Brady Green Stairs project to transform concrete parkette into green walkway

Construction is underway downtown to transform what was once a concrete parketteand an underground storage unit into a park and link to Memorial Park.

The City of Greater Sudbury is currently working on what it calls the Brady Green Stairs project.It's where the off ramp from Brady Street meets the split at Elgin and Durham Streets.

It's a project in the Downtown Sudbury Master Plan, with aprice tag of$1.2 million.

"It's intended to provide a park spaceand a green link between Durham and Elgin and the Memorial Park," manager of community and strategic planning, KrisLongstonsaid.

He says an underground storage unit, previously used by the city's recreation department was demolished.The hydro vault that is on the siteremains, whilethe former Durham Street parkettewillbetransformed.

The off ramp for motorized traffic is open during construction.

"There's quite a bit of engineering work that's going on in a relatively small space there," Longston said.

He added thatmost of the cost for the projectis going towardstructural and engineering workdue to the ramp and the proximity to Durham Street.

"There was some significant engineering work that was requiredto shore up the road, to demolish the building and to maintain the hydro vault.."

"The end result will be repairs to the structural integrity, but also theparketteand downtown public space that Brady Green Stairwill provide," he said.

Longstonsays despite the project being labelled theBrady Green Stairs project there won't be stairs. Instead an accessible pedestrian ramp will be added.

"In order to make the project AODA[Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act] compliant, it's actually going to be a ramp, not stairs," he said.

Along with the pedestrian ramp, the final project will include seating opportunities, green space and a link to nearby Memorial Park. It's expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

"The hope is definitely that it provides not only a meeting space but also that nice pedestrian access from the commercial area on Durham Street down into Memorial Park."