Sparwood’s Centennial Plaza will head back to the drawing board after the public said the proposed design did not include enough parking.
Mayor David Wilks said the public feedback session saw a negative response from residents.
“They were not happy with losing a significant amount of parking in front of businesses. Specifically the Pharmasave, the meat shop, and the restaurant that is located in Centennial Square,” said Wilks.
District staff has been directed to put forward another new design that will include more parking for visitors to the area.
Wilks said the approach to getting public approval will also look a little different this time around.
“I will personally go to every business and sit down with them and show them what we got and see if this is something they like or don’t like, I want to hear it. We can’t keep going banc and forth like this, so I’ll get directly involved. We’ll see an outcome to it this year.”
Wilks added that the process has been challenging, as the grants have a limited time in which they can be used.
While the community can agree that Centennial Plaza needs renovations, they can not seem to agree on what it should look like.
“There isn’t a person that said it doesn’t need revitalization, they all agree it does. It comes down to parking, and to some, it comes down to cost as well. We believe that we can work that out in the next short while and move forward, and hopefully get something started this year,” said Wilks.
Wilks said he hopes to see a new design proposed to Sparwood’s District Council before the end of next month.
