North Shore Neighbourhood Plan

These images present a draft design concept for the North Shore Town Centre. For further background, watch the video segment North Shore Town Centre: Town Centre and Community Triangle from the design charrette. Please share your thoughts on these design concepts below.

North Shore Town Centre–District Plan

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The North Shore Town Centre is the major destination and commercial hub for the North Shore. Large-format retail stores are retained to act as commercial anchors during implementation. Landmark towers are positioned on prominent corners to help define views. Commercial infill creates an urban 'village' with a series of internal 'mews' (i.e. narrow pedestrian-oriented streets). Retail uses for restaurants and smaller businesses are kept at street-level with residential uses above. Lower-scale residential buildings flank the North Shore Town Centre, offering a variety of housing types and tenures. Public realm improvements include street trees, opportunities for public art, and other "placemaking" interventions that will enhance the district's identity.

North Shore Town Centre–Concept Sketch

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This bird's eye view (looking west) illustrates a vibrant and pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use North Shore Town Centre. To the south (left of the image), a proposed new civic park with a public amenity building occupies the corner of Tranquille Rd and Vernon Ave. Northills Shopping Centre is reimagined as an open-air 'high street' leading to the urban village 'mews' bounded by Sydney Ave and Fortune Drive. The mix of uses include commercial office and retail (e.g. shops and restaurants), public areas, and gathering places. Taller residential buildings accommodate greater density to take advantage of expanded/regional amenities.

What are your thoughts on the design concepts for the North Shore Town Centre? Please comment below.

These images present a draft design concept for the Tranquille Market Corridor. For further background, watch the video segment Tranquille Market Corridor: Social Enterprise Hub, Cultural Village, and Innovation Hub from the design charrette. Please share your thoughts on these design concepts below.

Tranquille Market Corridor–District Plan 

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The Tranquille Market Corridor links the North Shore Town Centre to the north and the Riverfront District to the south. These concepts seek to retain and celebrate the eclectic nature of the corridor as it exists today, identify places of cultural and symbolic importance, and work with landowners to maintain and enhance the unique assembly of small storefronts. Small-scale redevelopment – in the form of one to two residential storeys above retail – can stimulate investment while minimizing land assembly. There is also potential for ground-oriented residential redevelopment west of the Corridor. Guest accommodation, such as a boutique hotel, may also be appropriate for certain infill sites. Opportunities to locate community uses throughout the study area in a more balanced/distributed manner should be considered as redevelopment occurs. Strategic locations along the east side of the Corridor can take advantage of great sun exposure and generous setbacks to establish 'pocket plazas' for people to gather and socialize. Existing mature trees are retained (where possible), new street trees are planted, and planters are updated to establish a consistent and attractive streetscape.

Tranquille Market Corridor–Concept Sketch

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This illustration shows the Tranquille Market Corridor's role in knitting together adjacent neighbourhoods – along its length and including east-west connections to the North Thompson and Thompson Rivers – while serving as a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use corridor linking the North Shore Town Centre with the Riverfront District. The 'Cultural Village' (e.g. Yew Street and Spirit Square area) is recognized as an emerging 'hub' along the corridor with further opportunity for pedestrian enhancements, consideration for special event street closures, and potential greenway connections to McArthur Island Park along MacKenzie Ave.

What are your thoughts on the design concepts for the Tranquille Market Corridor? Please comment below.

These images present a draft design concept for the Riverfront District. For further background, watch the video segment Riverfront District: Riveryard, Riverhouse, and Overlander Park from the design charrette. Please share your thoughts on these design concepts below.

Riverfront–District PlanView this image in a new tab in the photo gallery 

The Riverfront District presents unique opportunities for waterfront-oriented placemaking as well as more extensive redevelopment. A riverfront boardwalk and pier extension take advantage of the old bridge pillars. North of the pier extension and across Tranquille Road is a large 'maker-space' works yard. Designed as a large courtyard, this area allows for a mix of entrepreneurial, industrial, and maker-related creative activities within a public space. There is potential for this precinct to grow business and entrepreneurial activity with some residential use while being mindful to mitigate displacement of existing residents. Low- and mid-rise housing forms could open river views to residents and enhance / extend access to the riverfront and Rivers Trail.

Riverfront–Concept Sketch

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This sketch of the Riverfront District highlights the enhanced public boardwalk and open space along the river's edge. The concept begins with an interpretive park (via an extension of Palm Street) that seeks to celebrate the unique identity, character, and history of early riverfront settlement and Indigenous peoples' use of the rivers and surrounding lands. Adjacent shops and restaurants are set on the boardwalk, offering great views of the river and establishing a landmark at the southern end of the Corridor. A lookout pier extends out into the river atop existing structural piers, and a floating portion provides a close view of the shore, forming a loop and leading back to the interpretive park. East of the pier, green corridors framed by residential buildings extend the Rivers Trail. The light industrial areas to the north of the district are maintained and re‑imagined as an industrial arts district of maker spaces. An urban farm anchors the north end of the works yard, speaking to the North Shore's heritage as a fruit-growing area.

What are your thoughts on the design concepts for the Riverfront District? Please comment below.