GODERICH – Trees of all sizes continue to take root in Goderich’s downtown park.
PAO Horticultural has delivered 100 of the more than 150 trees that are expected to be planted in Court House Park by Christmas, reports the Goderich Rebuild Oversight Steering Committee (ROSCO).
Each Monday, PAO hauls new trees to Goderich and plant until Wednesdays, before heading back to Hornby, near Mississauga, to load up the next batch of trees for the following week.
“Every day the landscape changes a little bit but it’s on Wednesdays that you can notice a dramatic transformation taking place,” said John Grace, chair of ROSCO. The Court House Park was devastated by the tornado that ripped through Goderich and area in August 2011.
Of the remaining trees to be delivered are approximately 12 more big ones, which may not be planted right away because a crane may be required to lift them off the trucks and place them in their designated spots.
All of the trees should be planted by Dec. 20, at which time construction will stop until March.
Bump Outs
The community will notice that bump outs – outcrops of curbed concrete – have been built in to the inner circle of the park. They are in place to reduce the distance of roadway pedestrians crossing getting from the inner circle to the outer business area of The Square.
The bump outs are marked with ‘yellow tactile ground surface indicator Braille blocks’ – neat rows of round yellow bumps. These blocks make it possible for the visually impaired to gauge how close they are to the road.
The bump outs make it possible also for anyone standing on them to be seen by on coming traffic.
“We realize that it’s going to take some time to get used to the bump outs but please do not park on the bump outs,” Grace said.
The next public ROSCO meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in council chambers.
Discussion will include a review of the RFPs for the water feature and gazebo, and an update on the roofing of the performance stage.
“There are many to thank as we wrap up 2012. Among them Lavis Contracting, all of the sub-contractors, BM Ross and of course the community itself,” Grace said.
“It’s been gratifying to be a part of such an inclusive process. In the 15 years since I’ve been involved in community projects in this town, the rebuild stands out to me as the most impactful and sustaining of them all,” he said. “We’ll be able to look at Court House Park when all is done and know that this is who we are, this is where we started and this is where we will continue to grow.”
For more information, please contact Grace by phone at 524-0779 or via email at [email protected]
One Comment on "New trees continue to reshape Court House Park"
Well this begs the question. Looking at the area today, Dec 7, why are the trees not planted as they appear on site. You take them off the truck and put them in the allocated holes. Planting trees is not rocket science but just pure and simple common sense. Where is the leadership???