Woodstock Streetscape Phase 1

Phase 1 of Woodstock's Streetscape is expected to be completed just before this weekend's annual Streetfest event. (Stacie Eden Photo).

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“I am super-excited.”

Those were the first words out of the mouth of Mayor Jerry Acchione when asked how he felt about the progress on the first part of the city’s downtown revitalization project.

“To see it come from talking about it 10 years ago to what we have today, I am pumped. I am excited to see how clean and accessible it is, and I can’t wait to see the stamping and the sealing. It will make it all just pop and finish it off nicely,” he added.

The Echo has talked to some business owners and residents alike to get their thoughts on how Phase 1 measures up in their minds. The answers range from underwhelming to not bad to amazing. Acchione said he has heard nothing but positives.

“Not a single person has come out and said I don’t like it and I wish it was more. A couple of questions on did we chose the lighting, why did we choose the parking, but nobody saying they don’t like it.”   

While the asphalt stamping will add a different look to Phase 1, it is also the main reason why the project will likely wind up about five weeks behind its original completion date. The city’s Business Improvement Area (BIA) sent an email to affected businesses last Friday.

“As you may have heard, there was a delay in getting the stamp for the patterned asphalt from the US manufacturer. The stamp was ordered in March of 2025, however, due to layoffs at this supplier our stamp was not manufactured. Unfortunately, this only came to light when the contractor arrived in Woodstock to complete the work,” said Kerry Baird, Downtown Development Officer with the organization.

The barricades west of Riddell and east of Wellington will be removed temporarily on July 18 for Streetfest. Dundas Street could best be described as a ghost town during construction, but Acchione said the event couldn’t come at a better time and he’s confident the community will be there in big numbers.

“The amount of interest, how many people are asking when downtown will be opened up. There is a lot of excitement from residents in Woodstock in general, just to get down and see it.”

The mayor added now is the time for Woodstock and area residents who have never been downtown to make it a habit and get to know the businesses.

“Get down, take a look and check out all the businesses. The number of times I hear businesses comment that they get asked if they just opened, and they’ve been here for years, means people are not coming downtown as much as we’d like. It’s going to be bright, safe and accessible and we have lots of parking.”

Many businesses on Dundas have seen a drop in sales, be it minor or in some cases considerable, something Acchione is confident will turn around beginning this weekend, but the main complaint from several shop owners was the lack of communication regarding updates on construction. For example, stores were told the sidewalks in front of their businesses would be closed to foot traffic the same day they were shut down. Acchione said he too was concerned and changes will be made going forward.

“We’ve certainly learned from some of the lack of communication that was transmitted over the different levels. We were going out a lot in social media and putting it on our website. Unfortunately, some businesses weren’t connected with us through the website or our direct email campaign, only through the BIA.”

Acchione said it has been a learning process but is confident businesses will be in a better spot for Phase 2. Colleen Collins is the city’s manager of communications and said there was a plan that identified several tactics, all of which were completed.

“While we were pushing out the updates through the website to the people who subscribed to the page, we didn’t realize that many of the businesses weren’t subscribed to the page for updates and we have started sending them directly via email as of late June. We will continue to improve this for future phases.”

The BIA sent out another update on Monday, saying Phase 1 is expected to be completed by July 17, just before the Echo’s release date. 

“The project was ahead of schedule until we had quite a few rainy days and a supplier issue, which came to light very late in the project. The current road closure for Phase 1 will be reopened after Streetfest, allowing for local traffic just like the rest of Dundas currently is.”

Phase 2 will close to all vehicle traffic shortly after Streetfest until the fall and the start date for it could be between July 21 and August 6. The affected area is Dundas Street from west of Graham to west of Light. 

“We have learned some lessons from Phase 1 with regards to marketing efforts to support the entire downtown which will be implemented for Phase 2,” added the update.