Municipal work to revitalize Memorial Park in downtown Sudbury began on Monday, with crews fencing off the park’s north end and mobilizing equipment on site.
They’re starting at the north end so its balance, including veteran memorials, is available for Remembrance Day Ceremonies, city Parks and Recreation Services director Jeff Pafford said.
Work will progress until as autumn conditions allow, Pafford said, and pick up again in the spring for June completion, in time for the majority of summer events.
“Will really concentrate on activities like grooming and pruning of trees, turf restoration, removal of flower garden shrubs, some walkstone repairs and those types of things,” he said.
Some uneven concrete along pathway curbs will be removed or replaced, and a concrete pad will be installed to make way for a vendor area to accommodate such things as food trucks.
The city hasn’t decided yet where the pad would be installed, with Pafford noting that conversations with community groups, including the Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Area, were ongoing.
“I think it’s about looking at improving the park from a beautification and cleanliness standpoint, but also in line with the Downtown Master Plan, making it a welcoming space,” Pafford said.
Part deferred maintenance and part of a broader downtown transformation project announced by city CAO Shari Lichterman earlier this month, the park renovations will help signal its availability to community groups, Downtown Sudbury executive director Jeff MacIntyre said.
A homeless encampment took shape at Memorial Park during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, but after a cycle of evictions, the city declared in March 2022 that an encampment at Memorial Park would no longer be an option, with the final closure taking place April 1.
Earlier this month, city council furthered this direction with a pledge to shut down encampments throughout the municipality and encourage the city’s homeless community to set up at Energy Court, located behind Chris’ Your Independent grocery store downtown.
When it comes to shifting the park’s reputation away from the image of an encampment, MacIntyre said the planned revitalization is “a big start.”
The follow-up step, he said, is “working with the city and working with all the potential users of the park to make sure it’s regularly programmed so it remains a safe and friendly place for everybody.”
Electrical plug-ins aren’t ideally located for events and the irrigation system isn’t well mapped, so putting tents down is difficult because people need a locate every time they put a peg in the ground, MacIntyre said.
After a handful of improvements to resolve issues such as these are made, he said the park should become a more lively place.
“We’ve got lots of organizations downtown that used to get a lot of use out of the park, who want to get use out of the park again,” MacIntyre said.
“We’re working on programming throughout the city downtown to make improvements, and we’re nailing down the edges of that plan right now. … We’re hopeful, and as those discussions continue, they seem to lead to a lot more hope for us.”
Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier echoed this optimism, noting the work is “a bit overdue, but better late than never.”
“If you think of all the community groups that utilize downtown and all the events Downtown Sudbury assists in putting on in the downtown, Memorial Park has been underutilized for a number of years,” he said. “It’s a great venue, and it’s certainly central to our core. … It’s a very programmable space if done correctly, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Pafford said he doesn’t have a dollar amount associated with the Memorial Park revitalization project, as the costs associated have been incorporated into the city’s existing Parks budget.
Meanwhile, city staff are currently working on putting together a final draft of the updated Downtown Master Plan, which is anticipated to be presented to city council by the end of the year.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.