Digging up the Main Street of Kenora last summer for the Big Spruce downtown revitalization was like swallowing a spoonful of bad-tasting medicine for many.
“Challenging” and “draining” were the words Heather Kasprick, the City of Kenora's deputy clerk, diplomatically chose to describe 2008.
As a community liaison for the largest construction project in the town's history, she fielded a steady torrent of complaints from storeowners about their “lost summer”
“I remember saying to a friend of mine, I don't want to have another summer like that,” said Kasprick.
Having blocks of Main Street reduced to a trench system with limited pedestrian access didn't go over well with some shop owners.
“I can think of several downtown merchants that I walk into their store now and they'll say, 'I'm still trying to recover from last summer,'” said Kasprick.
However, there are no vacant shop and 'Going Out of Business' signs. A handful of shop owners are taking advantage of a storefront facade improvement project to return their century-old buildings to its Victorian charm.
First proposed as a community plan in 2004, the two-phase $25 million construction job meant replacing aging century-old underground sewer and water workings, installing new curbs, intersections and sidewalks, angled parking and landscaping.
The plan was to cut car exhaust emissions and improve the flow of summer time traffic routed through Kenora's compact downtown.
When the Big Spruce urban strategy was first proposed as a quality of life and economic development initiative to help lure new small business to Kenora, it involved a huge sales pitch to convince skeptical residents of its advantages.
“There were a lot of people that were very skeptical, but the businesses were behind us,” said Roy Houston, Manager of Civil Municipal Services for KGS Group, the Winnipeg engineering consulting firm. They knew in the end it was going to be something very good for the whole community.”
Replacing 100-year-old sewer and water infrastructure buried beneath the street proved to be a major headache that extended the first phase of construction into this summer. It mean replacing broken or disintegrating clay tiles and removing wooden shoring that was still in place from a century.
Contractors, engineers and city staff had no clue what to expect once excavation started.
“We found a lot of old kitchen sinks,” said David Cramer, operations manager for Wilco Contractors Superior, “guess people dumped the garbage out the front door back in the day.”
A big challenge was busting through old concrete chutes in front of many buildings that funneled delivered coal into people's basements.
“Those were the biggest nuisances on the job, to break down walls to tie in the water and sanitary service,” said Cramer. “It was a nightmare.”
Putting together a public communications and coordination strategy together was key.
Several public open houses were held to present ideas. A Big Spruce website was constantly updated to appraise locals of what was going on as traffic was detoured onto side streets.
“The whole thing was a team effort,” said Houston.
The project involved city councillors, economic development staff, city planners and engineers and downtown business owners.
To help get the word out, weekly technical committees were held between the engineers, contractors, city staff and representatives of the downtown community, who were appointed as block captains to see first-hand of what was going on.
Short-term pain for long-term gain didn't make it any easier for some merchants to digest.
“There were mixed feelings,” said shop owner and block captain David Penner. “Some people realized it had to be done, but were still upset.”
“The communication was good,” said Penner. “We had weekly meetings with updates. Sometimes, what came out of the meeting was completely different than what happened, but they tried.”
In business for 36 years, he is the third owner of a jewelry store first built in 1907 by G. M. Rioch.
“I look at the street now and I like it.”
A wall of construction didn't drive away business at his shop from the May long weekend until just before the snow started to fly in November.
“In fact, September was the best month I've ever had,” said Penner.
Said Kenora Mayor Len Compton, “There were some complaints because the accessibility to their buildings was interrupted, but their complaints were along the line of they wanted to get it done as soon as possible.
“No question, the majority of people knew that it had to be done.”
One of the most visible changes was the installation of a roundabout at the western entrance to the downtown where Highway 17 – also known as Lakeshore Drive – curves around the harbour front and funnels vehicles onto Main Street. It's a major intersection and a traffic bottleneck.
The roundabout was built in two stages and one-way traffic was routed around the island.
To accommodate ambulances and fire engines, separate lanes were set aside and Cramer appointed a roaming spotter to field calls from emergency services and alert the flag men to hold up traffic.
In early June, contractors were finishing paving the last block of Main Street and preparing the final cosmetic streetscaping touches by installing cobblestones, shrubbery, granite benches and planters.
Later this year, the next phase shifts to the waterfront where parking along Bernier Drive will be reconfigured with wharf improvements and new marina slips installed for large recreational boats.
With the detailed plans for Harbourfront Plaza still under wraps, Kenora officials were still waiting this spring on the federal and provincial government to contribute their share of stimulus funding for the $6 million project.
