Committee to develop Revelstoke Grizzly Plaza renovation plan by fall

The City of Revelstoke has released the results of an engagement survey on the Grizzly Plaza renovation project and estimates the final proposal will be before council in the fall of 2022, with any potential construction coming in 2023.

“The survey results showed that there is not a desire for substantial changes to Grizzly Plaza at this time,” writes city planner Paul Simon in a summary of the report. “Respondents overwhelmingly expressed a desire to retain the existing bandstand with
refurbishment, upgrades and maintenance of the bandstand and plaza. Respondents also
strongly advocated for making the plaza and block pedestrian-only.”

The survey ranked priorities, and the following came out top three:

• Prioritization of pedestrians over vehicles
• Identification and retention of heritage elements
• Creating an upgraded and flexible community gathering space

For next steps, the city is looking to create a steering committee to develop an engagement plan to develop a conceptual design.

A staff report presents a number of conclusions:

-that the plan is to refurbish and enlarge the bandstand to improve it for performances

-key character and elements are to be retained, including brick planters and trees

-identify heritage elements and add them into an upcoming heritage management plan

-develop a plan to close the plaza to vehicles

-that the city’s art committee engage with the community about sculpture plans

-work with the Columbia Basin Trust on adjustments to grant funding

To read the survey results and staff report, see the links at the very bottom of this story

Background

The Nyundo School Roadshow performs in Grizzly Plaza at the 2015 Axis Mundi festival. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine

In early 2021, the Columbia Basin Trust announced plans for a grant program designed to help communities spruce up public spaces. The grant program was in part a COVID-19 mitigation project that would give a shot in the arm to Basin communities to stimulate the economy a little and build community around community spaces.

In spring, the CBT announced Revelstoke got $322,000 for the project; the city would kick in at least $107,000 for the project, part of a 25% local funding requirement for the project.

Not much else happened for months, but when council approved the concept for a statue in the fall, the brief news update about the statue on revelstokemountaineer.com struck a chord with residents who take pride in the heritage plaza and felt like things were happening behind the scenes without their input.

It kicked up a local social media firestorm; after that, we followed up with this feature story, explaining the history and context of Grizzly Plaza. (And hopefully turn the dial on the controversy down a bit.) There was heavy readership interest in the stories, which were read by a majority of the population here, contributing to a level of engagement with the city engagement survey system not seen in recent exercises.

To provide context, we produced the feature below. It’s a good read, if we must say so ourselves. (Story continues below.)

Grizzly Plaza renovation project claws at Revelstoke’s changing concept of community

The episode highlighted the city’s ongoing communication struggles, which in this case burned other community groups, including arts community members, who found themselves in the middle of a traditional Revelstoke blow-up directed at city hall and council.

The city’s high senior staff turnover over the past decade has eroded its institutional knowledge and numbed the finger it uses to take the pulse of the community. Revelstoke has a core constituency of long-time residents that holds on tight to its traditions. They don’t mind some change and new youthful energy, but appreciate being asked before you make any major changes.

The Revelstoke Highlanders Pipe Band warms up in Grizzly Plaza ahead of the Remembrance Day parade on Nov. 11. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine

One positive change to note is the engagement survey for the Grizzly Plaza had a significantly different tone than previous digital engagement processes, which faced criticism for not being user friendly, sometimes only allowing a sentence or two for comment. In those processes, people ticked the multiple-choice boxes, wondering out loud if they themselves were just a box being ticked in someone else’s plan. Engagement numbers were often sparse.

The new survey was much-improved and received 329 survey responses. With more meaningful questions that seemed to engage people on questions that mattered to them, the Grizzly Plaza survey results seem more like they can form a basis for moving forward with the project by anchoring it in community values.

Read the survey results here and the staff report that summarizes it and outlines next steps here.