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Waterloo, Ontario
Working with the City of Waterloo, a diverse group of stakeholders and the public, SHIFT led the development of the Laurel Greenway Master Plan. The plan outlines an exciting vision, concept, and approach to establish the Laurel Greenway as a nearly 2-kilometre-long linear park running through the heart of Uptown Waterloo. The document, adopted by Council in 2023, serves as a dynamic, long-term guide for future expansion and improvements to the City’s public realm. The Master Plan brings forward a program that is flexible, innovative, in the public interest, built on partnerships, and can be phased over time.
The design concept for the Greenway focuses on creating a continuous experience along its length, defining both specific space typologies and the linear connection between them. Individual spaces are scaled and laid out to provide needed amenities, enhance natural features, support placemaking, and improve function to support the space as an active transportation route and a destination. One key part of the concept is defining an identity for the Greenway, ensuring it can evolve into a recognizable space within the City. This identity is strongly tied to placemaking and the use of a strong planting strategy throughout the project area.
Implementation strategies were also considered through the process and recommendations are presented on a short-, medium- and long-term timeline. As a this a large and complex area of land use, the Laurel Greenway Master Plan also considers planning policy as a strategy for implementation, recommending the use of existing and proposed planning tools to achieve the vision over time.
Ultimately, the Laurel Greenway Master Plan sets out an ambitious way forward for a critical piece of the City’s public realm. In anticipation of the increased density planned for Uptown Waterloo, the Laurel Greenway will become a destination that offers valuable parkland to provide a continuous, playful, and immersive public space for all to access and enjoy.