City Centre ARP Proposal

What is the ARP?

The City Centre Area Redevelopment Plan is a proposed plan to provide a tangible vision, direction, and supportive principles to guide desired, expected new development and redevelopment in the City of Spruce Grove’s City Centre area over the next fifteen plus years, with the likely realization that the CCARP is a plan for the next 25+ years.

Vision:

Spruce Grove’s City Centre will be a welcoming, family-friendly City Centre brimming with year-round activity, festivals, events, shopping, and dining. It will invite green, open, public spaces with revitalized buildings and enhanced storefronts in a walkable environment. The City Centre will be a place where people of all ages come to shop, dine, work, live socialize, interact, and participate in a variety of community, arts, and cultural experiences.

Objectives:

Strengthen the City’s infrastructure, streetscape, and built environment to elevate its operation as a cohesive, unique, and desirable area for investment and living.

Ensure the City Centre remains relevant in the ever-changing commercial marketplace by focusing its commercial function to provide the most advantageous variety of goods, offices, services, and access in a package attractive to all City residents.

Attract mixed-use commercial and higher density residential above development investment to the City Centre to increase housing supply, and provide for diversity in housing mix and price.

Emphasize the City Centre as a focal point for community celebrations by making it a vibrant year-round destination for shopping, obtaining services, and arts & culture activity that will attract a variety of visitors, businesses and residents.

Promote mobility, and street activity within the City Centre by facilitating convenient and effective mobility, and parking that emphasizes a comfortable, effective, and safe pedestrian environment.

What are the proposed changes of the ARP?

The CCARP vision is premised on creating an urban metropolitan environment that is progressive, modern, and contemporary from its building form, through to a streetscape that respects vehicles and parking, but prioritizes the movement and mobility of pedestrians.

Major Redevelopment Initiatives:

Mixed-Use Development Pattern

Amending the existing zoning to create more diverse housing formats.

Diverse & Dense Housing Options

Build more high density housing, such as multi-unit housing formats.

Main Street & McLeod Avenue ‘High Street’ Revitalization

Change angle street parking to parallel parking.
Narrowing the street, widening sidewalks, introducing curb extensions or traffic calming circles, mid-block pedestrian crossings, eliminating the number of curb cuts, slowing traffic and accommodating future multi-modal transport including transit and bicycles.

Streetscape, Parking & Pedestrian Design Improvements

Incorporating branded wayfinding and directories to key buildings, areas, public spaces, parking, and civic amenities.
Prioritizing pedestrian mobility.

Infrastructure Rehabilitation

Make upgrades to area’s aging infrastructure (May include additional sidewalks, as well as road and utilities upgrades).

West End Road and Connectivity Improvements

Refers to area along McLeod Ave, and First Ave between Queen St, and Calahoo Rd allowing for better north south pedestrian mobility.
Potential network of connections north to McPherson Ave, and Mohr Ave.

Revitalize Columbus Park

Add more culture cultural content in place anchored near or around a redesigned Columbus Park.

Urban Design Guidelines to Improve Buildings

Create urban form and design that is consistent with the vision for a modern urban city centre, in the business, and residential areas.

Definition of Land Use Precincts

Changing the land use precincts to shape the vision of the city centre. (Changing from Low-Density to High-Density)

First Avenue Prominence

Keeping with the urban city vision, while making everything visible from highway 16A.
Reducing traffic and highway 16A access to First Ave, and improving pedestrian safety.