Pijinuiskaq Park and King St. Streetscape
Pijinuiskaq Park and King St. Streetscape
Taking a project through its full life cycle
This project is the first completed phase of Bridgewater’s Downtown and Waterfront Master Plan, which had the goal of bringing people and investment back to the Town’s historic main street. The objective was to re-invigorate the once thriving retail street and adjacent riverfront as an attractive and vibrant destination to entice residents and visitors out of their cars and spend time in the downtown.
The comprehensive design entirely transformed a 2.5 block stretch of King Street from building face to water’s edge, forcing the demolition of a 1960’s parking structure that hung over the shoreline and obstructed physical and visual access to the river for decades. Fundamentally, the design persuaded business owners and residents to shift away from a car-oriented mindset by successfully demonstrating that public open space, not parking, can been the catalyst for the revitalization of a downtown and an overall healthier community.
Led by our landscape architects, this major infrastructure project involved a cross-disciplinary team of planners, civil, structural, and electrical engineers, working closely together to transform a vehicular-prioritized road cross section and steep sloping riverbank with a 7-meter difference in elevation, into a comprehensive, multi-functional linear park and pedestrian-friendly streetscape. United through a series of innovative interventions, the space provides a variety of opportunities and experiences from street level down to the water, ranging from large gatherings, concerts, and events — to boating, fishing, and quiet contemplation.
Status
Planning - 2012–2013
Completed 2017
Our Role
Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Transportation Planning, Signage & Wayfinding, Civic Branding, Public Engagement.
Client
Town of Bridgewater
Location
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Awards
2018
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects - Award of Excellence Small-Scale Public Landscapes
2013
Atlantic Planning Institute - Award of Planning Excellence, Physical Plans and Design
Credit
All photos this page ©Scotty Sherin
Bringing visitors into the space is the ramp; strategically hinging off the Old Bridge at the centre of downtown, and running perpendicular to the shoreline to provide universal access into the park. Like a promenade, it invites people to linger, with its generous cross-section, landings with wall-mounted benches, and ‘pods’ that extend and cantilever over the river and providing smaller breakaway spaces with uninterrupted views downriver.Cor-ten steel signage and wood details add texture to the waterfront.
The Platform, perched out over the wharf and the river, brings visitors into the space at street level. It accommodates smaller events and gatherings, while providing observation over the park space and the river. From the platform, stairs descend to the wharf, providing additional access at the south end of the park.
Views of downtown King Street and along the LaHave River once blocked by the parkade are now restored.
At the bottom of the ramp is the Wharf; the adaptive reuse of existing timber structure that sat unused beneath the parkade for decades. Re-framed and re-decked, it is backed by continuous linear seat walls and becomes the stage for a terraced amphitheater. The Wharf supports the floating docks, providing opportunities for swimming and boating. Behind the wharf and ramp, the terraced slope, planted with thousands of stabilizing perennial shrubs supports the road above and provides much-needed biodiversity in the downtown.
Lookout pods create spaces for reading, conversation, or enjoying the view.
Gardens and benches bring life and activity to the previously inaccessible waterfront.
Bumpouts along King Street serve as traffic calming and provide spaces for planting and bicycle parking.
Trees soften the streetscape and provide shade for the granite benches that provide seating along the storefronts.