WDBA update

Crosswalks and heritage talk

The Wellington District Business Association (WDBA) has a lot on the go this spring, with some exciting collaborations. The first being two bike racks donated by the welding program at Loyalist College. Each bike rack is 10 feet long and has the Loyalist College logo on them. WDBA president Evan Nash is hoping that the bike racks will encourage locals to use their bikes more frequently, as well as promoting cycling as more of a tourist attraction. This should aid in alleviating some of the congestion and parking issues facing the village in the summertime.

“As a community, we’re going to endeavor to be a little more bike friendly. We want to make it easier for residents and visitors to drive their bikes downtown and leave them somewhere safe while they do their shopping,” says Nash.

Another initiative for the WDBA is in coordination with the Prince Edward County Heritage Preservation Committee (PECHPC), who are doing an inventory of building and houses in Wellington. The inventory will let the community know the buildings of note in Wellington, as well as sparking some curiosity as to what’s going on in the village. This inventory is totally optional and only interested parties will be put on the list. If a building does go on the list, it means that building cannot be torn down without a further review by the PECHPC. It does not become a heritage building and it does not have to adhere to any guidelines, for example, with regard to paint colour.

Red bike racks created and donated by the Loyalist College welding program.

“It may be a good way to look at some of the buildings around here. The Prince Edward County Advisory Council is a great resource and unlike other heritage boards that are all about adherence. They are more of a resource than a rule-maker. If you’re saving or restoring an old building, they can tell you what the original colours were, or what was in style at the time. It’s a very healthy approach,” says Nash.

The WDBA is also pairing up with the University of Toronto Architecture Department to rebuild the tourist information kiosk located in the parking lot of Lakeshore Farms. The current kiosk is over 20 years old and is starting to look worn out and weathered. Instead of spending money to rehabilitate it, the opportunity came up to work with a group of students from the Design Build Program at U of T who will come this summer and build a new tourist info kiosk. The only stipulation that the students will have to follow will be that it must keep within the same style of buildings in the area.

“It’s not only a neat opportunity for a new kiosk, but it’s also the chance to forge a relationship with this design program. Who knows, if this is successful we may see another project on the horizon for the summer of 2019,” says Nash.

Finally, and probably most important for Nash is the deputation that he will be giving to council next week regarding a crosswalk in Wellington. The County has decided to move forward with the feasibility study, but Nash wants to make sure that momentum for this continues to build. Nash and the WDBA are also focused on traffic calming initiatives for the edges of town. They started a fund and are taking donations to purchase permanent or semipermanent “Your Speed is…” signs for the three entrances of town, which were successful when they were installed in Wellington last year.

“We just want to help people be more cognitive of their speed. We are all guilty of it, cruising along and forgetting to take your foot off the gas. I notice it particularly in the early morning when people are rushing to get to work. But that’s also the time that parents are bringing their kids to school. We are trying to get everyone to slow down in the village,” says Nash.

Nash and the WDBA have lots going on, and all of it will have an impact on making our community both safer and smarter in the coming years.