[00:52.28]Thank you all for coming to our community meeting.
[00:55.40]As you know, we are excited to unveil our improvement plan as we look forward to the influx of tourists in the summer months.
[01:02.60]I’ll start with a quick overview of the main points of interest in the area for anyone who may not quite know his or her way around yet, and then I’ll get into the improvements made.
[01:13.72]First off is my favorite, the Science Museum, which is on the corner of Saint George Road.
[01:19.60]If you have not visited it yet, I encourage you to go before the busy season.
[01:24.28]It is absolutely spectacular - there is even a flight simulator you can try out!
[01:30.43]Just west of the Science Museum is the National History Museum.
[01:34.55]It’s a site not to be missed as well, with each floor devoted to a different era in our nation’s history.
[01:41.23]There are special exhibits for children with interactive games and fun history lessons, too.
[01:47.79]If you’re looking for parking, it is available on the intersection of Queen Street and South King Street in the Car Park.
[01:55.75]Standard hourly and daily rates do apply.
[01:58.95]The best place for souvenirs is the Shopping Mall, though it gets extremely busy during peak times.
[02:05.35]You can get there from the tube, or the entrance on Timber Road, just south of Cornwell Road.
[02:12.07]This area has students everywhere, usually from the Primary School across the street from the Shopping Mall.
[02:18.63]Classes often take field trips and engage in guided tours through the area.
[02:23.71]So that’s the overview of the main sites and hopefully by now I’ve given you a general idea of the area.
[03:05.35]Now I’m going to outline the improvements we have made in our efforts to make the experience even better for each and every one of our visitors.
[03:14.81]You probably noticed when you first drove into the Car Park this morning, that there is now additional signage to help avoid confusion.
[03:22.97]The directions were not entirely clear at first, so we have increased the number of one-way signs indicating the correct direction of traffic flow.
[03:31.89]Not far from there, in line with our mission of giving back to the community, we constructed a brand new playground for the Primary School.
[03:40.37]It is really something to be excited for - the equipment is state-of-the-art and includes swings, a small climbing wall, and even an obstacle course.
[03:50.86]Now we’ll head north and take a look at the Science Museum.
[03:54.90]In response to our feedback from past visitors to the museum, there is now free information available outlining not only upcoming IMAX showings, but also natural wonders like meteor showers, eclipses, and other cool natural events.
[04:12.37]The Science Museum isn’t the only Museum improving the experience of its visitors.
[04:18.25]The National History Museum has added an entire new wing to its facility to accommodate the large crowds of people gathering to see the Civil War exhibit, inventions timeline exhibit, and other wonderful sections of the museum.
[04:33.21]The increase in space will definitely give a more calm, comfortable experience for visitors.
[04:40.05]And finally, remember when there was actually a line at the mall entrance from the Tube Station?
[04:46.09]It was terrible trying to get anywhere from the Tube because foot traffic got so backed up sometimes.
[04:52.93]We have addressed that by adding another entry point into the mall from the other end of the platform to disperse the crowd.
[05:01.19]So those are the major improvements we have made.
[05:04.43]Clearly having too many people that want to visit and enjoy what our community has to offer the public is a good problem to have, and I am confident that we have made the changes necessary to accommodate the growing interest in the area.
[05:17.71]As always, we welcome any questions, comments, or concerns about the new improvement plan.
[05:24.11]In a few minutes I will open up the floor for questions but you can also contact me or any other board member by email or through the city website.
[05:33.43]Thank you for coming, and I now encourage you to stay for the Questions and Answers panel occurring between now and 10.30...
