City hall to focus on enhancing downtown aesthetics this year

To help Moose Jaw maintain its position as one of “the coolest downtowns in Canada,” as judged by Expedia, city administration has put together a plan to boost the area’s aesthetics.

“We are excited to co-ordinate with the Downtown Moose Jaw Association and businesses to enhance the appearance of the downtown and the entire city through the new community clean-up committee,” city manager Jim Puffalt said during the April 12 regular council meeting. However, due to the pandemic, city hall is not planning any formal gatherings to initiate a kickoff clean-up blitz in April, he continued. Instead, business owners will be responsible for cleaning up their properties — such as alleys, perimeters and sidewalks — and any nearby vacant property.

Owners will also be encouraged to report maintenance issues to city hall using the Moose Jaw app since that is the most efficient way to ensure issues are resolved. “It’s a really good tool to help us out and get items looked after quickly,” said Puffalt.

City administration has several projects it plans to pursue this summer, according to a council report. They include:

• Using downtown banners to promote municipal events;

• Planting flowers in Crescent Park and downtown median pots;

• Promoting the Tourism Moose Jaw app and the virtual marketplace;

• Conducting street sweeping: Main Street is swept in April, then swept daily in the morning in the summer, while sidewalks are power washed once in the spring;

• Promoting the city app to reporting matters to city hall;

• Having parks crews maintain the downtown, including weed control in parking lots and flower beds, planting flowers, watering trees and flowers, maintaining Crescent Park;

• Establishing a patio space at Mosaic Place facing River Street that plays music, including free live music an hour a day; a food truck festival could also occur one day a month;

• Maintaining the patio adjacent to Veroba’s

Restaurant;

• Asking downtown businesses to play music outside;

• Installing decorative black street signs;

• Installing new street signs;

• Enhancing maintenance and weed control in parking lots, repairing existing lot fences, developing standards for cityowned parking lots;

• Upgrading, repairing or replacing property signage.

Encouraging downtown businesses to play music outside will create a more welcoming atmosphere, Puffalt told council. “When I was in Nashville (Tenn.), music was playing all the time. It makes you feel as if something is going on,” he remarked. “It’s the same type of concept (with this proposal).”

Some council members were concerned about city hall installing new street signs downtown first, considering other areas of the community don’t have any at all. “There is a schwack of them out there. What we want to do is establish the program first … ,” Puffalt replied. “(We may) have to triage the worst places first like we did with the cast-iron program. But the downtown is a pretty important part of our strategic plan.”

The public works department has split the city into eight quadrants to make rolling out new signs more efficient, explained director Darrin Stephanson. The department moves through the community methodically instead of jumping around; it will answer one-off complaints should those be submitted.

“(These are) great initiatives and it’s all stuff we’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” said Coun. Heather Eby. “We are going to concentrate on the downtown with the signs. I was excited when we heard about those black (decorative) signs however many months ago … .”

As city hall and the downtown association enhance the area, excitement should spill into the community and excite residents, she added. Residents will then hopefully take ownership of maintaining their neighbourhoods and everything “will bloom and be great.”