‘Ephemeral’ park to brighten Wellington South
The City of Sherbrooke has announced, as part of the revitalization of the Quartier Well Sud, the creation of a first ‘temporary’ park on its territory to be located on land of the former Maysen Pub, open from mid-july to mid-october.
"The idea of creating an ephemeral park in this area is to bring the community closer to the heart of the Well South District. Here, people will be able to discuss and dream about the development of our downtown area," explained Chantal L'espérance, Chair of the City’s downtown revitalization committee, recalling that the members of the advisory committee had called for concrete actions in the short term downtown.
A temporary park is a public space set up on a piece of land or a street right-ofway. The various experiments carried out in several cities and countries have shown that, marked by the identity of a district, these places quickly become meeting places and animation that are accessible and open to all.
"One of the comments from the population in recent months has been that there were no public meeting places,” added Sherbrooke Mayor Steve Lussier. “This was one of the weaknesses of the Wellington Street South area. This temporary park will fill this gap and will allow innovation in the development of our public spaces."
The park will include rest areas, a small stage, and street furniture that can be reused in the coming years. The Community Economic Development Corporation of Sherbrooke (CDEC) will be responsible for animating the site and documenting the experience, and possibly have similar projects in the downtown core in the future.
The City is currently in the process of calling for proposals for the development of a major project in the Wellington South priority zone.