At its April 28 meeting, Huntsville Council approved a change to the location and installation of the Unity Circle.
The Circle will be made of metal, and while it will maintain its design, it will be installed upright along the walkway between Trinity United Church and Town Hall.
According to Councillor Helena Renwick, who has been championing the initiative along with Councillor Scott Morrison as a way of presenting Huntsville as a more inclusive town, the previously proposed location at the intersection on Dara Howell Way presented some challenges. She said there were concerns with both the cost of installation and its maintenance in a high-traffic area.
Renwick said the cost involved in installing the Unity Circle on the ground was much higher than anticipated and said it would be a lot less costly to install it off the ground.
Morrison said the price could have been brought down by using an inferior and less costly paint, but even people who were supportive of the project were not comfortable driving over it. Morrison said staff came up with the idea of installing it along the walkway. He also said they’d be working with municipal staff on a process to be able to honor some of the marginalized persons the community has lost.
“When we really thought about it, we loved the idea behind the pavement, but for people to stop and take selfies right on the road is not as safe as walking down this path, being near our Town Hall, taking selfies, and spreading the word around of us being an inclusive town,” said Morrison.
“The location that we’ve looked at is actually directly behind the stone that has the land acknowledgment on it with the little moccasins,” noted Renwick, referring to the area as a unity walkway.
Councillors heard that the church had been consulted, and the majority, with the exception of Councillor Cory Clarke, approved the new location for the Unity Circle as well as the modifications to the installation.
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A great solution and beautiful design! Well done!