Picture downtown Pemberton’s Frontier Street alive with people gathering at plazas, benches and water features, those strolling along widened sidewalks, others soaking up the spectacular valley views while wandering among green trees or an art park.

At the heart of this new life, picture an open-air market hall, a simple, functional facility with roof sections perched atop a wooden frame, that could house anything from farmers’ markets to dances and movie nights.

And picture a straightforward, four-corner intersection, eliminating the current jog Frontier Street takes crossing Birch Road, with a plaza placed on each corner, as part of a welcoming front door to the downtown.

That’s all part of the concept created last week by consultants Michael von Hausen, Calum Srigley and Don Wuori as part of the draft Frontier Street Master Plan commissioned by the Village of Pemberton. After going through walks and workshops with local residents and business owners last Wednesday (July 15), and incorporating feedback from the Village’s Downtown Enhancement Strategy and Speak Up Pemberton sessions, the designers and architects unveiled an initial vision at the Cottonwood Community Centre last Thursday (July 15).

With the addition of elements like widened, plank-patterned concrete sidewalks, increased greenery throughout the street and a square with seating oriented toward the mountain views and a water feature that could double as a bonfire in winter, Wuori described the transformation as a simple “renovation,” but a serious one.

“I think what we’re doing is changing the whole attitude,” he said at the meeting attended by about 20 people.

The conceptual site plan suggests putting a Frontier Square in the hollow beside AG Foods and in front of the adjacent restaurants and stores, the proposed Market Hall on the northeast side of the street with a memorial plaza in front, more greenery in the parking area and an art park and adventure centre on the southeast side.

Wuori said there was “a lot of buy-in” among local businesses for the idea of creating Frontier Square. By adding elements such as seating, trees and water features in the area into which the patios are spilling now, he said, “you actually create a space, a public space in there.”

“We’re looking for places around town where you can put your feet up,” Srigley said.

The downtown currently doesn’t have an attractive front door, he said, but elements proposed for Frontier Street like the plazas, expanded seating, widened sidewalks, trees and water features could change all of that.

Garth Phare, longtime owner of the Frontier Street Pharmacy and the Pemberton Home Hardware, said he thinks much of the concept plan is “common sense, not pie in the sky,” and values the ideas for slowing of traffic, creating better distinction between traffic and pedestrians, and establishing a proper parking area.

He thinks the market hall matches a dream that’s been talked about for 30 years, meeting the demand for an accessible facility that could be filled with all manner of events, and an easier conduit between Pemberton producers and local plates.

“I just think it screams Pemberton,” Phare said.

He’s looking forward to hearing community comments and then getting something done to give people yet another reason to fall in love with Pemberton, enhancing the town’s physical appearance to match its many other attributes. The downtown serves a large area, and needs to give people a reason to stop and stay, he added.

“Give them a great place to be, and it’ll be there,” Phare said. He’s willing to pay his part, but doesn’t think what the consultants are proposing would be expensive.

Mark Blundell, manager of the Pemberton Valley Supermarket, said he loves the concept plan – “I really like what I saw” – but he’s concerned that moving ahead just with the Frontier Street improvements first would keep it from tying smoothly into Prospect Street and the whole downtown.

He said he would rather see the three consultants create a unified plan for the whole downtown, and he would be prepared to contribute to help that happen. He said he also hopes other business owners who are directly affected would buy into the plan.

Paul Vacirca, president of the Pemberton and District Chamber of Commerce, said he was particularly excited about the idea of the four plazas and the calming of traffic at the intersection, the market hall building and the beauty of Frontier Square capitalizing on Pemberton’s views.

“I think the Chamber of Commerce is very excited about the plans. We truly like the direction it’s going in terms of walking traffic, in terms of business usage,” he said.

Vacirca said he appreciated the involvement by a range of downtown business owners in the Frontier Street planning.

Von Hausen, the experienced urban planner and designer who prepared the Downtown Enhancement Strategy last year, said the street has “great bones; we have to add the muscle.” The plan took shape with a view to creating a stylish, practical and economical renovation, he added.

After unveiling the concept plan, the consultants talked about the next steps toward bringing the vision to fruition, including more community discussions, creating a final design and costs, and settling questions of funding and construction.

Caroline Lamont, the Village’s manager of development services, said the concept plan will be given to a range of interest groups and property owners for feedback, and discussions about funding sources will be folded in.

“We really don’t want this to sit on the shelf,” Lamont said, adding that she believes it’s something the community wants to see.

To view the draft drawings, click to pemberton.ca.