HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-07-110 - King St & City Centre District: Streetscape Master Plan - Concept SelectionREPORT
Report To:
Date of Meeting:
Submitted By:
DTS Committee
June 7, 2007
Grant Murphy
Director of Engineering
Engineering Services
Prepared By: Eric Saunderson
Design & Construction Project Manager
Engineering Services
Cory Bluhm
Urban Investment Advisor
Economic Development
Ward(s) Involved: Ward 1 & 6
Date of Report: June 18, 2007
Report No.: DTS 07-110
Subject: KING STREET & THE CITY CENTRE DISTRICT:
STREETSCAPE MASTER PLAN -CONCEPT SELECTION
RECOMMENDATION:
That the preferred streetscape solution, Concept 3: Pedestrian Theme, be selected for King Street
That City staff continue with the master plan process and project schedule outlined for King Street &
the City Centre District
That City staff report back to Development & Technical Services Committee on September 24, 2007,
with functional designs for King Street and strategies for the City Centre District
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Act (Class EA
Act), it is the intent of City staff to continue with a comprehensive streetscape master plan process for
King Street & the City Centre District. The Class EA and Master Plan process shall encompass a
series of public /private projects and provide the City with a strategy to redevelop the downtown
streetscape. This process shall establish the framework for the City to fulfill its obligations to the
public.
BACKGROUND:
Previous Public Consultation Processes
The Streetscape Master Plan is building on previous public processes which asked citizens to share
their views on how downtown Kitchener should look in the future. These processes include:
• Downtown Strategic Plan (2005-07)
• CulturePlan II (2005)
• Environics Survey (2005)
• Centre Block Redevelopment consultations (2005-07)
• A Plan for a Healthy Kitchener (2006)
• Who-are-you-Kitchener public consultations (2006)
• Help Design Downtown public consultations (2006)
Most notably, more than 1, 000 citizens from across the City participated in a two-month "Help Design
Downtown" public consultation process in the summer of 2006.On August 21, 2006, DTS Report 06-
123: Help Design Downtown Kitchener -Survey Results, summarised these results. Residents offered
their opinions and perceptions on a series of design objectives to guide downtown development,
including streetscape improvement and construction. These objectives included:
Primary Objectives:
Lively- by creating a great place for people with lively street activity retailing, restaurants, outdoor
patios and entertainment}, a wide range of residential housing options, and a safe, attractive public
realm featuring places and spaces that provide for diverse and stimulating experiences.
Livable -green the downtown by maximizing plant material (such as street tree plantings, flower
beds, landscaped gardens, and rooftop gardens} along streetscapes, pedestrian pathways and public
/private spaces.
Secondary Objectives:
Creative, High Quality Design -innovation and architectural excellence is encouraged in urban
development. A high quality of urban design is expected of downtown's buildings, building elevations,
building massing, storefronts, store signs, patios, streetscapes and public spaces to enhance street
life and create local pride and interest.
Cultural Heritage -significant cultural heritage resources such as buildings, monuments,
streetscapes, landmarks, landscapes and possibly views, vistas, trees and intersections} shall be
conserved and celebrated.
Arts and Culture -through land use, signage, architecture, streetscapes and public art, each
downtown district will generate its own authentic flavour of culture, creating a diversity of cultural
experiences.
Multi-culturalism -the physical and visual expression of various ethnic traditions, through elements
such as architecture, signage and public art, shall be supported and encouraged.
King Street Master Plan - Stakeholder Charette /Workshop
On April 24, 2007, the project team conducted a streetscape design workshop /charrette and
consulted downtown. The workshop commenced with a presentation by the Consultant on a general
overview of the project followed by an approach for the stakeholder charrette. The approach included
stakeholders assembling into five ~5) groups and commenting on a series of questions focusing on
King Street. These questions included:
1. What is the purpose of King Street Today?
2. What are the best and worst attributes on King Street today?
3. What will improve King Street the most?
4. Based on your group's theme, describe your vision of King Street in the year 2015.
5. What are you as a stakeholder willing to make this happen? What do you expect the City of
Kitchener to do?
Each workgroup was based on a design theme to help guide the discussion. These design themes
included:
Arts & Culture Theme -embrace arts and culture first by creating a diversity of cultural experiences.
Sustainability Theme -approach sustainable and/or green design first which is not only limited to
trees and has emphasis on other forms of vegetation, permeable surfaces, storm-water technologies,
renewable resources and energy sources.
Pedestrian Theme -consider pedestrians as the ultimate user and respect their safety, convenience,
comfort and interests first.
Business Theme -aimed at businesses, their customers, clients and staff first with emphasis on
service, visibility, accessibility, parking and convenience.
Status Quo -remain functionally as it is today with maintenance of roads and sidewalks.
Each working group had an opportunity to comment every theme as they deemed fit. The philosophy
of this approach was to work towards a final goal and to look at the big picture with one area of focus
leading the discussion.
The results of this workshop were summarised in DISC Report 07-076: King Street & the City Centre
District: streetscape Master Plan -Project Update, and further applied by the Consultant to develop
four (4) streetscape concepts. Note: The Sustainability Theme was removed as it was agreed that
sustainable design elements would play a significant role in the successful design concept.
Concept 1-Status Quo: Involves no change to the existing road right of way. Improvements consist
of material upgrades and minor improvements to the design and function of the pedestrian
crosswalks. There are no changes to the number and location of parking spaces.
Concept 2 -Business First: Consists of improvements to the design and treatment of major
intersections, including gateways (Victoria and Fredrick intersections) and the civic zone (the area in
front of City Hall). The design and function of minor intersections such as Ontario Street would not be
affected, though surface materials will be upgraded in these areas. The number of parking spaces will
remain the same, however the location may be reorganized to improve pedestrian movement and
provide new patio opportunities.
Concept 3 -Pedestrian First: Involves narrowing King Street in the City Centre District to widen
sidewalks and improve accessibility including upgrades to both the design and surface treatment of
major and minor intersections. The area directly in front of City Hall will be designed as a special civic
area that can be easily closed and used for special events. Parking spaces will be converted and
relocated to give way to a vehicular drop off and loading zone. A rolled curb will be introduced for King
Street from Frederick to Victoria to improve pedestrian movement and improve accessibility.
Concept 4 -Culture First: King Street is treated like a plaza, with changes to the colour and texture
of interlocking stone to delineate pedestrian, transit and vehicular function instead of keeping the
traditional curbs. Parking zones would be regulated through signage and enforcement; the space
would bemulti-functional and used for various activities depending the time of day and event. The
major and minor intersection will be incorporated into the overall plaza design. Landscaping is
introduced into the pedestrian zone as well as the centre median. Bollards are used to restrict
vehicular movement during certain times of day, festivals and events.
Public Consultation Centre and On-line Survey
On May 22, 2007, the project team presented the design themes and streetscape concepts at the first
(1) of three ~3} public consultation centres in the Rotunda /Heritage Room at Kitchener City Hall
between 12pm - 2pm and 4pm to 7pm. The Rotunda had ten X10}display boards set up around the
room illustrating the study area, five (5) design themes and four (4) streetscape concepts. In addition,
a projector and screen accompanied the display boards summarising the results of the stakeholder
workshop and overall approach for the project.
Over 50 people attended the public consultation centre and were encouraged to fill out a comment
sheet / on-line survey. The survey was available in hardcopy form as well as on-line at the public
consultation centre. The on-line survey was accessible from the City's website for a two week period
between May 18 to June 1, 2007, and, approximately 200 participants from across the City filled out
the form ~>60% of the survey respondents live and/or work in the downtown / 50% are between the
ages of 18-35).
Based on theme approach, participants were asked to comment on design concepts and elements
that can be added to enhance King Street. Each design concept included an image to illustrate how
King Street might look based on each theme. A series of elements were listed for each theme and
participants were asked to select which items they'd like to see on King Street. In addition,
participants were also asked to rank the importance of each theme and state which theme should be
the main focus of King Street's design. The results are as follows:
Concept 1-Status Quo: 13%
Concept 2 -Business First: 19%
Concept 3 -Pedestrian First: 42%
Concept 4 -Culture First: 26%
In addition, participants were provided a list of sustainable design elements which could also be
introduced into any of the four ~4} design themes. The most preferred ~>60%} sustainable design
elements are as follows:
^ Distinct transit stops, shelters and signage (65%}
^ On-street cycling lanes, bike-parking areas and easy access to trail routes (69%)
^ Storm water recycling system X61 %}
^ Permeable sidewalk surfaces to allow rain water to penetrate to tree roots (67%}
^ Maximize landscaping and street trees along sidewalks (70%)
^ Using recycled and reusable construction materials (69%}
^ Solar powered tree lights X77%)
REPORT:
Preferred Streetscape Solution -Concept 3: Pedestrian First Theme
Based on the survey results alone, the preferred concept for King Street is Concept 3: Pedestrian
First Theme. This concept involves the following design elements to be considered as part of the final
design:
^ Wider sidewalks and a narrow roadway to discourage vehicular traffic
^ Blending the sidewalk patterns into the roadway
^ Lower curbs to improve accessibility and encourage pedestrian movements
^ Bollards to temporarily close King Street for festivals and shopping
^ Abundance of outdoor seating areas and gathering places
^ Fibre optic lighting (eg. different outdoor lighting moods depending on the season)
^ Audio/music system
^ Climate control features (eg. heated sidewalks)
In addition, and where possible, the final design will attempt to integrate design elements of the other
three concepts, as well as sustainable design elements, which are highly desirable and achieved an
above average rating selected by more than 60% of respondents):
^ Planter beds for flowers and trees X78%}
^ Seating areas for benches X70%}
^ Decorative light standards (65%}
^ Seasonal space for outdoor retailing and cafes X84%}
^ Periodic outdoor seating areas and public spaces (70%}
^ Central islands for public art, landscaping, fountains and/or seating X64%}
^ Removable bollards to temporarily close King Street for special events X69%)
^ Spaces for outdoor vendors/markets X70%}
Rationale -Design Concept Evaluation
Supplementary to the results of the public consultation survey, a Reasoned Argument type of
evaluation methodology was used to evaluate and compare the four alternative design concepts.
This methodology identifies the advantages and disadvantages of each concept as it relates to a
particular design element specific to this project; this evaluation approach is called Multiple Criterion
Analysis. The methodology concludes by ranking each concept on its ability to address each
criterion. This is an accepted, objective and traceable evaluation methodology commonly used in the
Environmental Assessment process. It should be noted that the criterion are not weighted in terms of
importance since it was concluded there is insufficient information to determine what criterion is more
important than others, thus, all criterion are weighted equally.
Attached to this report is a summary of the concept evaluation which includes ranking for each design
element as well as the rationale for each ranking. Shown subsequently is the ranking scheme used to
rate each design element.
Lowest O Low ~ Medium ~ High ~ Highest •
~o°io~ X25°io) (5o°io) (~5°io~ ~1 oo°io~
Each design element is rated from 0% for 0.00) to 100% for 1.00} and divided by the total number of
elements which equals the overall preferred percentage. The summary of this evaluation is as follows:
Concept 1-Status Quo: 30%
Concept 2 -Business First: 43%
Concept 3 -Pedestrian First: 73%
Concept 4 -Culture First: 63%
Next Steps:
In accordance with DISC Report 07-055: King Street & the City Centre District: Streetscape Master
Plan -Project Schedule, shown below is a general outline of the scope of work and phasing process
to be completed as part of this project:
Concept Phase (June 2007}
Streetscape concept evaluation complete for King Street
Feasibility Phase (June to August 2007)
Preferred streetscape solution for King Street presented to:
Kitchener Downtown Business Association Board of Directors -via email
Corporate Management Team /Senior Leadership Team -Summer 2007
Downtown Advisory Committee /Economic Development Advisory Committee -June 27, 2007
Centre Block Evaluation Committee date to be determined}
Concept changes and modifications (if required)
Capital budget estimate and cost feasibility analysis
• Prioritization of projects and capital works planning
Streetscape strategy development for the City Centre District
Design Phase (August to September 2007}
• Preliminary design drawings X50% complete) for King Street -Capital budget estimate review
• Public Consultation Centre (2nd public centre} -design drawings for King Street and strategies for
the City Centre District
• Functional design drawings X90% complete) for King Street -Capital budget estimate review
• Functional design drawings for King Street and strategies for the City Centre District presented to:
Kitchener Downtown Business Association Board of Directors -August 20, 2007
Corporate Management Team /Senior Leadership Team -September 18, 2007
Development & Technical Services Committee -Business Case September 24, 2007
Note: Associated reports include: Draft Private Sector Design Guidelines for King Street facades
Draft Marketing & Business Attraction Strategy
Tender Phase (September to December 2007 -winter 2008)
• Functional design drawings for King Street and strategies /guidelines for the City Centre District
complete
Contract document preparation for construction
Construction Phase (+2008 - to be confirmed}
Schedule and phasing of work to be determined
FINANCIAL:
Business case and cost feasibility analysis to be completed in conjunction with the 2008 Capital
budget planning process.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Stakeholder design workshop / charette (May 2007)
Public consultation centres (May and August 2007)
Direct Mail / email (downtown businesses, neighbourhood associations, advisory committees, etc.)
Newspaper and radio advertisements (the Record, Echo, the Beat, Dave FM, 570News, etc)
Your Kitchener Articles (May/June and July/August editions)
Webpage (streetscape concepts and on-line survey -May 18 to June 1, 2007)
Project Team:
Eric Saunderson, Project Manager ~CofK), DTS -Engineering Services
John McBride, DTS -Transportation Planning
Silvia Wright, CAO -Downtown Community Development
Cory Bluhm, CAO -Economic Development
Colleen Allan, CAO -Communications/Marketing
Cheryl York, CS -Arts & Culture
Dan Ritz, CS -Design & Development
Christina Weylie, Office of the Mayor and Council
Linda Stewart, Kitchener Downtown Business Association
Trevor McIntyre, Project Director Consultant}, IBI Group
Don Drackley, Project Manager Consultant}, IBI Group
Kelly Cobbe, IBI Group
Jay Cheon, IBI Group
Deanne Mighton, IBI Group
Russel Brownlee, IBI Group
John MacDonald, John MacDonald Architect Inc.
CONCLUSION:
That the preferred streetscape solution, Concept 3: Pedestrian Theme, be selected for King Street
That City staff continue with the master plan process and project schedule outlined for King Street &
the City Centre District
That City staff report back to Development & Technical Services Committee on September 24, 2007,
with functional designs for King Street and strategies for the City Centre District
Eric Saunderson
Design & Construction Project Manager
Cory Bluhm
Urban Investment Advisor
Grant Murphy
Director of Engineering Services