A plan to revitalize Sparks Street with plants and art is in the works.
Sparks Street is set to be spruced up come mid-April.
In an effort to draw more people to the area, the local Business Improvement Area is planning to add warmth and freshness to Sparks Street – a move that will increase tourism and enliven Sparks Street businesses.
“It’s just time,” says Les Gagne, BIA executive director.
“We’re creating a whole new Sparks Street, going in a different direction that involves new strategies, new ideas, new approaches.”
The plan, which has a price tag of $400,000 to $500,000, will include Spark Street’s own version of Canada’s Walk of Fame, a set of concrete tiles engraved with maple leaves that acknowledge great Canadian humanitarians.
Trees will be planted down the middle of the street, there will be more wooden fixtures and flowers and new themed areas will be introduced.
The Muskoka area will have colourful chairs for people to suntan, socialize and relax.
The new vibrancy will transform Sparks Street into a popular site not only on weekdays, as is currently the case, says Jantine Van Kregten, spokeswoman for Ottawa Tourism, but rather all the time.
“Because there aren’t a lot of people living in downtown Ottawa close to Sparks Street, it doesn’t have the natural traffic of neighbourhoods like Elgin Street or the Glebe,” she says.
“By making it a little more fun it will attract more people for evening and weekends.”
“When you start marketing to Wellington and Queen Street outside the periphery, people start to realize there is something really exciting on Sparks Street. We’re really trying to let people know that we’re here.”
Sam Elsaadi, owner of Spark Street’s La Mode hair salon, says the businesses on the street are mostly independent ones, not franchises, and their appeal will only increase.
“It’s a hard time because big giant stores are opening all around the city and it’s moving people away. This move will have people come support Sparks Street and support our business,” he says.
The beautification project is also expected to have a positive impact on tourism.
“Sparks Street is an amazing location, an area of town that most visitors spend some time in at least, so the idea of making it more visitor friendly is a great one,” says Van Kregten.
“Anything that encourages people to stay longer or do more is great for tourism.”
Ottawa has declared Sparks Street a historic district and the plans include building on this recognition to strengthen its historical significance, Gagne says.
“There will be more reason for people to stop and enjoy themselves on a storied street, a street with so much deep history,” he says.
The street that is so known in Ottawa will become even more important to the city’s identity, says Elsaadi.
“This is the face of the country. It’s next to Parliament. Everybody who walks in Ottawa walks on Sparks Street. We’re trying to make Sparks Street the place to be.”