
Last reconstructed in 1978, the City’s downtown streetscapes have served the City well and has contributed to the unique charm and atmosphere of Orillia’s core. Innovative and well designed, the downtown streets have, however, started to show signs of age and will inevitably be in need of repair. In anticipation of this reality, the Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Plan (DOSIP) was envisioned to create a streetscape plan that will inform future detailed engineering design and the reconstruction for the City's main downtown historic streets.
Building on the work undertaken during the last reconstruction project, the DOSIP has endeavored to create a well-designed, environmentally friendly, fully inclusive and accessible streetscape that will further define the City's downtown as a destination environment and contribute to an increasingly vibrant business community.
The DOSIP envisions a multi-functional and multi-modal typology for Mississaga Street and key cross streets that will be implemented through future streetscape and public space improvements. Enhanced connectivity between Mississaga Street and the waterfront will facilitate two-way multi-modal traffic along the corridor, will enhance the tourism attraction ability of the City’s core, and will stimulate new economic opportunities and employment.
Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Project Area
The streetscape project area includes Mississaga Street between Albert Street South and Front Street North, Peter Street between Coldwater Street and Colborne Street, West Street between Coldwater Street and King Street and the waterfront Esplanade, (also known as Lakeview Avenue) between Mississaga Street East and Elgin Street.
Figure 1 – Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Project Area

Background Information |
The Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Plan (DOSIP) Project officially began on July 11, 2018, with an inaugural meeting between the Stantec consulting team and the internal project team. An extensive media campaign was launched which included a project website, media releases, and a social media campaign which provided information on the project initiative and the upcoming information sessions. On August 1, the consulting team held five (5) Key Stakeholder Meetings which consisted of small group sessions designed to encourage focused discussion. Participants included members of Council, Senior City Staff, members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, Active Transportation Committee, and the Downtown Orillia Management Board.
On the evening of August 1, 2018 a Public Information Session and Workshop was held at the Orillia City Centre which provided an opportunity for members of the public to participate in a visioning and brainstorming exercise. The Public Information Session and Workshop attracted approximately 75 participants representing a wide range of backgrounds and interests including business owners, property owners, developers, residents etc. The consulting team also attended the Waterfront Festival held August 10-12, 2018, and the Annual Downtown Orillia Classic Car Show held August 18, 2018. A second Public Information Session and Workshop was held on the evening of January 24, 2019 which attracted approximately 45 participants. The workshop provided the opportunity for the consulting team to present their streetscape concepts which were informed by the discussion and comments received during the August workshop. The streetscape design concepts were shared and discussed with the participants which included a context analysis; flexible “flex” street concept; silva cell technology; materials considerations; street furniture; “flex” streets on Mississaga Street and Peter Street; the waterfront; alleyways and parking lots; and seasonal events and programs.
Designed to inform and engage, ongoing communications have continued throughout the duration of this DOSIP project. The various means of communication throughout the project included press releases and advisories, web page updates, and direct email notifications. The concept designs were made available on the project web site, and have been directly communicated to key stakeholders, workshop attendees and community partners such as the City’s various Boards and Committees, the Downtown Orillia Management Board and the Peter Street Arts Community.
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Highlights |
Furthering the inspirational work undertaken during the reconstruction of Mississaga Street in the late 1970’s, the Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Plan (DOSIP) has endeavored to create a well-designed, environmentally friendly, fully inclusive and accessible streetscape that will further define the City's downtown as a destination environment and contribute to an increasingly vibrant business community.
The DOSIP envisions a multi-functional and multi-modal typology for Mississaga Street and key cross streets that will be implemented through future streetscape and public space improvements. Enhanced connectivity between Mississaga Street and the waterfront will facilitate two-way multi-modal traffic along the corridor, enhance the tourism attraction ability of the City’s core, and stimulate new economic opportunities and employment. In order to further this vision, the key features of the DOSIP include:
- A Flexible “Flex” Street Typology. A flex street essentially eliminates traditional barrier curbs resulting in a relatively consistent grade from the building walls on each side of the street. The removal of traditional curbs will result in a fully accessible, multi-modal, shared streets approach. The travelled portion of the street is also narrowed, reducing the speed of vehicles and providing the opportunity for all modes of transportation to interact symbiotically.
- Peter Street Arts District. The prominence of the Peter Street Arts District as the home of artists, galleries and other arts related enterprises is further recognized and enhanced by the DOSIP. Peter Street provides a distinctive and exceptional sense of place that can be further enriched through creative urban design. These innovative design concepts will continue to define Peter Street’s role as an artistic gathering place.
- Laneways and Alleyways. The downtown’s numerous laneways and alleyways provide a unique opportunity to provide enhanced pedestrian connectivity from the numerous parking areas to Mississaga Street, Peter Street and West Street. It is envisioned that the alleyways could be transformed into inviting walkways through improved surface treatments, unique lighting, street furniture, entrance features, security cameras, enhanced way-finding signage, public art, and patios, resulting in the transformation of an underutilized resource into a functional and welcoming feature.
- Parking. Although a wide variety of opinions were received with respect to vehicular traffic and parking on the downtown streets, the consulting team has recommended maintaining two-way traffic and on-street parking. On-street parking not only provides convenient proximity to businesses, particularly for those with accessibility issues, but has been demonstrated to have a traffic calming effect, reinforcing the multi-modal objective of the flex street design. The current DOSIP design does not propose the elimination of any on-street parking spaces.
- Snow Removal. The Flex street design has been reviewed and considered by the City’s Operations staff which are responsible for maintenance and snow removal within the downtown. Operations staff is in favour of the Flex street concept as the design provides additional room to temporarily store snow until it can be removed. The elimination of curbs reduces obstacles and difficult turning radii that currently present complications to snow plowing efforts. Further, with a widening of the sidewalk and ultimate realignment of boulevard trees, specialized snow removal equipment would no longer be required and standard sidewalk plows and blowers could be utilized.
- Lakeview Avenue / Esplanade. The Stantec design proposes through traffic between Mississaga Street East and Elgin Street and diagonal parking directly adjacent to the park. These elements are separated by a unique landscaping feature creating a safe and pedestrian friendly environment which is directly accessible to the park trail. A unique gateway/water feature is also proposed at the future Colborne Street East intersection which will serve to animate this area of the park and draw pedestrians along the Esplanade.
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Next Steps |
The City has identified the Downtown Streetscape Reconstruction project in the 10-year capital forecast, beginning in 2023, starting with detailed design phase. As the work is extensive in the Downtown, the Detailed Design work will require up to two years to complete. The detailed design and planning for this project is subject to Council approving a budget that includes the projects in those years. The project is proposed to continue each year through to, and including 2028.
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The Final Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Plan |
On March 25, 2019 the final Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Plan was presented to City Council. Further to that meeting, City Council adopted the following resolution on April 1, 2019:
“THAT as recommended in Report DSE-19-14 dated March 19, 2019 from the Development Services and Engineering Department, the Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Plan entitled "Streets for All: Final Streetscape Improvement Master Plan, March 2019", prepared by Stantec's Urban Places and Landscape Architecture, be adopted in principle;
AND THAT the "Streets for All: Final Streetscape Improvement Master Plan" be used to inform future detailed engineering design projects for road reconstruction within the Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Project area.”
- Streets for All: Final Streetscape Improvement Master Plan (Stantec Consulting)
- Downtown Orillia Streetscape Improvement Plan Final Report (Staff Report)
- Streets for All: Re-Imagining Orillia’s Downtown Streetscapes Master Plan Drawings – Final (Stantec Consulting)
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News and Updates |
Orillia Matters Article: You can help Orillia re-imagine downtown streets at upcoming workshop
Orillia Matters Article: Dramatic changes may be in store for downtown streets
Orillia Matters Article: Do you wonder what a re-imagined downtown might look like?
Orillia Matters Article: Plan prepares major changes to Orillia streetscapes
Orillia Matters Article: Downtown Orillia’s Streetscape Reimagined
Orillia Matters Article: City gives downtown revitalization plan a green light
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