Whatever critics might say about the current council, one thing is inarguable: downtown Huntsville has never looked so good. I realize that the town has not done this alone. Partnerships between the Town, the BIA and the King William Association have resulted in many of the improvements.” It speaks well to the co-operative spirit that exists amongst those groups.

Starting at the Muskoka Road 3 exit off Hwy. 11, all the way through downtown to Hwy. 60 there is a beautiful, uplifting sense of continuity. There is nothing hodge-podge about the design or the execution. Huntsville is vastly improved visually and it’s become far more pedestrian-friendly in a very short time.

The collection of small feature gardens, the attractive stone work and the seating that is offered along King William Street breaks the landscape up into manageable bits. It’s akin to being in an art gallery and being able to stop and contemplate one piece of artwork before moving on to the next. The new ‘greening’ of River Mill Park makes me excited to see how it will look when completed. All in all, it has given me an increased sense of pride and enjoyment about living in Huntsville.

Future accomplishments for this administration are still to be written, but what it has done so far has significantly improved the town’s function and appearance. For a town that is so reliant on tourism as an economic driver, how we look relates directly to how well we hold our own in these challenging economic times.

Kudos to everyone involved.

Dale Peacock,
Huntsville