WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. MAY 7,1986_ PAGE 17 Downtown improvement pressing forward Dy MIKE JOHNSTON Free Pss Staff The. Downtown Business Improvement Ares camesa stop doser ta belag accepted in Heritage Canada's Main Street Program when a representative Of Herltage Cânada.vlslted Whtby last week. Stephen Lauer was la tawn on Friday la response to an ap- plication by the BIA to participate la the program. The three year Main Street Program would, help import federally funded, experts ta help the BIA designaa stzategy to promote the downtawn area. "Our flrst latent would be to bring people downtawn,"' said Lauer who then explalned the three criteria by which Heritage Canada bases its decisionon who wil be accepted. He said the downtown merchants must be willing to have a self- help approach. "A quick solution won't work,"I ssid Lauer. He said the downtown merchants must be willing. to work with Heritage Canada to promote the downtown. Secondly, a com- prehensive strategy for revitalizlng the down- town must be under- taken. He explained that the streetscaping, whlch la currently transfor- ming the sidewalks, la not enough. A marketing program coverlng ail aspects of the downtown, including economic,f social elements and the physical structure of the buildings, must be pur-' sued, he said. The third and most Important key to Whltby belng accepted is to have a' ful-time co- ordinator. "This la ab- solutely critical," said Lauer. If the BIAis accepted, Georgina Phillips, manager of the BIA wll assume the respon- sihility of co-ordinator. A job she would be hap- py to accept. "I'm looking forward toilt," she told the Free Press on Friday. As co- ordinator, Phillips would work. witb Heritage Canada in promoting downtown Whitby as weli as "lenriching my own knowledge on the down- town and the businesses. 'II really hope we get accepted." According to Lauer there are currently 14 Ontario based ap- plications before Heritage Canada,. though ail are not for participation in this year's program. This year, the program wil accept a maximum of five downtown areas. Whlle the Main Street Programisa interested in preserving the architec- turai heritage of buildings, Lauer sald it wlll not focus on in- dividual buildings. "The downtown should be revltallzed as a whole," lie said.' While Lauers short visit ta Whitby was* to meet members of the BIA 'and represen- tatives of the town, he did see enough of the downtown area to say it shows a-lot of promise. "There are a lot of op- portunities here," he said, adding that many of the buildings and store fronts are good starting platformns. However, he admitted that a lot of work will ho needed ta revitalize the downtown core. "A lot of work needs ta be done, but then that's the case with most downtowns across Canada," said Lauer. The Heritage Canada Program was in- troduced last June when three *.munlcipalitles, Sarnia, Prescott and Owen - Sound, par- tlcipated in the program. But, before the program officially got ,underway, seven down- town's across Canada participsted ln demon- stration .programs which Lauer claimed were tremendous, suc- cesses. Heritage Canada lsaa non-profit, charitable foundation which is.fun- ded by the Department of Regional and In- dustrial Expansion. Applications for the program wil .be reviewed by the federal department and Heritage Canada of- ficials. Downtown's ac- cepted for the program wil be notified by May 30. Lauer. said Heritage Canada would work wlth the downtown through Phillips and would visit Whitby ta work. directly with the co-ordinator. Examlnlng one of the many buildings downtawn are Stephen Lauer, reglonal co-ordinator for Ontario for the Main Street Program of the Heritage Canada Foundation, Bryce Jordan fromn the Planning Depar- tmnent and Manager of the BIA, Georgina Phillllps. Mr. Lsuer was in 'Witby Friday totake alook at the dowltown area. Fe rs tf ht Whitby Ambulance, Service Durlng the week en- ding May 1, Whitby Ambulance Service responded ta 105) cails for service lncluding three emergencies resulting from motor vehicle accidents.. Other omergecy cails during' the week included five cails for *heart related probiems, five cails for injuies sustalned in fails, two for patients sufferlng from strokes and two cails for seizures. There were 42 cails during the week that were classifled as haing non-emergencies, most of which lnvolved tran- sportlng patients from one medical facility t o another and home from hospital. Whitby Ambulance also provided 22 stan- dbys to other ares ser- vices. 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