From late May to early July 2021, community members shared the co-benefits they would like to enjoy along the St. George Rainway. Together, we explored themes of designing for mobility, community, learning, and nature. Ideas generated during a virtual public workshop in June became the basis for a survey, in which we asked the public to rank the co-benefit ideas and share additional ideas with us.

Check out our engagement report to see the top design ideas!

Sample page from the Engagement Report showing interest levels for various types of art in the Rainway.

Some emerging themes from Phase 2:

Nature should lead the design.

Street space priorities echo what was heard in the last survey with space for urban nature and space for walking and cycling coming out on top. See the report for the full rankings.

Current and future parking needs are important considerations, and while overall they are the lowest ranked street space priorities, they rank slightly higher among local residents.

The Rainway should be designed with safety in mind.

The design needs to be functional and accessible to all.

The project must make space for Indigenous knowledge.

How is this input being used?

City staff have been working on concept designs for the street layout and green rainwater infrastructure. These concept designs incorporate the vision and ideas we heard from community during engagement in Phase 1: Values and Vision and Phase 2: Co-design for Co-Benefits, as well as feedback from our community-based Advisory Committee.

The concept designs balance the public feedback with Council priorities, technical feasibility, and financial viability. Want to learn more about project feasibility? Watch our series of videos about the project goals, what green rainwater infrastructure is, and the parameters that influence our design.

Phase 3 of engagement will be launching at the end of October. It will focus on getting feedback from the public on a series of initial design concepts and options.

What’s next?

• Enjoy a self-guided sensorial walk: listen to the audio tour or download the pdf of activities to explore St. George Street using all your senses.
• Stay tuned for Phase 3: Initial Concept Designs, which will launch at the end of October. Save the dates:
  • Have a sneak peak of the design options at the Mount Pleasant Farmer’s Market on Sunday, October 31, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
  • Give your feedback in a survey live from November 4 to 28.
  • Drop into our virtual open house on Wednesday November 17 between 6:30 – 8:30 pm for a chance to learn more about the project and ask staff questions.

More information on the next phase coming soon!