{"id":19397,"date":"2017-12-20T14:14:25","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T19:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=19397"},"modified":"2018-01-03T16:21:42","modified_gmt":"2018-01-03T21:21:42","slug":"approval-of-library-square-concept-signals-start-of-design-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/approval-of-library-square-concept-signals-start-of-design-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Approval of Library Square concept signals start of design process"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir <\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that Council has approved a \u201clowered square\u201d concept for Library Square, which is planned to include amphitheatre-style seating, a multi-use public gathering space, and expansion of the Aurora Cultural Centre, now it\u2019s time for the public to weigh in on the fine details.
\nCouncil approved the \u201cbowl\u201d concept for the new public area last week, a concept which is estimated to clock in around $12 million, likely to be funded out of Aurora\u2019s Hydro Reserves.
\nFor many members of Council, this was a step in the right direction, and a step that was a long time coming.
\nFor Councillor John Abel, the one lawmaker to vote against the concept, the approved \u201cOption Two\u201d was not backed by the Aurora Public Library and was, therefore, not the right path forward.
\n\u201cWe have a Library that has 225,000 visitors with lots of children and seniors, and then we have the Cultural Centre with 30,000 visitors,\u201d he said. \u201cMy idea would be to accommodate the Library.\u201d
\nThe planned addition to the Aurora Cultural Centre, he added, should rather be an addition to the Library to address their needs. Along with that, and the concerns the Library has expressed about parking, the decision to go forward with Option Two \u201cis we\u2019re making everything difficult for them: their traffic flow, their parking, and it is really going to impede on one of the great, strong vibrant facilities that this Town has.\u201d
\nHe reiterated his proposal to go out once again for a further design concept, one which would leave the current parking configuration between the Library and the Cultural Centre in place, while working on overhauling the swath of Library Square currently under demolition, as the preferred space for Library Square itself.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t support this because the stakeholders are telling me not to,\u201d said Councillor Abel. \u201cThe seniors are telling me not to [with the concerns over accessible parking] and that is all I need. I was elected to as they tell me and it is not about being for Library Square or against it. We should work, engage and consult.\u201d
\nIn addition, Councillor Abel said, \u201cnext summer, [when] the dust hits, I am going to say I was not in favour of doing this.\u201d
\nThis sparked criticism from some Council members who said Councillor Abel\u2019s opposition was clouded by electioneering.
\n\u201cI think something I have thought for a while has just been confirmed: we have a Councillor who is admitting he\u2019s making a decision so that he can raise his hand and say he voted against this at election time, which is fine,\u201d said Councillor Paul Pirri. \u201cEveryone has their own motives for making decisions around the Council table.\u201d
\nCouncillor Pirri said his motives for voting in favour of Option Two were from a \u201cfiscal\u201d standpoint. A raised square option, rejected by Council, would cost an additional $100,000 every five years in upkeep, and almost $250,000 every ten years, he said.
\n\u201cThat is just the financial side on top of the $3 million or so investment it would take to get that moving forward. If you look at this from an accessibility standpoint, no option is perfect,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that if we\u2019re looking at this objectively, we\u2019re increasing accessible parking that is there now, which is going above and beyond what we already have. We\u2019re doing our best to accommodate parking close by because everyone around the Council table will agree that is important and we need to ensure that is available for our residents, both if you\u2019re a young parent or a senior.\u201d
\nThis was the general feeling around the table.
\nCouncillor Michael Thompson, long an advocate for moving forward on Library Square before the end of this Council term, said staff and architects both favour the lower square option as the best plan for the community and modifications brought forward between the previous Tuesday and last week\u2019s Council meeting addressed many of their concerns.
\n\u201cBy no means do I see it as a final design,\u201d he said. \u201cI still think there is more to do around access and accessibility and I think as we move through the process that we\u2019re still at the 5,000 foot level. There are still plenty of opportunities to explore that feedback and work through those issues. I spoke to a member of the Library Board and they said, \u2018There is only one chance to get this right,\u2019 but I think we will.\u201d
\nCouncillor Harold Kim also stressed the opportunities ahead for further consultation during the design process. Sufficient input and \u201cimagination\u201d will provide more options for both the Library and Cultural Centre going forward, he said.
\n\u201cWill there ever be a design that will be 100 per cent perfect for all stakeholders?\u201d he offered. \u201cThere won\u2019t be. We have to try and find a design that is as best as possible for all stakeholders.\u201d
\nThis was a view shared by Councillor Wendy Gaertner.
\n\u201cIt is no secret that this is a really, really hard decision for us and I think as Councillors we need to listen to our residents, our stakeholders, our professional advisors and to ourselves to try and make what we think is the best decision for our community and all of us around the table are trying to do that, no matter what our opinion. I am very pleased with the improvements that were made [to parking] and I think we need to keep trying to improve this. The improvement is especially important to the Library.
\n\u201cI think at the end of the day it is going to be very well received and hopefully loved by the whole community. I have that feeling of excitement within myself and we have been talking about this for a very long time. I have said from the beginning of the term that I hoped this would be the Council that finally made a decision because it is a very hard decision to make and here we are.\u201d
\nLibrary Square was a project resumed once again at the beginning of this Council term, envisioned through the lens of a greater Cultural Precinct plan. Now it is starting to bear fruit, said Councillor Tom Mrakas, and although there are some outstanding issues with Option 2, it ticks the boxes of what people have been talking about through extensive public consultation.
\n\u201cYes, there are some issues with it as far as parking and accessibility, but I think some of those concerns have been addressed in one week\u2019s time period,\u201d he said. \u201cI think moving forward, it will allow us to refine it even more, as has been stated and I think we will get to that point where we\u2019ll get to that point and it will be perfect. It is what we all thought and we all envisioned. Yes, we need to work on it and we\u2019ll get there, but it is what is in the best interests of this community.\u201d
\nMayor Dawe shared the view that this is all a work in progress.
\n\u201cIt is a concept plan that we\u2019re dealing with,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will indeed come back with drawings that will go through the whole site plan approval. We are very committed to getting it right and we welcome your input always.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Council’s concept approval comes time to discuss the fine details on the new public square.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-52R","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-29 07:35:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19397\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}