Background OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA: VISION & SECONDARY PLAN. papers NIAGARA ON THE LAKE. Managing Movement

Transcription

1 OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA: VISION & SECONDARY PLAN NIAGARA ON THE LAKE Background papers Managing Movement Planning for Balanced Patterns of Transportation Prepared by BA Consulting Group May 2009

2

3 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Key Characteristics of Old Town Today 3 Summary of Background Analysis 7 Key Issues and Opportunities 15 Concepts to be Explored 17

4 INTRODUCTION

5 The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has initiated a highly consultative public engagement process to craft a Vision and Secondary Plan for Old Town & the Dock Area. The following Background Paper is one of five prepared by the consultant team, led by Urban Strategies in support of this process. The Visioning exercise, the first phase of this work, includes all of the Old Town area and is focused on developing an overall direction for Old Town over the next 20 years. The second phase involves the preparation of a Secondary Plan for the Old Town waterfront, generally situated along the northeastern shore-line of the Old Town, and is intended to provide a detailed policy and design framework to guide future decision making and manage change in the area. The Background Papers summarize the understanding, key findings and observations that emerged through the consultant team s reconnaissance and research, stakeholder interviews and the public Speakers Series. The synthesis of thinking outlined in these papers, along with the outcomes of the Old Town Visioning Workshop and continued public and stakeholder input received through the remainder of the Old Town Visioning process, will provide the foundation to craft the Vision for Old Town. This Background Paper outlines findings from recent transportation studies undertaken, current conditions with respect to movement patterns to, from and within Old Town and identifies a series of concepts to be explored. OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 2

6 KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD TOWN TODAY

7 The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, and in particular Old Town, is renowned for its successful preservation of heritage buildings, local wineries, tourism offerings and cultural venues such as the Shaw Festival and is a significant tourism destination within the Greater Golden Horseshoe. As such, Old Town draws as many as 3 million visitors a year, mostly during the summer and fall months. Old Town is home to close to 6,000 people who enjoy and are drawn to the quality of life and place offered by the serene, historic residential neighbourhoods set in this small Town. Queen Street as Old Town s mainstreet is a significant commerical corridor for visitors OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 4

8 What are the roles of Ricardo Street and Melville Street? The seasonal nature of tourist visitation to Old Town during the key summer months, that most visitors arrive and leave by vehicle (car or bus) and that this activity is, for the most part, concentrated around Queen Street and the theatres located along its length, present a notable challenge for Old Town in terms of how best to accommodate such activity while respecting the needs of residents and preserving the Old Town s character. These factors weigh heavily on the solutions sought in this regard and have led, through much discussion, study and dialogue, to a series of measures and strategies aimed at managing transportation activity within Old Town and using strategic physical interventions / modifi cations rather than simply building new infrastructure to accommodate transportation and parking demands. These strategies have placed controls upon various activities across Old Town to mitigate vehicular issues throughout Old Town and along the Waterfront. Notably, these have included the introduction of pay parking for much of the on-street and off-street parking supply serving the Queen Street facilities as well as prohibiting bus movement on certain certain streets and the provision of a bus parking lot. The management strategies currently in place in Old Town and along the Waterfront are a qualifi ed success in addressing parking, vehicular traffi c and bus movement related issues and related tensions in Old Town that occur during the summer season. It is particularly important to note that the approach adopted in these responsive strategies is premised on the recognition of the importance of the historic fabric and character of Old Town and that substantial physical infrastructure would, given the seasonality of demands, remain vacant or unused for vast portions of the year. 5 MANAGING MOVEMENT

9 Queen Street is notable for its tourism opportunity and related pedestrian and vehicular activity OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 6

10 SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND ANALYSIS

11 A series of transportation and parking related studies have been completed by the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Region of Niagara over the last number of years assessing various aspects of the operation of the road system and parking facilities within Old Town. 1 These studies have documented parking and traffic demands and, notably bus activity in Old Town over time. Parking Considerations A series of studies have been completed that summarize parking usage, turnover and demand. Parking in Old Town is provided on-street as well as within off-street parking facilities. There are in the order of 1,345 public parking spaces focused around the Queen Street corridor in Old Town within the boundaries of River Beach Road to the north, Gage Street / Castlereagh Street to the south, Mississauga Street to the west and Melville Street to the east. The majority of this supply (approximately 1,130 spaces) are provided on the street system while approximately 215 spaces are provided within 5 off-street parking lots and facilities. 2 Pay parking facilities, where provided, are controlled through pay-and-display or metered systems. Parking restrictions and off-street parking facilities are illustrated in Figure 1. surrounding Queen Street for an available parking space during the busiest times. Local parking issues are currently handled by a Parking Committee, established to manage issues and concerns arising within Old Town. We understand this Committee has largely been successful and continues to be an effective channel to address parking issues and to manage the supply within Old Town. Measures considered and implemented include better striping of on-street parking and the allocation of on-street parking permits to residents who have no other means of parking a vehicle. The most recent parking study undertaken for Old Town (the Old Town Parking Study undertaken by Delcan in 2006) which reviewed parking occupancy and duration of stay during the peak summer period (August 2006) suggested that around 80 percent of all available parking serving the Queen Street area was occupied throughout the peak daytime periods. Parking demand patterns refl ect a radial pattern in parking occupancy levels across the available parking spaces as those spaces closest to Queen Street fi ll fi rst and are occupied for the longest periods. The level of occupancy and related patterns is also the cause of a number of expressed resident issues related to the circling of vehicles as people search the street system 1 List of Policies and Studies: Niagara Region Growth Management Strategy (in progress), Region of Niagara Old Town Parking Study (2006), Delcan Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake Offi cial Plan (2004), Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake Transportation Master Plan (2004), Delcan Niagara Region Bikeways Master Plan (2003), Region of Niagara Workshop Proceedings Action Plan for Niagara-on-the-Lake (2001), Poulos-Chung & Planning Partnership Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake Transportation & Traffi c Operations Study (1996), Totten Sims Hubicki 2 Old Town Parking Study (2006), Delcan OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 8

12 Well used parking behind Queen Street properties Residential permit parking The 2006 parking study is being reviewed on a regular basis as part of an ongoing effort to better manage parking within Old Town and address related issues. A strategy to be potentially considered as part of the Town s Transportation Master Plan is to set up perimeter parking facilities outside the Old Town boundary supported by shuttle buses bringing visitors into central areas, including sharing of parking facilities at Niagara District Secondary School during the summer months outside of the school terms. Moving forward, challenges around parking accommodation will remain across Old Town particularly during the summer months. The Parking Committee remains the key channel under which such issues across Old Town can be reconciled within the community. There are important steps that can, however, be made as part of the development of a vision and framework for the Old Town in establishing appropriate parking supply provisions for new development, management protocols related to existing or prospective parking activity, opportunities to optimize the use of the facilities that are provided and ease tensions that may otherwise occur. Figure 1. Parking facilities and restrictions (Source: NOTL Chamber of Commerce) 9 MANAGING MOVEMENT

13 Pedestrian and vehicular traffic through Old Town Traffic Considerations There are three principal access routings that link Old Town to the broader regional road system. These include Mississagua Street / Niagara Stone Road (Regional Road 55) to the south and west, the Niagara Parkway to the south and east and Mary Street/Lakeshore Road (Regional Road 87) to the west. Niagara Stone Road is the busiest routing used by visitors to Old Town during the summer months. Queen Street / Picton Street / Queens Parade form the principal spine road running through the central tourist areas of Old Town and links between Mississagua Road and the Niagara Parkway. The main theatre venues and Fort George are situated along its length as well as a range of shopping and gallery attractions. Queen Street and Picton Street form the primary corridor upon which all visitor traffi c activity is focused during the summer months. Queen Street, Picton Street and Mississagua Road are all Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake collector roads. Mary Street and King Street form a bypass routing around Queen Street and as an alternate access routing to the eastern portions of the central Old Town. This routing is used as one of the designated bus routings serving Old Town. Both Mary Street and King Street are collector roads. There are a number of other local residential roads that are part of the distinctive street and block structure of Old Town. These streets, including the majority within the Old Town Waterfront area, comprise of a range of road standards, widths and cross-sections with many local streets continuing to remain without curb and gutter treatments and sidewalks in many instances. Existing traffi c volumes on the main street system within Old Town vary notably according to the season, with peak periods of traffi c activity occurring in the summer months due to the volume of tourists and visitors in the area. The busiest roads are Queen Street (6000 average annual daily traffi c AADT) and Mississauga Street (6000 AADT), followed by Mary Street (4100 AADT), King Street (3700 AADT) and Front / Ricardo Streets (1500 AADT). 3 A number of transportation studies undertaken on behalf of the Town of Niagara-onthe-Lake have reviewed traffi c operations within Old Town and the overall capacity available to accommodate demand volumes. Recent studies (2001) have confi rmed, while there are areas of congestion at times during the summer, there is in general, 3 Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake Transportation & Traffi c Operations Study (1996), TSH OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 10

14 Pick-up/ drop-off, pedestrian and vehicle activity on Queen Street Niagara Community Shuttle Bus Service suffi cient capacity available with the current road system serving Old Town to appropriately accommodate peak (late 1990 s) tourist demands during the summer season. Overall demand on the key area streets during these periods ranges between 60 and 80 percent of the total available capacity. The question of how to best accommodate the peaked traffi c demands that occur during the summer season and that are central to the economic well-being of Old Town without building wasteful underutilized facilities nor detracting from the character of the Town is a continuing challenge to the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. A number of management measures have been employed to mitigate a number of the more intrusive aspects of traffi c activity including, for instance, the adoption of designated bus routes along major roads away from residential neighbourhoods and the Town is considering use of other techniques (i.e. variable living signs) in an effort to further manage traffi c activity and protect the neighbourhood streets. What is clear is that any physical improvements that are made to the Old Town street network should be modest, targeted and carefully initiated and should respect the character of their context and neighbourhood / resident needs. This extends to any modifi cations that may be considered within the Old Town Waterfront to support any changes that may occur within this area. Coach & Shuttle Bus Service There is no centralized public transit authority currently operating scheduled service in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Town does, however, operate a community shuttle bus program available for seniors over the age of 60 and youths under the age of 18. This shuttle bus program is operated by a local taxi service and is similar to a dial-a-bus system, where riders are able to call a local number for service. In addition, the region operates Niagara Specialized Transit, which provides inter-municipal transportation services to individuals with limited physical abilities. A local shuttle bus service is also provided by the Town between the Queen Street tourist area and the charter bus hub at Fort George during the summer season to encourage bus parking at Fort George as part of the bus management strategy within Old Town. There are also a number of privately operated shuttle / coach services in NOTL, including scheduled coach services between further destinations (i.e. Niagara Falls, St. Catharines), as well a number of services operated by hotels. To manage the movement of charter and tour buses in the area, the Town of Niagaraon-the-Lake has implemented a bus management plan, overseen by the Niagara Chamber of Commerce, as illustrated in Figure MANAGING MOVEMENT

15 On-street metered parking facilities Signage for bus loading and unloading zone The intent of the program is to limit bus traffi c through the Old Town to only those routes that are capable of appropriately supporting such activity and to limit their intrusion into the residential areas. The plan identifi es specifi c routes for buses as well as designated pick-up and drop-off locations for passengers. Key routes include the Queen Street / Picton Street corridor as well as the Mary Street / King Street alternate route which both are focussed towards linking to the main peak summer season pick-up / drop-off and bus parking facility at Fort George. There are approximately 35 to 70 charter and tour buses that travel to / from the Old Town on a daily basis during the peak summer season. 4 For the most part, we understand that tour operators and bus drivers comply with the designated bus routing, drop-off / pick-up and parking restrictions. There continue, however, to be a number of challenges with respect to activity that is related to other areas not on the indicated bus routes and, in particular, within the Old Town Waterfront. Ways to address these needs while responding to desires to protect adjacent neighbourhoods will need to be considered as part of any framework guiding changes within the Old Town Waterfront. Physical restrictions, modifi ed facilities or arrangements, improved pedestrian or shuttle bus linkages may all play a role in reasonably addressing such confl icts. Figure 2. Bus and coach management plan 4 Workshop Proceedings Action Plan for Niagara-on-the-Lake (2001), Poulos-Chung & Planning Partnership OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 12

16 Cycling, Pedestrians & Trails Cycling across Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Niagara Region is an emerging form of QU EE transportation, particularly during the summer months. A number of regional trails NS T. connect to Old Town area and Fort George including elements of the Waterfront Trail T. and on / off road connections provided from Niagara Stone Road across Mary Street AU S RIC NA SS to John Street, as illustrated in Figure 3. The Region of Niagara has recognized CE NT RD. across the region, including those connecting to Old Town, to improve the quality and T. JO HN regional cycle and trail initiatives within the context of Old Town & Dock Area: Vision ER D. & Secondary Plan process. Consideration of a water s edge trail extending, for facility provided along their length. Queen Street, for instance, has substantial sidewalks and boulevards on both sides of the street. There is, however, notable opportunity to enhance pedestrian scale connections within other areas of Old Town, the Old Town Waterfront area and the Queen Street corridor, as well as those between the Fort George bus facilities and the Old Town Waterfront area. 13 MANAGING MOVEMENT NI AG A RA ST ON instance, between Fort George to Fort Mississauga is a possibility across the Old The majority of main streets within Old Town have some form of pedestrian sidewalk ST. BUTLER S BARRACKS There are also notable opportunities to augment and complement the broad and connections within Old Town and its Waterfront. ST. MA RY S continuity of this network. Town Waterfront as are enhancements or additions of a number of trails, linkages RE GS ORE H AKES KIN pursuing a series of enhancements to the overall bike and multi-use trail system T. that there are currently gaps in these networks within Niagara-on-the-Lake and is Figure 3. Existing connections CYCLE ON-ROAD, EXISTING ON-ROAD, COMMITTED GREATER NIAGARA CIRCLE ROUTE MULTI-USE NIAGARA RIVER RECREATION TRAIL MULTI-USE TRAIL WATERFRONT TRAIL BOB HOWSE TRAIL INFORMAL PATHS & LINKAGES VEHICULAR ROADWAY OLD TOWN URBAN BOUNDARY AR DO ST.

17 Boating Niagara-on-the-Lake has a long history of waterborne activity ranging across former industrial related activity, passenger ferry services to the now, predominantly, recreational boating activity centred in the Dock Area. Commercial boating operations, such as the jet-boat activity also operate from the municipally-owned dock in the Dock Area. The Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club is a private club operating on its own secured site within the Dock Area. This long standing Old Town establishment serves its own members and hosts visiting sail boats. The Club offers learn to sail programs for the local community, but access to the club is generally limited to club members. Currently there are suitable public facilities to launch a boat in Queenston and the Sailing Club has available slips for visiting boaters and hosts between 800 and 1000 visiting boats per season. However, the public dock in the Dock Area remains inaccessible to the public given the terms of the Jet Boat lease. There are opportunities to expand the current relationship between Niagara-on-the- Lake and the level of waterborne activity afforded to residents and visitors. This should be carefully considered in the context of what is desirable or practical. Existing commercial jet-boating facility OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 14

18 KEY ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES

19 Traffi c, parking and bus-related issues across Old Town are being reviewed on an ongoing basis by the Town as part of the Parking Committee sessions and various studies. The approach developed by the Town in dealing with the summer-time transportation issues and its focus upon developing living and fl exible management strategies with only limited, strategic physical intervention is an appropriate way to deal with the tensions that will inevitably occur in such circumstances. We support the continuation of such dialogue as the optimal approach in addressing Old Town wide issues on an on-going basis. There are, however, several avenues that can be explored from a transportation perspective moving forward as part of the Old Town & Dock Area: Vision & Secondary Plan process. These are central to the development of guiding principles and a framework guiding future decision making with respect to the role of initiatives involved in how to best address issues relating to areas within the Old Town and the Old Town Waterfront, more particularly, change and protection of the existing neighbourhood and commercial area integrity. These issues include: Variations in the quality and continuity of pedestrian and bicycle trail infrastructure. Although elements of these networks are generally in place across Old Town, these trail conditions vary with some notable weaknesses and gaps discussed above. Concerns surrounding potential disruptions and impacts on residential neighbourhoods in the Dock Area, particularly from future heavy traffi c and bus activity where physical infrastructure and road pattern inadequacies / peculiarities exist. Lack of an understood publicly accessible water s edge trail network creates tensions between visitors, town residents and local neighbourhood residents and minimizes opportunities for the Niagara-on-the-Lake community to fully capitalize upon its relationship to Lake Ontario and the on-the-lake experience. Concerns relating to tour bus routing and pick-up / drop-off activity on nondesignated routes, particularly within the Dock Area for certain uses located away from bus routes that, nonetheless, require such access (i.e. jet-boats). Concerns about the transportation and parking impacts of new proposed and future development within the Old Town including proposed development in the Waterfront, including in the Dock Area along Ricardo Street, and Project Niagara. However, it should be noted that the Town does undertake a detailed review of transportation and parking impacts as part of the development process. The character of streets in the Old Town and Old Town Waterfront area vary to refl ect the land use context or functional role of the street as it has evolved (or not in some cases) over time. There are, however, a number of sections of street that may not, at the present or going forward, appropriately refl ect or accommodate the role that the street in question is currently playing or should play. An example is Mary Street where cycle activity is to be focused. It is noteworthy that the Town has Urban Street Design policies to guide Public Works Department in the application of appropriate standard cross-sections when constructing new streets and reconstructing existing streets in the town. OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 16

20 CONCEPTS TO BE EXPLORED The following section offers a brief summary of the candidate concepts for exploration Enhancing Pedestrian / Trail Routes, Connections and Networks There are opportunities within the scope of the Visioning exercise to enhance non-vehicular connectivity within and across Old Town. These include capitalizing upon Regional trail and cycling facility improvement initiatives that are committed along sections of Mississagua Street and Mary Street as well as the creation, at the Town and neighbourhood level, of potential new or enhanced existing connections and pathways throughout Old Town. Candidates for further exploration include potential trail and off-road linkages along One Mile Creek, other natural feature systems and green spaces within Old Town to provide a comprehensive series of useful and important linkages within the Town, as illustrated in Figure 4. Whether there are opportunities to improve the quality and continuity of existing linkages provided along logical routing corridors (i.e. streets) should also be assessed. Figure 4. Potential new linkages to the existing local and regional trail network 17 MANAGING MOVEMENT

21 Managing Linkages to and within the Waterfront The role that the various streets within the Old Town Waterfront area play in providing for vehicular and pedestrian access is a key consideration in establishing a framework that will guide future decision making within this area. The identifi cation of key and, importantly, logical linkages that provide pedestrian and vehicular connectivity between the Waterfront areas and other areas of Old Town (most notably Queen Street) is central to managing the movement of people within these sensitive areas, as illustrated in Figure 5. This requires careful consideration and the identifi cation of such primary linkages that will need to be considered and informed by the character of each of these streets, their perceived and actual role and the need to respect and protect existing neighbourhood areas. Figure 5. How should Queen Street and waterfront be connected? OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 18

22 What role should Melville Street play in the waterfront? Are there opportunities to introduce new linkages through Old Town? From a traffi c perspective, defi ning the roles of Ricardo Street, Melville Street and connections to the Queen Street / Picton Street corridor offered by Wellington Street and King Street are key in defi ning rationale and understood routings for general traffi c (including buses) and pedestrian activity accessing the Waterfront area from the balance of Old Town. From a pedestrian perspective, establishing well defi ned, convenient and practical pedestrian linkages between the primary tourist areas along Queen Street and Picton Street corridor and the Old Town Waterfront is an important element of establishing the role, and potential, of the Old Town Waterfront in the future recognizing the relationship of land-use and the need for well conceived supporting transportation infrastructure that balances vehicular travel needs with opportunities to maximize non-automobile borne travel. The provision of quality and convenient pedestrian linkages to key destinations (i.e. Fort George bus hub) can have a marked impact on the need for residents or visitors to travel to / from the Waterfront by car. 19 MANAGING MOVEMENT

23 Existing waterfront trail along golf course Visitor travel through Old Town neighbourhood Connecting the Waterfront For Pedestrians Protecting Neighbourhoods The creation of a trail system extending across the Old Town s Waterfront and beyond is a signifi cant opportunity to enrich the experience of the waterfront as a string of many special places. Importantly, the trail need not be of a consistent character and can meander along the water s edge where available, through parks and open spaces, and along the streets. Protection of established neighbourhoods is a key consideration of any framework developed for Old Town and particularly for the Old Town Waterfront area. Consideration of measures and initiatives that may address or mitigate existing and potential future tensions will be central to establishing a responsive plan. There are a number of measures that may be pursued in Old Town that revolve around focusing vehicular and pedestrian activity on streets which are conducive to accommodating such movement either in their current state or through provision of appropriate facilities and / or preventive measures and initiatives. Measures that may be considered, particularly in the Old Town Waterfront area, may range from the adoption of more rigorous restrictions on bus movement on certain roads, provision of enhanced wayfi nding signage, reconfi guration or elimination of existing dead-end facilities (i.e. River Beach Road) and provision of an improved termination at the northern end of Melville Street. A package of such measures may, for instance, go a long way in addressing the needs of all users of waterfront areas of Old Town without negatively impacting the established waterfront residential areas. OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 20

24 Protect unnecessary vehicular infiltration into neighbourhoods by eliminating dead-end facilities Recent residential development on River Beach Road Managing Existing and New Development Parking, Traffic and Other Needs There will inevitably continue to be redevelopment pressures of a variety of scales within areas of Old Town and across the Old Town Waterfront. This is evidenced today by the number of active development applications within the Town as well as recent development projects that have emerged across Old Town in recent years. It is important that decision-making in regard to the type of development, location and appropriateness of the proposed land uses is considered carefully and contextually from a transportation perspective to minimize and mitigate potential adverse and, particularly, avoidable impacts. The establishment of a framework, particularly within the Waterfront area, will assist in formulating and informing future decision making in regard to prospective development within the context of the broader Town-wide transportation management policies and planning regime. There are a number of factors that need to be considered from a land-use perspective in the development of a framework guiding future decisions in the Old Town Waterfront, and more broadly across Old Town, relating to traffi c generation, parking needs and other operational factors such as tour bus activity. The scale of development, whether it be existing or new, is obviously one factor in the level of related traffi c and parking activity associated to any particular use. As important, however, is land-use given the varying levels of use intensity that certain uses generate compared to others. These characteristics can be very context specifi c and can vary from use to use whether that be commercial, residential or retail based. The traffi c, parking and bus related needs of such uses, while they may be small in scale in some instances, can have a substantial bearing upon the appropriateness of development in a context sensitive area such as the Old Town and Old Town Waterfront areas. The careful consideration of land-use choices and scale is a key element of the development of a framework guiding future decisions across Old Town and the Old Town Waterfront from a traffi c perspective. 21 MANAGING MOVEMENT

25 Recent Hotel Development - Queen s Landing Hotel (Melville Street and Ricardo Street) Bus and coach parking, pick-up, drop-off and parking facilities There are also a number of site plan related aspects related to new development that are also particularly relevant to the way a project or use fi ts within Old Town and the Old Town Waterfront Area. The location of vehicular accesses serving a property is a prime example and should be considered in light of a broad understanding of the role of the surrounding street system. Similarly, the amount and location of parking that is provided to meet the demands of existing and new development or uses across Old Town and the Old Town Waterfront is of particular relevance given its economic, urban design and, often signifi cant, spatial needs. Establishing appropriate supply levels, deployment guidelines and developing a strategy with respect to opportunities for a sharing of parking across multiple uses and users are key elements in this regard. Managing Bus Activity in the Dock Area Current bus traffi c movement through Old Town is controlled onto certain designated routings to keep infi ltration into neighbourhoods at a minimum. Bus parking during the peak season is located on the peripheral of Old Town at the Fort George bus hub. These routings do not service all of the Old Town Waterfront area, notwithstanding that there are commercial uses and attractions within the area that currently attract such bus activity. The town should continue to monitor and manage bus activity and while balancing the needs of merchants and residents. Additional measures to manage or reduce the impact of buses include improving pedestrian connections from the Fort George bus hub, and extending the existing Old Town shuttle service and / or the provision of appropriate facilities within the Old Town Waterfront to accommodate bus pick-up / drop-off and turn-around needs. OLD TOWN & DOCK AREA BACKGROUND PAPER 22

26 Curb and gutter Hamlet character shoulder and swales Urban Street Design Guidelines Accessibility to Waterborne Recreational Activities Recognizing that not all streets, or sections of street, would (nor should) be the same, with the treatments on each responding to adjacent land-uses and the role that it plays, in 2005 the Town adopted Urban Street Design policy. The purpose of the policy is to provide direction to the Public Works Department on the standards to be employed when constructing new streets or when reconstructing existing streets. The policy identifi es what streets should have curb and gutters and what streets should retain a more hamlet feel with shoulders and swales. Opportunities to re-create historical publicly accessible dock space for use by residents of Old Town as well as visitors will be explored particularly within the context of the Dock Area planning. Broader measures and concepts focused upon establishing circumstances where access to waterborne recreational activity or commercial operations can be accommodated, provided for and promoted will also be explored and evaluated. These may include provision of a formal public dock launch, creation of areas and facilities where non-motorized boating activity may be focused or, even, where commercial tourist or ferry boating operations may be accommodated. 23 MANAGING MOVEMENT

27