A vision, including guidelines and detailed streetscape plans, for Thunder Bay’s most significant corridors
The Image Routes are Thunder Bay’s most significant corridors, which together have the potential to create a continuous functional and cultural link throughout the city. The complementary documents, the “City of Thunder Bay Urban Design and Landscape Guidelines” and “Image Route Guidelines and Detailed Streetscape Designs”, provide a holistic approach to streetscape design along the Image Routes which will guide the development of the public realm through these corridors.
Four key objectives guide the recommendations, following the city’s “Clean, Green, and Beautiful” Committee’s mandate: Creating a New Balance, Celebrating Thunder Bay, the Urban Forest, and Beautification. These objectives integrate with other city planning and visioning documents to promote appreciation for, and celebration of, what makes Thunder Bay unique – and for promoting liveable, green spaces that enhance the urban forest and create a welcoming environment for many modes of transportation.
These city-wide guidelines provide detailed designs for eight general types of streetscape – such as boulevard widening and improvements, green medians, and bus stops – and combine these with recommendations for application along the existing 13.5-kilometre route. Multiple are combined in some areas to create efficient solutions to unique places.
Opportunity sites were identified along the Image Routes and schematic design opportunities developed for each of these locations. Proposed interventions seek to further reinforce and celebrate the distinct character of each Image Route. Programming for the opportunity sites included, but not limited to a civic square, a riverside park, a lookout over Lake Superior, and a gateway to the North Core. As catalytic projects, these sites were chosen for their potential to spur recreational use and investment along these central corridors.
