Dunlop Street Revitalization

Envision-Tatham was retained by the City of Barrie to assist with the streetscape design and visualization of the Dunlop St. Environmental Assessment (EA) in 2014. The EA concluded that Dunlop Street would be redeveloped as a ‘flexible’ street focused on ‘pedestrian-first’ principles to balance pedestrian, vehicular, business, event programing, and tourism needs.

In 2016, Envision-Tatham in partnership with Tatham Engineering, successfully advanced the streetscape design between High and Poyntz Streets, through a consensus building process with the City, BIA and the public. The resulting streetscape blends pedestrian, retail and parking boundaries to permit the relocation of bollards and other features to re-define boulevard use based on need. LID objectives were incorporated by diverting road water into underground soil cells that support street trees in uncompacted soil, while cleansing and storing storm water.

Through spatial reorganization and the use of contemporary but historically respectful materials, the new Dunlop Street redefines Barrie’s identity and transforms the downtown core into an engaging pedestrian-friendly destination that facilitates patios, outdoor retail and events. With a total construction value of $14M, the project was substantially completed in the fall of 2020.