The Puslinch council chamber was packed as residents came to an open house on a proposal for streetscape improvements in Morriston.
The May 28 open house hosted by Puslinch Township provided a venue for Aaron Hill, Landscape Architect MacKinnon and Associates to update residents on the current plans and timelines for the project.
Councillor Susan Fielding noted there were people in the gallery from the Puslinch Community Oriented Policing (COP) committee.
Since the COP committee meeting time conflicted with the open house, the group met earlier that night to allow members to take part in the open house.
Mayor Dennis Lever clarified that because Highway 6 through Morriston is a provincial highway, any work requires a permit from the Ministry of Transportation.
He estimated the project cost will be in the neighbourhood of $100,000.
Puslinch council has put in $37,000 into the 2014 capital budget with the idea of funding the remainder of the project over the next two years, he said.
Hill said his firm has been working on this proposal since last fall.
Initial work included Wellington County which prepared a plan outlining a series of planting areas and future sign areas throughout Morriston.
Hill explained there are a number of constraints and restrictions, including MTO regulations, on what work can happen, setbacks and what type of planting can be done.
He said, the other major factor limiting what can be done is Ontario Hydro regulations – which also have explicit instructions as to setbacks from overhead wires.
Because of those and other limitations such as underground services, Hill said some of the previously-proposed planting areas disappeared.
He then outlined concept areas where plantings could happen.
Hill stressed “the main focus was to use plants which would survive. The second priority was to have native plants.”
In addition, Hill explained that many of the planting areas “are not what you would call ideal growing conditions.”
As a result, plants must be drought tolerant, able to deal with salt spray and urban conditions.
In the northern part of Morriston, plantings would begin around the MTO works yard on either side of the road.
Hill described this as an entry point to Morriston and the intent is to make the road appear more hospitable.
He said in this area there will be layers of planting, with conifers set back to avoid some of the salt spray from the highway.
Another aspect of the planning, is to create visual interests at different times of year.
Further south, in front of the Change of Pace restaurant, Hill described the area as an asphalt parking lot, which leads to an asphalt traffic island, to a concrete sidewalk to and asphalt roadway.
“We’d like to soften that a bit and make it more hospitable. But as a growing environment it’s as bad as it gets.”
In that space, the idea is to construct some raised planters – which prevents salt getting to the plants and enough depth to provide a legitimate growing medium for the plant material.
He said the other thing to be aware of is the need to maintain visibility at the parking lot entrances. “We can’t in any way obstruct it. You have to be able to see oncoming traffic. We want it to look good, but we need it to be safe as well.”
He also stated the entire proposal includes mass planting of trees, shrubs and/or perennials to provide consistency for a better overall theme and impact for the community as a whole.
Originally plantings were proposed for the Church Street area, but once all the restrictions were brought into play, Hill said there was “room for one tree and nothing more.”
Along the south end the road widens and there is a sidewalk on the east side which jogs away from the road.
He saw this as an opportunity to create a neat entry point for those entering the village from the south end.
Plantings would eventually provide a canopy over the sidewalk to make the area more pleasant rather than just a grassed area.
Questions from area residents concerned the potential of landscaping in other locations of Morriston.
Hill responded there are real challenges because of both the MTO and Hydro restrictions.
He stressed all of the work being proposed is within the highway right-of-way – not on private properties.
Resident Don McKay questioned the choice of oak over maple trees in parts of the plan.
Hill said, “I have to be honest. The maples might work, but I am much more confident that the oaks will.”
He explained the issue is the impact the salt spray will have on the trees.
Even though the plantings will be on the highway right-of-way, it would be up to the township to maintain the plants/trees.
Lever stressed the planting proposal is only one aspect of the overall streetscape plan.
Other changes include lighting and entrance signs, he said.
Lever added that there were initial discussions with the MTO which stated the township would need to hire a landscape architect to come up with a proposal – but would still need to go through the permit process.
However, he said, had the MTO not indicated that this might be possible, “we would not have gone down this road.”
Hill added the work would not be done this year.
His understanding is that the first plantings would be in spring 2015. While the timing might not be what residents hoped for, Hill said “It is absolutely the first right time to do the planting.”
Resident Matthew Bulmer quipped “after waiting 30 years, what’s a few more months to get something going.”
