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The City of St. Catharines invites the public to participate in an Open House and Community Visioning Session for the Ontario Street Corridor Secondary Plan Study.
The background report for the study has been released and published at www.stcatharines.ca/ontariostreetstudy and the City’s EngageSTC page. The open house will take place on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 in the Concord and Chardonnay Rooms at the Holiday Inn and Suites, 327 Ontario St. in St. Catharines. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with display materials available for viewing. A presentation of the background study will begin at 6 p.m., with discussions to follow.
The open house will formally commence the community visioning phase of the project. Community input gathered through the process will play a key role in shaping the future direction of the Ontario Street corridor.
The Ontario Street Corridor Secondary Plan Study is a land-use planning initiative being led by the City’s Planning and Building Services Department, in collaboration with consultant NPG Planning Solutions. The aim is to develop a long-term vision, and ultimately a land use plan, to guide the future redevelopment of the former General Motors lands located on the east and west sides of Ontario Street, immediately south of Carlton Street. While centred on the former General Motors properties at 282–285 Ontario Street, the study area also includes the broader Ontario Street corridor, extending from the Queen Elizabeth Way south to Welland Avenue.
In addition to land use, the study will examine a wide range of planning and development considerations, including remediation, transportation, service infrastructure and capacity, complete streets, the environment, the public realm, climate change, urban design, built form, and heritage.
“The future of Ontario Street starts with the community,” said Rojan Mohammadi, the City’s Manager of Community Planning. “This is your chance to help reimagine a key corridor and shape a vision that reflects the needs and aspirations of St. Catharines.”
An initial public open house was held on February 7, 2023; however, the study was paused in April 2024. On November 6, 2025, Mayor Mat Siscoe issued a mayoral directive to reinstate the Ontario Street Corridor Secondary Plan Study, and included it as part of the 2026 Mayor’s Budget, with the goal of having a proposed plan come to City Council for consideration by November 2026.
“We need to keep moving forward with public consultation on the Ontario Street Secondary Plan, because this is the community’s opportunity to help shape what this corridor becomes,” said Mayor Mat Siscoe. “The decisions we make today will define Ontario Street for decades to come. The more voices we hear now, the stronger and more reflective that vision will be.”
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