THUNDER BAY -- The city’s grassy boulevards could soon be flowering gardens, tended to by green-thumbed neighbours.
The municipality is looking for feedback on a new bylaw that, if it passes, would allow residents to plant gardens on public boulevards in front of their homes.
Danielle Thom is a Climate Action specialist with the City of Thunder Bay and said that she’s excited by the possibility of better utilizing some of the city’s green spaces.
“There are lots of residents within our community that are planning to or are already planting on their boulevard,” Thom added.
"The idea for the bylaw started with a deputation to council years ago."
Thom said residents want to see more people using the boulevards to grow plant.
The current draft of the bylaw would allow for non-woody plants up to 60 centimetres high, leaving a clear a radius around trees and some other infrastructure like fire hydrants.
It would also introduce a system for registering boulevard gardens.
Registration is one of the matters city staff are asking about through the survey. They’re also looking for feedback on the idea of growing food on the boulevards.
Thom said there are concerns about contamination of edible plants “because we're using things like salt on the road and our cars are driving past them."
“So, if you are at this point to plant food on the boulevard, we're going to ask you to put a little sign that says to consume at your own risk there just in case people are picking from your garden as they're walking by,” Thom added.
The draft by-law and the survey are both available at www.getinvolvedthunderbay.ca. Paper copies are available at city hall. The survey is open until Oct. 17.
Thom hopes to hear from both gardeners and the general public on the by-law, saying it “has the ability to help beautify Thunder Bay, and help us achieve our climate goals.”
