Grimsby moves forward with WLMH corridor study

By Mike Williscraft
NewsNow

Click here to review the 33 page PDF study.

Grimsby council has approved proceding with a $100,000 hosptial corridor study.

Ald. Steve Berry, who chairs the Planning Committee, said the study, approved by council Monday night, will give the Town a baseline of detail on which to plan commercial intensification along Main Street East between Nelles Road and West Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

The study, with costs shared 50/50 with Niagara Region, gets underway later this month with the first public input session – a visioning workshop – planned for early May.

“We don’t want developers to come in and say, ‘This is what we want to do’, and we’re not ready for it,” said Berry, addng one of the deliverables will be establishment of intensifcation plans.

“We want the public to be involved. We want the public involved in the public planning process.

This plan was first discussed in fall 2016 with terms of reference being established with an eye to qualifying for the regional Smarter Niagara lncentive Program.

The proposed project plan involves three phases and includes extensive public consultation through meetings and focus groups with the project steering committee, local property, business owners, and stakeholder groups; a visioning workshop open to members of the public; a public open house; and finally, a statutory public meeting.

Berry noted Mayor Bob Bentley would be having a follow up meeting this week with Local Health Intergration Network officials to ensure any plan would harmonize with future WLMH plans.

The proposal arose in 2016, Berry noted, when questions about the historic home at the corner of Nelles and Main repeatedly came up.

“They (the planning department) would like to have some idea of what they are planning to do there,” said Berry, noting this project should help with that.

For full details on the project, check wn3.ca for a PDF of the 33-page report.