The City of Lethbridge is asking residents for their input on what the future of downtown Lethbridge should look like.
“I want to invite people to the visioning session for Civic Precinct,” Lethbridge Councillor Belinda Crowson said.
Thursday marks day one of developing a new master plan for the Civic Precinct, a four-square-block which encompasses buildings like city hall, the Yates Theatre and the YMCA.
“The first plan was done in the 1940s, then we did a plan in the 1980s and now here we are 40 years later and we’re doing the third plan, and so we need to refresh it,” Crowson said.
“This place has evolved over the years and we’re looking at a new evolution and we want to involve the community in helping us to determine the best development of this area.”
The signature piece that came from the 1980s planning session was the construction of a new city hall in 1999.
“As we plan past 100,000 people, we want to see and hear from our citizens and stakeholders what they want to see happen in this area,” planning onitiatives manager George Khul said.
“So there will be vision created, city council will lead that vision process and then we’ll start to fill in some of the blanks.”
One thing organizers say could be added to the area is a larger gathering space for the community.
“We have Remembrance Day ceremonies here and that kind of thing, but people are standing on the grass and on the street,” Khul said.
“It’s not really conducive to… the gravitas of the situation or of the ceremony, so we would like to, I think, create better space for those things to happen.”
Residents have until April 20 to provide feedback online or during in-person community sessions. Information about the schedules is posted on the City of Lethbridge’s website.
A follow-up forum is set for late May, with the final master plan expected in front of city council this summer.
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