The North Shore Business Improvement Association says it supports a facelift that’s being proposed for the Tranquille Corridor.

The city is looking to do streetscaping at a cost of up to $3.5 million, and it would hope to cover most of it with grant funding. The work would be done on a stretch of Tranquille Road between Larkspur Street and Elm Avenue, covering about 1.3 kilometres.

“The proposed Tranquille Road streetscape project includes replacing trees. And they’re essentially failing due to the age and growth in the trees. They’re above grade. We would replace irrigation that is no longer working. Unfortunately that means removing sidewalks. It’s not brick like downtown here, so we have to remove sidewalks to put irrigation in,” capital projects manager Darren Crundwell said.

“Part of what we looked at with this though was also, when we do that, to improve the pedestrian and safety mobility around that area. And it also includes other miscellaneous improvements. Benches, and signage.”

Crundwell said trees on that block were installed in the 1960s and 1970s, and said while some are healthy, others are dying. He said the sidewalks are “generally in good shape” but would have to be redone for irrigation to be installed.

The first phase, between Larkspur and Knox Street, will start next year if $750,000 in grant funding is approved. Phase one would cost $1 million, and the city would pay the remaining $250,000 through contingencies already in the budget. The funding model for future phases has not been determined.

In a letter to staff, NSBIA executive director Jeremy Heighton said the corridor has seen a “historic lack of infrastructure upgrades,” and says this project shows a commitment by the city to change that.

This project serves our neigbourhood by underscoring our commitment to revitalize our area and build toward a better set of healthy community outcomes,” Heighton said.