Splash of colour planned for culturally diverse Wyandotte Town Centre

Astretch of WyandotteStreet East is set to get a colourful makeover nextspring, aimed at representing the area's cultural diversity.

"People use the word multicultural," saidTamara Kowalska, chair of the Wyandotte Town Centre BIA. "You can come here and hear lots of different languages and have meals from different parts of the world."

• Iraqi bookkeeper crunches numbers on Wyandotte Street
• Wyandotte Street shop churning out famed Mosul-style meat pie
• Chicken Inn: A Windsor outpost of Baghdad's Swiss Chalet

The city approved amillion-dollarstreetscapingproject in January for the area ofMcDougallto Gladstone avenues. It includes colourful fabrics that will be woven above the street level.

The idea is to distinguish the busy marketplace area, capitalizing on thealreadystrong sense of community there.

"We really want to make sure we're providing public spaces where people feel comfortable to get together and actually I think this is one of the neighbourhoods where this is already happening," said Kowalska.

The concept stemmed from a design competition by the BIA.

"We came up with what we call the 'community thread' which sort of stitches together the elements of the community together,' explained DanAmicone, owner of Architecttura Inc.

He added the colourful street banners are part of phase one of the project. The next two phases will add street furniture to the area and upgrades to bus stops and other communal locations.

"It'll be a huge difference," he said, addingthe banners are very unique and not typically seen in a city of this size.

Amiconesaid he hopes to open thecontract for bidding in the spring, and award a tender by April or May. Both he and Kowalskawould like to see the banners above the street by fall of 2018.

"We don't want to impact the business, there's lots to it," said Amicone, adding that the company will work with local shop owners to make sure they lessen the disruption on the street.

"It's actually the perfect place to open a business," said Kowalska, who touts the walkability ofthe area and access to public transit.

"It already does feel like a marketplace we're just going to accentuate that."