Think hard about street design if Victoriaville is demolished, urges Thunder Bay architect
A block with more space for bikes and pedestrians would have benefits, says John Stephenson
As the city of Thunder Bay ponders the future of Victoriaville mall, one local architect is already envisioning how the reopening of Victoria Avenue to traffic could present an opportunity to create a new type of street in one of the city's downtown cores.
It's "an opportunity to reimagine what that street should be like," said John Stephenson, an architect with FORM Architecture Engineering in Thunder Bay.
Stephenson, who is also the current president of the Ontario Association of Architects, said he imagines a block that would slow down traffic, and distribute road space more equally between cars, and people walking and biking.
"And so the space of the street feels like a public plaza or square," he said, "and it feels accessible to people walking, cycling, as well as people in cars."
Such a street design would open up the downtown south core, he said, and would also be safer than conventional streets, because traffic would be slowed.
Stephenson said he knows there's still much to consider before the city makes a decision about the future of Victoriaville Centre, but he wants to get people thinking about what's possible.
"It's an opportunity," he said. "And I'd hate to see old thinking about downtown urban streets foreclose any discussion about other ways of imagining those streets."
Listen to Stephenson's full interview on CBC Thunder Bay's Superior Morning: