridgo Ski Resort, Uxbridgé; Pickering mayor Wayne Arthurs; Oshawa mayor Nancy Diamond. For more infformation, cail the region economic development- department at 723-0023. Are you happy with the amount of income tax you paid for 1994? If flot, start planning your 1995 tax strategy now. CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT - Financial Group DEREK DUTKA Seiving Whîtby and Qshawa sînce 1986 F.C.G. Securities Corporation is a icensed Secunities dealer. 106 Stevenson Rd. S., Oshawa