Downtown Neighbourhood Plan
Downtown St. John’s is a vibrant neighbourhood, recognized and appreciated for its unique and colourful residential neighbourhoods; its walkable business corridors; its popular arts and entertainment scene; its working port and cruise terminal; its unique collection of heritage buildings; and more recently, its world-class culinary offerings, among many other things.
Like much of the province, however, Downtown has been experiencing change:
- Economic and business activity has wavered;
- Many companies have relocated to other parts of St. John’s, leaving behind large, empty office spaces in the downtown area;
- Retail storefronts are struggling to compete with online shopping, hybrid retail, and the ever-present challenge of big box development;
- Businesses in general are facing a new reality as employees adopt working from home or other alternate live/work scenarios;
- Long-term social changes due to COVID-19, such as increased awareness of hygiene and social distancing, have created challenges in the current compact urban environment;
- There is a need to respond to impacts of a changing climate and improve the resilience of new and existing buildings, roads, and stormwater management infrastructure to extreme weather.
These challenges, among others, raise some big questions: What does all of this mean for Downtown? How do we tackle these concerns and ensure that Downtown St. John’s remains a desirable place to live, work, invest, and play in the future?
Finding the answer to these and other challenging questions is part of this Neighbourhood Plan.
The Downtown St. John’s Neighbourhood Plan will focus on the area highlighted on the following map:
Downtown St. John’s is a vibrant neighbourhood, recognized and appreciated for its unique and colourful residential neighbourhoods; its walkable business corridors; its popular arts and entertainment scene; its working port and cruise terminal; its unique collection of heritage buildings; and more recently, its world-class culinary offerings, among many other things.
Like much of the province, however, Downtown has been experiencing change:
- Economic and business activity has wavered;
- Many companies have relocated to other parts of St. John’s, leaving behind large, empty office spaces in the downtown area;
- Retail storefronts are struggling to compete with online shopping, hybrid retail, and the ever-present challenge of big box development;
- Businesses in general are facing a new reality as employees adopt working from home or other alternate live/work scenarios;
- Long-term social changes due to COVID-19, such as increased awareness of hygiene and social distancing, have created challenges in the current compact urban environment;
- There is a need to respond to impacts of a changing climate and improve the resilience of new and existing buildings, roads, and stormwater management infrastructure to extreme weather.
These challenges, among others, raise some big questions: What does all of this mean for Downtown? How do we tackle these concerns and ensure that Downtown St. John’s remains a desirable place to live, work, invest, and play in the future?
Finding the answer to these and other challenging questions is part of this Neighbourhood Plan.
The Downtown St. John’s Neighbourhood Plan will focus on the area highlighted on the following map:
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Share What do you love about Downtown? on Facebook Share What do you love about Downtown? on Twitter Share What do you love about Downtown? on Linkedin Email What do you love about Downtown? link
What do you love about Downtown?
10 months agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.frank12 months agoredesign the waterfront.
add a community hub/sports centre. This could have been done but as per, the city's development theory is stuck in the 1970s
0 comment0Cc12 months agoVacancy tax
If a building or piece of land downtown is vacant for more than 3 years, increase the tax substantially. Do this every year it’s vacant. Provide subsidies to turn office and upstairs of commercial spaces into affordable housing.
0 comment2MattW12 months agoUtilizing the harbourfront is vitally important. New buildings should have a height limit. The waterfront should be entirely walkable.
0 comment7MylesRussell11 months agoInverted crown roads: universal design, better snow clearing, more welcoming
Inverted crown roads is a simpler, more dynamic road design that keeps water away from pedestrians, is fully universally designed with complete mountable curb, and allows much higher grade control along the ROW edge with minimal cross slope deviation. Drainage is all directed toward the middle of the road, also evading snow/ice jammed catch basins needed to be cleared as often. Lanes should also be reduced to a more reasonable 2.8-3.0m wide travel path. Still legally wide enough according to the Transport Authority of Canada (TAC). Mountable curbs could also have rumble lines added in that would not impact accessibility, but alert drivers of deviation. All speeds should be reduced to 30km/h. This design also increases the dead water storage of the road surface as the cross section for water storage is larger than two 150mm curbs at 2% cross slope. The old functions of class concrete curb roads are relics of old designs and cheap reconstruction of existing crowned roads. If a street is to be for people, the people should have the dominant space; not cars. Grand Avenue, Grand Lake Colorado is a great example of this design.
1 comment1Charlynch10 months agoWalkable spaces, unique shops and restaurants, entertainment spaces
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What is your vision for Downtown St. John's?
10 months agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.sb1312 months agoBaseball diamonds should be multi-use spaces
In the summer the baseball diamonds around downtown are usually busy with people playing ball and that's great. But baseball season is brief and for most of the year, the space is off-limits and locked up. This is a wasted opportunity. Open the ballparks up to dogs in the winter. (This is especially important given how impassable so many of the sidewalks are in winter!) People with small dogs are jumping over the fence so the only people who are deterred by the padlocks are those with mobility issues and much larger dogs.
0 comment1NB12 months agoChristmas Market
It would be awesome to see a Winter Market or Christmas Market downtown
0 comment1Jen Anderson12 months agoWaterfront Development
Our harbour is beautiful but harbour drive is a wasteland of cars and metal fencing. Our harbour-front needs a plan to draw the community and the tourists (physical and social development).
0 comment7cynthiawilliams11 months agoContinuous circulation
It would be incredible to see a continuous circulation path between duckworth street, water street and harbour drive - to bring people down to the harbour and back throughout. Maybe an opportunity for community space to exist in the small area of public space adjacent to the Keg on the harbour to attract more down.
0 comment1bhnidan12 months agoToo combat the number of vacant buildings downtown, perhaps a change in the property taxes would be in order. Vacant buildings pay double?
5 comments11 -
Share How could we make Downtown St. John's easier to move around in? on Facebook Share How could we make Downtown St. John's easier to move around in? on Twitter Share How could we make Downtown St. John's easier to move around in? on Linkedin Email How could we make Downtown St. John's easier to move around in? linkCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.JoshSmee12 months ago
Make George St West a pedestrians-first area
George St West (over by the Jag Hotel) doesn't need to carry many cars at all, and is increasingly seeing new development facing it. It could be a great little public space, with some car access but people prioritized, that would also be a nicer way for people to move westward
0 comment3Downtown Taxpayer12 months agoBetter sidewalk & bus stop snow clearing. One way traffic on Water and Duckworth. Busses to/from downtown every 15 minutes. More bike lanes.
Help create better airport - city ground transportation. Frequent busses encourage people to shop/work downtown w/o having to have a car.
0 comment3Noah12 months agoProtected bike lanes, better transit, fewer cars.
There needs to be other modes of getting to downtown other than cars. Cars clog up our downtown and make it difficult and dangerous to get around. They also block views and create noise and air pollution which makes being downtown much less pleasant than it could be. To fix this, we need to encourage cycling and walking whenever possible and increase public transit to get people downtown.
0 comment7ae12 months agoStop paying for cycling consultants and do something!
Our city's lack of bike infrastructure is embarrassing! There is way more infrastructure for dogs than bikes. Stop hiring people to consult and plan and actually build some bike lanes instead of taking them out. DO it or we'll do it for you.
1 comment5Elk202311 months agoBetter snow clearing in the winter!
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Share What would make Downtown more attractive to young people and young families? on Facebook Share What would make Downtown more attractive to young people and young families? on Twitter Share What would make Downtown more attractive to young people and young families? on Linkedin Email What would make Downtown more attractive to young people and young families? linkCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.JoshSmee12 months ago
Safe routes to school, especially in Winter
My kiddo starts at Bishop Feild in the fall. The City defininition of a "School zone" for snow-clearing purposes is just the sidewalks immediately around the school itself (ie, just the places where kids are dropped by car, nothing for those who actually walk there). When she gets older she'll walk up to Brother Rice and then Holy Heart, which involves crossing the dangerous mess at Garrison/Harvey/Military/Bonaventure - that intersection is a key gateway into and out of downtown and could be made much safer
0 comment3SH12 months agoMore support to downtown homeowners.
Offer support for cleaning up what is left behind from those experiencing addiction and the issues that coincide. There is zero assistance when you're left to dispose of dirty synergies yourself. It is a health hazard. Support the homeowners when dealing with violence from this population. Support those with addiction issues so they are not left to use in the streets or on the steps/backyards of homeowners. Offer assistance in beautifying the neighborhoods. Any incentives to create a greener/cleaner space would be helpful for both attracting future homeowners and keeping current homeowners. The City is ugly and it should never be.
0 comment2JoshSmee12 months agoPlay areas below Military Road
The closest structured play area to downtown is in Bannerman Park. It'd be great to have some small, urban play areas lower down - along Harbour Drive, for example, or in Harbourside Park, or in the little random green space at Duckworth/Prescott. I'm often wandering downtown with my kiddo and looking for a play break (the Pedestrian Mall fills that need when open!)
0 comment4thnidan12 months agoFamily friendly third places
With no public library, there are not very many reasons to go downtown if the weather is not nice and you're not planning to spend money.
0 comment4hemeoj12 months agoPedway system
We have such terrible weather. If we had pedways it could link a couple of shopping & eating areas with some of the hotels.
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Share What would make Downtown more attractive to seniors and people who want to "age-in-place?" on Facebook Share What would make Downtown more attractive to seniors and people who want to "age-in-place?" on Twitter Share What would make Downtown more attractive to seniors and people who want to "age-in-place?" on Linkedin Email What would make Downtown more attractive to seniors and people who want to "age-in-place?" link
What would make Downtown more attractive to seniors and people who want to "age-in-place?"
10 months agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.frank12 months agomore affordable small living spaces.
This city is stuck in 1970s subural development processes.
0 comment1Stjohnsneeds12 months agoAccessibility
Build high rise/apartments that have amenities inside or nearby. Have better public transport to and from the city that’s free that runs multiple times per hour
0 comment5Downtown Taxpayer12 months agoAgain, clear sidewalks and in front of bus stops in winter.
0 comment2JoshSmee12 months agoIndoor gathering spaces
This comes up all over this consult, but an indoor public space downtown would be a huge asset for seniors as a place to gather particularly when weather is not conducive. A library is the obvious one but there are other options.
0 comment3JoshSmee12 months agoMore public seating
This came up in the "young families" one as well, but having an ageing parent now living with us has made me very aware of how rare benches are downtown. We have lots within walking distance, but sometimes folks need a break!
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Share What is the biggest change or improvement that should be considered for Downtown St. John's? on Facebook Share What is the biggest change or improvement that should be considered for Downtown St. John's? on Twitter Share What is the biggest change or improvement that should be considered for Downtown St. John's? on Linkedin Email What is the biggest change or improvement that should be considered for Downtown St. John's? link
What is the biggest change or improvement that should be considered for Downtown St. John's?
10 months agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.EM10 months agoSupport for Duckworth. Water street is flourishing with the mall while many Duckworth businesses have drowned
Signage and events that were supposed to help Duckworth benefit from the mall never materialized. The city has let us all down by letting a large proportion of Duckworth businesses die off while only supporting the mall these last few years. It has made our downtown core smaller and less diverse
0 comment0DownTowner12 months agoPedestrian Mall
Make the pedestrian mall a more permanent fixture, improving the quality of the experience by having more planters instead of orange barricades and more street vendors / activities / art.
2 comments9JoshSmee12 months agoMake a long-term plan to bury utility lines
Whenever a street gets a re-do, we should be burying the utility lines - both for aesthetic value and for climate resilience.
0 comment3downtownie112 months agoEngage the right people in project planning
Just saw today on VOCM that "Pop-up busker performances will be taking place every Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m". I get that there's a tourist market to cater to in that time slot but what locals are you getting? Anyone who has a job or isnt on vacation is just never going to be able to avail of this. You got the day of the week right, but the time is god awful. The tourists will still be around at 6pm, but you're losing the local engagement who are the people we want to attract downtown 12 months out of the year. Does council not realize people have jobs?
0 comment0TownResident12 months agoClean Up
Walking downtown now feels dirty. Lot of garbage and many vacant buildings look in terrible condition. More resources need to be put into keeping the downtown area clean all year round. Also owners of buildings whether they are vacant or not should be help to a standard to keep them clean and appealing.
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Documents including What We Heard
- What We Heard Downtown Plan.pdf (753 KB) (pdf)
- Downtown St. John's Existing Conditions Maps (10.2 MB) (pdf)
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Background Documents
- Envision St. John's Municipal Plan
- Envision St. John's Development Regulations
- Envision St. John's Municipal Plan Appendices
- Our City, Our Future Strategic Plan
- St. John's Parks & Open Space Master Plan
- Bike St John's Master Plan
- St. John's Affordable Housing Strategy
- St. John's Healthy City Strategy
- Resilient St. John's Community Climate Plan
- Paid Parking Management Strategy
Lifecycle
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Public Engagement
Downtown Neighbourhood Plan has finished this stageJoin the discussion and help shape the Downtown St. John's Secondary Plan.
Attend an in-person public engagement session:
- Pop-Up Engagement – May 25, 11:30am-1:30pm, Atlantic Place Lobby (215 Water Street)
- Public Workshop – Wednesday, June 7 at 7 pm in the Foran Greene Room, 4th Floor, City Hall (10 New Gower Street)
If you are unable to attend the engagement sessions, use the tools on this page to provide your feedback or email your comments to engage@stjohns.ca.
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Feedback Under Review
Downtown Neighbourhood Plan has finished this stageContributions to this consultation are closed for evaluation and review. The project team will report back on key outcomes.
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What We Heard Document Released
Downtown Neighbourhood Plan has finished this stage -
First Light Community Feast
Downtown Neighbourhood Plan is currently at this stage -
Secondary Plan Being Drafted
this is an upcoming stage for Downtown Neighbourhood Plan -
Secondary Plan Released for Public Review
this is an upcoming stage for Downtown Neighbourhood Plan -
Approval of Secondary Plan by Council
this is an upcoming stage for Downtown Neighbourhood Plan -
Amendment to Envision St. John's Municipal Plan
this is an upcoming stage for Downtown Neighbourhood Plan
Key Dates
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23 May 2023
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25 May 2023
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07 June 2023
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21 March 2024
Important Links
Who's Listening
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Council Lead - Downtown St. John's
Phone 576-8243 Email oravencroft@stjohns.ca -
KO
Email kobrien@stjohns.ca -
Planner III - Urban Design and Heritage
Department of Planning, Engineering & Regulatory Services
ACEmail acashin@stjohns.ca -
Phone 770-5035 Email matthew@millsandwright.ca