THUNDER BAY -- The city hopes a bit of TLC will return Paterson Park to its former glory.
The park was once a hub of activity, but it doesn't receive as much attention these days due to an uninviting atmosphere.
"We don't have a lot of green space in the downtown south core," said Werner Schwar, supervisor for Thunder Bay’s parks and open spaces planning department.
"Sometimes the park is used for uses that people don't like so when you have more people coming to the park those negative uses become less and the positive uses become more frequent."
Schwar added that there's three different concept options based on work done by a non-profit organization a few years ago.
The concepts are configured differently but each share similar elements including an open gathering area, shade canopy, skating feature and a preservation of green space.
"We want to go to the public to see if they have an opinion on what they prefer and to make sure the elements that we have chosen front the initial report are still relevant." Schwar said.
An open house is scheduled to take place at the First-Wesley United Church Thursday at 6 p.m.
The consultants will be walking through each concept in hopes of getting a better sense of what people think of the different configurations.
"Once we have a clear define concept, it will be refined further into detailed drawings so we can get an accurate cost and will be put forward into consideration for the 2017 budget," he said.
"We really want to encourage people that live there to come out and attend, it's really a neighbourhood park as well as a park for everyone."
