FAQs

There are several features in the design to improve the public realm along Sixth Street. These include: 

Pedestrian Safety

• Expanded space for pedestrians, i.e., new and widened sidewalks with room for additional seating, social space and large shade trees 
• Lighting for sidewalks and roadways
• Improved crosswalks

Public Space & Amenities

• Seating areas, bike racks, seating, and trash cans
• Flexible parking stalls (may be temporarily closed to support additional pedestrian space and/ or community events)

Accessibility

• Rollover curbs (sloped curbs to increase accessibility for wheelchairs and support the conversion of the street into a car-free space for special events) 
• Accessible parking stalls 
• Tactile paving on sidewalks (to help guide pedestrians with visual impairments)

Vibrancy

• Unique paving patterns
• Green infrastructure (rain gardens and tree trenches)
• More street trees with increased soil volume

The permanent plaza will have the same footprint as the current interim plaza. The features in the design include: 

More Seating

• Permanent picnic tables, benches, and seating walls 
• Picnic tables designed for all ages and abilities

Shade/Weather Protection

• Large street trees for shade 

Additional Greenery

• Colourful, pollinator-friendly plants

Events & Activations

• Flexible open space for events (e.g., stage performances, market tents, food trucks)

Ensuring a Welcoming Environment

• Pedestrian lighting in the plaza
• Decorative string lights that will hang across the plaza
• Open sightlines across the plaza

Maintenance & Upkeep

• Automated irrigation system for plants and trees
• Durable, permanent materials
• Smoke-free space
• Routine maintenance of the space, i.e. litter pick-up, emptying trash receptacles, gardening, general upkeep, set-up/ break-down of events. 
• Annual maintenance of the space, i.e. pressure washing of fixtures, tree pruning, and seasonal updates

The updates to Sixth Street and the Uptown Plaza will begin in 2024. The interim Uptown Plaza on Belmont Street will be in place until such time. 

A parklet was first implemented on Belmont Street in 2016 as a way to assess whether a partial street closure and new public space would be supported and used by the community. The parklet was then redesigned and enhanced in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, City Council adopted the Uptown Streetscape Vision, which included a vision to close this segment of Belmont Street to motor vehicle traffic and create a permanent plaza.

We are working to create public spaces for everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, ability, or background. These projects take direction from the vision set in the City of New Westminster’s Council-approved Uptown Streetscape Vision to create “a vibrant commercial district with a distinct identity, accessible and sustainable transportation, as well as inviting and engaging public spaces that are welcoming to all people." They also align with the City’s Master Transportation Plan goals and Seven Bold Steps for Climate Action - specifically, Car-light Community, Quality People-Centred Public Realm, and Robust Urban Forest.

This engagement accounts for all previous engagement about the area. In fact, the expanded plaza and upgrades to Sixth Street are outcomes of feedback from public engagement for the Uptown Public Realm Improvements project. The project team has reviewed all past correspondence between stakeholders and the City. 

Fall 2023 will be the final round of engagement for these projects, and what we hear from community members and stakeholders will be considered in finalizing the designs for the street and the plaza.

The Uptown Streetscape Vision was adopted by Council in November 2020 and sets out a clear vision and design guidelines for commercial streets in Uptown, including Sixth Street, Sixth Avenue, and Belmont Street. The document includes the following vision statement: “Uptown is a vibrant commercial district with a distinct identity, accessible and sustainable transportation, and inviting and engaging public spaces that are welcoming to all people. Through the implementation of the Vision, Uptown will continue to serve an important commercial and public space function for residents, workers, businesses, service providers, and visitors in the area.”

The Uptown Streetscape Vision includes a set of seven principles to define the Vision for streetscape improvements in Uptown:

1. Create a new standard that is the ‘great street’ through enhancements to pedestrian connectivity, safety, and accessibility 
2. Include great places, destinations, and vibrant commercial activity 
3. Prioritize active transportation, transit, and future mobility options 
4. Provide comfortable and pleasant experiences 
5. Embody a unique and unified character that speaks to its place in the City 
6. Enhance the urban tree canopy and integrate green infrastructure 
7. Be a fully inclusive and welcoming place for all 

Well-designed lighting is important for safety, and to extend the usable hours of the public realm space in the evening. Lighting can also be designed and located to add interest to public realm by highlighting features or activities, such as public art, trees, banners, building frontages, or marking entrances to pedestrian walkways.

Seating is an important aspect of enhancing pedestrian comfort along the Uptown streetscape, encouraging longer and repeat visits, and providing a forum for social engagement.

Soft landscaping elements, including trees, shrubs and ground cover have a strong impact on the character of open spaces. The creation of landscaped spaces provides much-needed relief in the busy urban environment. Plant materials also help to improve air quality, provide shade, absorb stormwater and contribute to the city’s tree canopy.

The materials used for the ground surface play a key role in the usability and comfort of the space. An appropriate selection can elevate the pedestrian quality and experience. 

Paving materials must provide safe walking surfaces for users, with special consideration for universal accessibility. All paving should be of high quality and durable materials. Where possible, they should be locally sourced as well.

Along most of the major streets within Uptown, there are opportunities to add rain gardens and rainwater tree trenches, which provide irrigation for planted trees as well as preventing stormwater from entering the stormdrain. There are also opportunities to apply the City's Integrated Stormwater Management Plan. 

This approach can reduce the volume of stormwater runoff into the conventional catch basins, which are the primary part of many landscape drainage systems and help maintain proper drainage and catch debris. The rainwater intercepted by rain gardens and rainwater tree trenches filters and reduces the amount of pollutants and sediments that are carried into the stormwater system. 

Public art can play a role in celebrating our cultural strengths, defining a sense of place, and illustrating history. Successful public realm art is often visually stimulating as well as symbolic, springing from some aspect of the social, natural, cultural, political, economic, physical, or political context of the site. High-quality public art is important to the enhancement of the New Westminster urban fabric. Public art creates landmarks throughout the city and contributes to the character of the precincts.

A building interface is an open space between a building façade and the public sidewalk, characterized by hard or soft landscaping treatment. They are provided through a variation in building setbacks to allow for plantings, trees, usable public space including store displays, and seating areas.

A pedestrian room is a smaller, more intimate space that serves as a zone for pedestrians to engage in the public realm. These spaces tend to be primarily hardscape, with paving, paint, seating, planters and or public art. Types of pedestrian rooms include parklets, boulevard rooms, and plazas.