Bayfield Street Community Design Plan

The City is preparing a Community Design Plan (CDP) to guide the transformation of Bayfield Street and surrounding areas into vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhoods. The Bayfield Street Community Design Plan will occur in multiple phases, with community and stakeholder engagement activities planned throughout the project.

As properties redevelop and the City invests in streets, transit, public spaces, and infrastructure, the CDP will help ensure these changes work together. The plan will balance community priorities and provide clear direction for future development and public improvements along Bayfield Street.

Get involved! Current engagement opportunities:

As the City plans for the future of the Bayfield corridor, we want to hear from the people who live, work, shop, and travel here. Your feedback will help shape how this area grows—balancing change with what already works.

Stay informed about project updates and future engagement opportunities by clicking the "Subscribe" button.

Community Vision Workshop (Feb. 5, 2026):

Drop in to East Bayfield Community Centre, (80 Livingstone St. E), from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 5, 2026. At the workshop:

• The City and its consultant will share a updates on the project, highlight the work completed so far, including key insights gained, and the next steps in the process.
• You’ll be able to take part in discussions about the proposed vision for the corridor. Explore presentation boards featuring maps, infographics, and detailed content, and speak directly with subject matter experts.
• There will be opportunities to provide direct feedback on the project, like written comment cards or posting notes directly on the presentation materials.
• View the display materials that will be presented at the Community Vision Workshop.

Online Survey (open until Feb. 26, 2026):

Take the online survey. The purpose of the survey is to collect feedback and help identify key issues and concerns that should be addressed through the project. The survey is open until February 26, 2026.

Winterfest Pop Up (Feb. 7, 2026):

Attend a pop up information session at Winterfest, where City staff will be promoting the online survey and answering questions about the project. They will be located near the fire pit warming zone. The project team will be located in Centennial Park on Saturday, February 7, 2026 from 12 to 2 p.m.

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About the Bayfield Street Community Design Plan:

The Bayfield Street CDP is a community planning and design exercise that will create a community vision and development framework to guide the future growth and redevelopment anticipated along the Bayfield Street corridor (from Sophia Street to the northern City limit).

The Bayfield Street Community Design Plan is anticipated to be completed in summer 2026.

Plan Goals:

The overarching objectives are to foster sustainable growth and development which implements the policies and guidelines of the City's Official Plan 2051, at a neighbourhood and corridor scale.

Objectives for the Bayfield Street Community Design Plan include:

• Integration of transportation planning, land use planning, and community design
• Enhancing Bayfield Street’s identity as a regional commercial centre
• Establishing a clear vision and flexible development framework for mixed-use redevelopment of the various property and built form conditions found along the corridor
• Ensuring adequate and accessible community services and amenities

Project Schedule and Progress

The Bayfield Street CDP is planned to occur over two phases:

Commercial Market Study (Phase one)

(March to June 2025)

• The City and its consultants conducted stakeholder interviews with select landowners along the Bayfield Street corridor.
• The purpose of the study was to consider how commercial uses may be maintained and enhanced along the corridor over the long term as the city continues to grow and intensify.
• This study looked at how much commercial (retail and service) space will be needed in the future as the city grows. It also explored how this car-focused corridor could evolve into a more walkable, mixed-use area with housing, shopping, and services all within easy reach.
• Insights from the Commercial Market Study will support the Bayfield Street Improvements Environmental Assessment (EA).

See the full results of the Commercial Market Study.

Key findings:

• Most of Bayfield Street is still built for cars, not for transit, pedestrians, or cyclists.
• Parking needs and existing leases make it hard for some businesses to adapt.
• Buildings with shops on the ground floor are more expensive to build and harder to rent.
• Large properties with big parking lots could be gradually transformed into mixed-use spaces—with shops and services on the ground floor and housing above, or, with different uses in separate buildings located on the same site. This would help create a more walkable, connected, and vibrant community while keeping Bayfield a key shopping destination.

Growth is coming:

• By 2051, the number of people living in Barrie and nearby areas is expected to grow by over 140,000 people.
• These new residents will need more places to shop, eat, and access services.

Commercial space needs:

• The Bayfield Corridor may need up to 1.2 million sq. ft. of new commercial space by 2051.

Future demands for food retail, non-food retail, and services:

• Food retail (grocery stores, restaurants, etc.): 173,000 sq. ft.
• Non-food retail (clothing, electronics, etc.): 633,000 sq. ft.
• Services (fitness, salons, health clinics, etc.): 381,000 sq. ft.

The Commercial Market Study includes the following recommendations, to be further explored through the next phase of the project:

• Keeping a mix of big stores, smaller shops, and services.
• Allowing both single-use and mixed-use buildings, depending on what makes sense for each site.
• Considering specific incentives or support to help make mixed-use developments financially viable.

Community Design Plan (phase two; current phase)

(August 2025 to July 2026)

The second phase of the project will envision what the corridor could look like in the future. This work includes several engagement points with interest holders and the public, and will occur in several stages:

• Stage 1: Background & Baseline Report
• Stage 2: Visioning (current phase)
  • A Draft Background Review & Vision Reportis available. This report represents an important milestone and brings together work completed to date. It includes:
    • An overview of the study area and corridor conditions, including land use, transportation, built form, public realm, and policy context.
    • Key opportunities and challenges shaping future change along Bayfield Street.
    • A draft vision statement that describes what Bayfield Street could become over the long term.
    • A set of preliminary “big moves”—strategic ideas intended to guide growth, redevelopment, mobility, and placemaking along the corridor.

  • These ideas are not final and are provided to spark discussions with the community and stakeholders, and to test key directions. Feedback received by the City will be used to finalize the findings and recommendations in the report, which will guide the detailed concept development in subsequent stages.

• Stage 3: Concept Development
• Stage 4–6: Plan Drafting, Review, and Adoption