Smithers will be doing a downtown landscape re-design this year to deal with some safety and operational issues.
They’re looking to update the design from the early 80s with upgrades to garbage cans, benches that are rotting, and other needed improvements.
Mayor Taylor Bachrach says some of the trees have outgrown their roots downtown. He says there was one instance of a tree falling and hitting a car.
“There are a number of trees out there that staff have identified as a concern. We want to make sure that instead of just taking down those trees we have a plan to replace them.”
Bachrach says they don’t want to change the aesthetic look of the downtown but want to address some of the operational issues. Any landscaping upgrades downtown won’t happen for another year or so.
To do the re-design, council will be getting a 30 thousand dollar grant for the total 40 thousand dollar project. They’ll also be hiring a landscape architect.
Council had to move the re-design to the 2017 budget to be able to access the grant.