News
In a community that has continued to reinvent itself, there has been one constant since 1876 – Stratford City Hall, backed by Market Sqaure.
At a discovery session last night, a panel discussed the future Market Square and how its place in a smart city. Fro
m the Mayor to expert architects, the panelists agreed that vibrant public space is essential to an intelligent community. Eric Haldenby, the director of the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture said that more pedestrian environments attract better students, which could be key as Stratford develops its own satellite campus. Marianne Brandis, an award winning author and Stratford resident, explained that random contact allowed by public space leads to creativity & fruitfulness. The founding partner of the company that made the winning design for market square in 2006, Lisa Rapoport said that "taking back the street" has become ubiquitous and worked in even of busiest of cities like New York.
However, the revitalization of Market Square isn't free of concerns. One of the issues is what to do with the city busses that currently meet behind City Hall. For those with mobility issues, there is worry that moving the busses will make using public transit physically difficult for them. Another concern is how to redistribute parking spaces that would be displaced by the meeting space. Just this week, City Council was debating where alternative parking spaces could be created without hurting existing communities and businesses.
