The Red Deer Downtown Business Association will hold its Annual Meeting next week.  Business Revitalization Zone ratepayers and those interested in the Downtown are invited to attend.

The meeting will be held at Monsieur Wong’s (5004 48 Street) on Wednesday, November 26th beginning at 6:00pm.  Those in attendance will have an opportunity to network, learn about the activities of the association and meet the newly elected members to the Board of Directors.

The event will include a presentation by the lead consultants of the Greater Downtown Action Plan update, Lorne Daniel of Grandview Consulting and John Hull of John Hull Architects.

A crew and truck have just begun the installation of new banners downtown.   The new banners reflect the variety of things to see and do downtown and will add a splash of colour to the streetscape.

Working in partnership, the Downtown Business Association and The City of Red Deer have introduced a number of projects to help beautify downtown.  Over the past two summers, new street furniture, including planters that have been adopted by downtown businesses, new street sign blades, wrapping of parking meter poles, the sidewalk patio program, Scenes on a Box (the wrapping of utility boxes with historic photos) as well as initiatives to address graffiti - mural projects and the Graffiti Hotline have been introduced to make downtown more attractive.  Now more than 300 banners will be installed along Ross and 49th Street, Gaetz and 49th Avenues and at the gateways to downtown.

"Much has been done recently to beautify downtown; these colourful, vibrant banners are like the icing on the cake," says Laura Turner, Executive Director of the Downtown Business Association.  This project is another example of the many great things that result from the close working relationship we have with The City, she added.

In 2003, the Downtown Business Association first installed banners along Ross Street and 49th Avenue and another 50 on the North and South thoroughfares as part of the Experience Downtown branding campaign.

The Downtown Business Association has been actively involved in the process to update the Greater Downtown Action Plan.   Board members Al Gamble and Duane Smethurst along with Executive Director, Laura Turner, are members of the Steering Committee that guides the work of the consulting team.

The community has shown a strong interest throughout the process.  Hundreds of people have attended public forums and took the opportunity to provide input and feedback.  The updated vision and action plan will guide future development within the greater downtown.  The final report is expected to go to Council early in the new year.

The plan recommends that downtown remain the focal area for offices, commercial and public buildings.  Neighbouring districts - Railyards and Riverlands - are seen as mixed use areas with medium to high density residential and a diverse riverfront with visitor and convention facilities and attractions.  Each district would have a distinct and complementary character.