GuelphToday received the following Letter to the Editor from reader Jason Szewc in regards to design for Wyndham Street.
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The initial square design on Wyndham had the philosophy of placemaking in mind; a destination in this part of downtown where you could walk, sit and enjoy. After the success of Market Square, could the city hit another home run?
Design review after design review has changed the original idea of a grand meeting place to a simple parkette. On paper, it looks good, but it is functionally boring and uninspiring. The designers are pulling design choices that have been used at Market Square on Carden, trying to sell the same idea here.
Market Square is a very successful implementation of public space. There is a focal point which is the splash pad. Small businesses on the North side provide visual appeal while walking along the sidewalk, enticing you to stop for ice cream or window shop. The street has been designed as a whole and at a human scale. You notice where people hang around; you feel the safest and most inviting on the benches along the splash pad. People rarely sit along the grey south side wall against the city hall. It’s permanently in the shade, and there is nothing to look at or visit.
The designers can’t pull materials and shapes from Market Square and expect the same result at Wyndham. These locations are totally different in size, feel, limitations and purpose. They would have to be pulling the reasons people visit: The shops or the splash pad. Bricks and Planters won’t make people come.
The proposal looks like a building is missing, and a patio has been put in its place, which is exactly what happened! The proposed walkway between Wyndham and Baker Street will be a liminal space, only existing for the purpose of connecting these two streets. This is not a ‘prominent civic space'; it is merely a sidewalk. That leaves the area in front of the proposed business as the only functional public area. Imagine sitting in this area: What is there to look at? Where is the interest? Why would I even sit down? There is nothing in this design that connects the main street to this new area. We need something in here to pull you over the threshold of the sidewalk and into the square.
The biggest issue with this design is that they don’t show you the aerial view. How are they dealing with the blank walls of the adjacent buildings? The designers know this is an issue and are hiding them behind a row of pine trees. These trees will struggle along the south wall living in permanent shade. By placing an originally open plaza in a now-closed square, they are viewing these walls as a hindrance. We need to be viewing the place as a whole and work backwards, from the large walls on both sides into the square. The city has started beautifying the downtown with their Main Street Mural Project. Let's put in accommodations for murals here interspaced between the trees. This will allow more space between each tree and a better chance of survival. The only issue with murals is the private buildings because they cannot be touched. What if we have something built just off, not attached to the buildings but murals on posts?
We can turn this space into a Public Outdoor Art Gallery, like the Donald Forster Sculpture Park. This place could be a voice for the vibrant arts community in Guelph with little change to the final design. If I come upon this square, I want interest, a reason for me to linger. Where is the community notice board? I want to know if a show is happening at the River Run, what is showing at 404 York Rd., or who is playing at Silence Sounds.
This place is supposed to be for the 600 future residents in this area as their meeting space. They deserve a stage for life to happen, somewhere they can feel safe waiting for a friend. Somewhere to meet for coffee. Somewhere to call their own. By trying to duplicate Market Square in a drastically different space, we are setting this square up for failure before the first brick is laid. The developers have created a square that could be seen in any city. We need to run with their idea and show that this square is in Guelph!
Jason Szewc
Guelph
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