The City of Thunder Bay is taking a close look at its downtown cores and seeking input about what people want to see there.
The city is taking part in the Canadian Institute’s regional study, the Value of Investing in Northern Ontario’s downtowns.
Other communities taking part include Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.
“We’re excited to be included in this research project,” said Leslie McEachern, manager of the city’s planning division in a release issued Thursday.
“The insight gleaned through this survey will help us to better develop and plan Thunder Bay’s downtown areas going forward, ensuring they offer a dense mixture of commercial, residential, and cultural land uses.”
The survey, available here, takes about five to 10 minutes to complete and asks questions about perceived levels of support from various levels of government as well as what attractions and features residents might like to see in their community’s downtown.
The survey will also seek answers on the effectiveness of a city’s financial incentive programs to spur development in its downtown areas to figure out what makes a particular downtown attractive to developers.
The survey, paid for through the Ontario Trillium Foundation, will be made available to participating municipalities to help with future downtown design and development policies, the release states.
