With the last brick finally in place, the city marked the official opening of Dundas Place this afternoon.
City officials and local shop owners were on site to celebrate the opening of the city’s first flex street following two years of construction.
The street will be shared by cyclists, drivers and pedestrians and is designed to host a variety of different outdoor events.
“We are excited to have it completed for a lot of reasons, but also to bring people out here and for people to see we have invested in something they can use and that belongs to the people,” said Ward 13 Coun. Arielle Kayabaga, who was on hand at the ceremony along with Mayor Ed Holder.
She said hopes the new street design brings more people together.
Manager of downtown projects Jim Yanchula, meanwhile, said over the last two years, the city has run into a few surprises underground, but it’s a big sigh of relief for everyone involved that the project is finally done.
More than 700,000 paving bricks were laid on Dundas Place during the project, and there are a few finishing touches the city will be adding over the next few months.
Among those in attendance was the owner of Heroes Comics on Dundas Street, Braham Wiseman.
Wiseman said he hopes the project attracts more people to the street.
“It was not great for walk-by traffic, but as a destination, we have always been able to bring people in, and despite all of this, we have been able to bring people in,” he said.
A block party will be happening the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 13 to encourage people to come and see the finished project and support area businesses.
Comments