The Town of Okotoks is wanting to upgrade its downtown core, but they would like some input.
They have gathered input from feedback provided by both businesses and the community this past summer, and now they are wanting to share more information on the Downtown's Next Chapter initiative.
Now, the Town is asking for the community to become involved again and attend an open house or engage with this project online to provide further input.
"Enhancing our downtown with more accessible, welcoming spaces that reflect our community’s unique spirit is an exciting opportunity for all of us," explained Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn on the Town's website about this project. "Public input is essential to making this vision a reality, and we invite everyone to participate by sharing their ideas and feedback. Together, we’re building a downtown we can all be proud of."
As part of the downtown upgrades, there will be deep utilities upgrades on the North Railway Street portion of Main Street, upgrades to public areas like boulevards, trees, and sidewalks, and Triangle and Pisttoo Parks will be upgraded to be more inclusive.
The work is scheduled to begin next spring and will take place over two-years.
They will do the work in two phases, where Phase 1A will include the work that takes place from Elm Place to Alberta Avenue, and Phase 1B will include the work from Alberta Avenue to McRae Street.
This plan is officially known as the Area Redevelopment Plan, and it will guide how private and public space in downtown Okotoks will be redeveloped.
The Town will be hosting an open house on November 13, at Bow Valley College at 7 Riverside Drive in Okotoks.
People can either attend from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
For those who are unable to attend in person, there will be an online engagement portion, which can be found here.