Smithers Council is moving along with a plan to do a landscape redesign downtown.
They awarded the nearly $40,000 contract to Lanarc – the same company that took on the Bovill Square project.
Councillor Frank Wray wasn’t impressed with the decision to go with the second highest bid and said he doesn’t have enough information to explain it to the public.
Hearing concerns from the public that the redesign might ruin Main Street, Councillor Phil Brienesse also wondered if the money could be better spent on repairing the problems downtown.
Mayor Taylor Bachrach says the trees have outgrown their planters, and in some cases have even fallen down. One tree was reported to have hit a car back in March.
“What we’re hearing from staff is that it’s pretty hard to put a band-aid on the problems we’re seeing with the trees. The roots are causing issues with the irrigation; they’re causing issues with the sidewalks. And then there’s the whole safety issue,” explains Bachrach.
Bachrach also says they want to make sure the new design doesn’t take away from the look of the downtown.
“Ideally, we’ll have some sort of a system for the street trees that allows them to grow to full size. Because I think trees create such a good feel for our street,” says Bachrach.
Councillor Gladys Atrill spoke at the council meeting about the need to keep the ‘old world feel’ of the downtown as a part of the redesign.
Council is planning a full public consultation session as a part of the project.