“Involving the community in the development of our plans is very important to us,” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “Through this consultation, we hope to hear from residents about what they feel makes Richmond Hill unique.”

This town-wide project responds to what was heard through the Strategic Plan (2009) to create a vibrant Richmond Hill, and implements the vision set out in the Official Plan (2010). Increasingly, people in Richmond Hill are living in more urban forms of housing, and with this, the importance of and demand for comfortable urban public spaces and linkages to natural amenity areas is substantially increasing.

“This is a great opportunity for Richmond Hill to come together and set the design standards for our streets, parks and other public spaces,” said Ana Bassios, Commissioner of Planning & Regulatory Services.

With input from the community, the purpose of the Public Realm Master Plan is to develop a shared vision of public spaces that reflects Richmond Hill’s identity, to establish design principles for the Town to create attractive public spaces and to guide Town staff with the implementation of public realm related capital projects including existing and future streets, natural trail connections and cycling routes, parks and urban squares, and gateways and more.

Another community consultation will take place in the fall to review a draft Master Plan, and it is anticipated that the final Master Plan will be completed in the winter of 2015.

Residents can also have their say through an online survey at SurveyMonkey.com/s/PublicSpaces.

Residents can learn more by visiting RichmondHill.ca/PublicRealm.