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m Ill,llt_llllllll_lllllll' FREEmB-R-S-Pâ€" Report says revamp square " the Chronicle Sun One of the key recommendations untamed in an will!) downtown study tabled at council last week calls for a major revamping of Wa- terloo Square so that it will blend better with the rest of the tiowa- town area, . it disturbs the consistency and character of the stores along King Str, q the mall's parking lot erodes the linear nature of the streetscape; . the parking lot is too small to support the number of shoppers at the mall and other stores in the vi- cinity; O the random pedestrian crossings at Erb St., north of Waterloo Square, could be dangerous as traf- fic and the number of shoppers in- creases: q existing public transit inadequa- tely serves the mall area. Consultants Woods Gordon of Toronto. authors of the report, call the mall a "key component" in the city's core area, but make it clear that much more could be done to strenghen and improve business in the area. They say Waterloo Square is an “urban paradox" which "constitu- tes a disruption in the continuity of the commercial strip along King St. The consultants make the follow- ing criticisms of the mall in their The consultants make three re- commendations they say will maintain the function and location of Waterloo Square. encourage new programs at the mall to enhance the vitality of the core area and restore the continuity and im- mediacy of retail activities along King St. The consultant‘s first alternative scheme. which they call "bringing Waterloo Square to King St.," would involve limiting public park- ing to the north and south ends of the mall and extending the mall to King St. with overhead parking at the south end. _ In this alternative. the consul- tants recommend building a park- ing garage and shops behind the Bank of Montreal at the corner of King and Erb Sts. A mixture of commercial and re- sidential development could be in- tegrated with the garage on the north side of the railroad tracks 17.61 and could incorporate a bus transfer terminal on the south side of Erh St. he scheme would involve a total of 60,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and about 80,000 square feet of residential space, The consultant's second altemtr. tive, or "bringing King St. to Wa- terloo Square" as they call it, would also involve a parking struc- ture, but in this case located south of the mall at Alexandra Ave. A bus transfer terminal could also be built north of the mall on Erb St. The consultants envisage a U- shaped Waterloo Square to “create a well-defined public plaza" which could be totally or partially en- closed. In this scheme, the consultants recommend building a massive winter garden structure at the front of the mall that would double as its main entrance. They also suggest the expansion of retail de- velopment - about 60,000 square feet 1 within the parking garage structure and in new buildings north of the mall. The consultants recommend the removal of buildings on King St, south of the Bank of Montreal to make way for the construction of a 20,000 square foot building which could house a cityarwned recrea- tion centre. . ln alternative three, or "bridging the gap between Waterloo Square and King St.," the consultants also recommend a parking structure north or south of the mall. a bus transfer terminal facing on Erb St. and a mixture of commercial and residential development incor- porated with the garage. In this scheme, they recommend building a public piazza facing King St. which can be used for city, seniors. children and university ac- tivities. Once again, buildings south of the Bank of Montreal would be re- moved .but this time to make way for a new 100,000 square foot city hall and civic centre complex which could potentially house re- gional offices, The first public meeting to dis- cuss the downtown study takes place tonight, 7:30 p.m. at city hall. The city will be viewing recom- mendations as part of a long-range. five-year or more plan, P?/i'r, -lt _ 1 . “\s/ cf/f \ 'r, g V [\‘f \\w 'tttil Illlt l if“? 1: s,s,os;"iii:),_"sj,yj".t,"ij_',_j",', %% ,V' , Ir.". 'r, “" , It LEE '_') ?f"ccr,)1,, a f r" A,» " "-3? . 'Wt llltj, Cl) "jfr r,"", "ii").:,,,',,', é VI -TEE, _ [ ' -C3, ‘\ 355.15% 5:.»;._°O " Iii:)' . (iia? Q\\I Illllllll si.?,))')"", _Q-’QO%’§>€>§//’ Rafi T 1,)i/., illlil tthltlt 'a"f o etiriiiC.).li; / 'o(<>?\\8 _ 'h'.:); I _.-" Rte" jb,,i'i',i',"fC'i:s' li' "1)(iC"sifi,)i, lib' 3006 'ii:c,l "'i"ia) It) ;ri.i,/_,("j_,i),r.i,i,ii..:s:i,ii')st "t:"itf), ' wwca «25 ' 3%ag /\ d? iiit)s1, Ic"',";':';'?;' l _ N Kg) {09"6 . " '7 Solar energy group " active in Waterloo _ The Waterloo Region- al Chapter of the Solar Energy Society of Cana- da Inc. is set up to aid in the gathering. clas- sification and develop- ment of information on the collection and use of solar energy. It also acts as a co-ordinating body of representatives from business, government and academia who meet regularly to study the use of solar energy. ac- cording to Robert McK- enzie. director of the This diagram represents alternative three for Waterloo Square in the downtown study and is referred to by the consultants as "bridging the gap between Waterloo Square and King St." Figure one is the public square, two is a public hall. three is a building containing stores. parking, a health facility, a city hall/civic centre complex and resi- dential units, four is orparking structure, five is a pedestrian crosswalk and bikepath. six is a civic tower and the letter "A" is the proposed Seagram's museum. :_- "raj. _ _ I ‘ V 7 - l _ j" --T ' e--""" l I . l L /\ \ ) K " r l L.---- - - Cs _ I t I \ "stah-.rk) I I l local branch The local chapter meets on the second Thursday of each month to accept new members and to hold public lec- tures from represents tives from the manufac- turing. architecture, en- gineering and building sectors as well as priva- te home owners who have had personal ex- periences with solar en- r" tith ( ' F" in IlllllMlil y,AL2s, . _ ; x _ 'h 2lilmlt5E!IN " INIWai A b-r-lt-tes-rs oinna 10'): 2prvit)p.. worthy of your confidence. WATERLOO CHRONICLE WED“ V Convenient Parking, entering Wellington or King Street There is no admission charge for the meetings and the general public is invited to attend. The Solar Energy So- ciety of Canada Inc. was founded in 1974 and its membership has grown to over 3.000 including scientists, engineers. urban planners. poli- ticians and indus- trialists. a tradition since 1925. Qatsreechtel funeral home and chapel 621 KINGWEST - 745-9495 _-Ti-ii-ii-ii-_-i,',-.).];.')),,':'.:'.:')"')'-' CE fsgnunv n Individuals. com- panies, associations and agencies interested in the use and understand- ing of solar energy are invited to Join. Those interested in joining the local chapter of the society should at- tend one of the monthly meetings or write Ro- bert McKenzie at Box 891. Waterloo. 1991 - Mg: 5