York Street, a lane running between The Regent Theatre and the Downtown Picton Clinic, is about to be reconstructed. Residents are seeing an opportunity to create a more functional, accessible walkway.

The aging sanitary trunk line underground needs to be replaced. A new asphalt surface and granular base, curbs and gutters are in the works along with storm sewer and watermain. New 1.5 metre sidewalks will be installed on both sides. 

Staff hosted a Public Information Centre in June to reveal detailed designs from D.M. Wills Associated in June. 

But residents are concerned that the plans don’t meet safety and accessibility standards. York Street connects Picton Main to Delhi Park. It is used regularly by both pedestrians and vehicles — but its grade is prohibitive. 

In summer 2023, over a hundred community members gathered outside the Regent Theatre for York Street Laneway Reimagined, an evening of entertainment, food, and public art sponsored by local businesses. Attendees were asked to write down their ideas for the laneway as a public space on the Regent’s wall-mounted chalk board, which faces the lane.

Suggestions included a European-style cobbled street for pedestrians only, with hanging lanterns or even small tables. The main idea was a community gathering space. 

The Picton Main Street Heritage Conservation District Plan, written by ERA Architects states, “existing laneways should be maintained and enhanced, where possible, by ensuring adequate lighting, safe and accessible ground surface treatment, directional signage, and public art such as wall murals.”

Victoria Taylor, landscape architect at VTLA, wants to make sure two years of advocacy for safety and accessibility doesn’t fall through the cracks. 

“It’s very steep. It’s a 16 percent slope in the steepest places. In our work, as landscape architects, anything above eight percent is not accessible,” she noted.

“It needs a hand rail or it needs a switch back. It needs things added to make it accessible — and there’s  nothing like that in the drawings they presented at the public meeting.”

“The two simple ideas are: what can we add to the surface to help people navigate the slope at all times of year, and can we add a handrail to help people navigate that sidewalk slope as it starts to get steeper down towards Mary Street?” she said. 

“It’s really an important laneway in terms of connections.”

In response to feedback at the PIC, Project Manager Jeff Shortt noted, “while the current slope of the laneway is unable to be changed due to adjacent structures, as a result of the comments we heard at the PIC a provisional item for a handrail adjacent to the sidewalk will be included in the tender documents. This handrail would be located at the steepest part of the laneway and assist pedestrians using the sidewalk.”

Previously, a staircase between the Picton Library and the Armoury connected Picton Main to Mary Street, but it was not restored after the library renovations. 

Designs are now being finalized, with the plan to tender construction later this summer. Construction would take place in fall and winter this year and early next. 

Ms. Taylor gave a deputation to the Accessibility Advisory Committee July 14th with suggestions for improving safety and accessibility.