Downtown reconstruction, arena refurbishment celebrated in Goderich

The nearly two-year project to reconstruct Goderich’s Courthouse Square is 95 per cent complete, but drivers can finally drive around the famed downtown street complete with widened sidewalks, and two lanes of one-way traffic on Oct. 8, 2026 in Goderich, Ont. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

It’s been two summers since anyone could drive around the entirety of Goderich’s Courthouse square, but last week the construction barriers finally came down, and people could cruise downtown Goderich once again.

“People are actually celebrating their first ringer, right? We still call it a ringer here, driving around the Square. There were people celebrating, claiming that they were the first person to do a ringer around the new Square. So, that’s how excited people are in the community,” said Goderich’s mayor Trevor Bazinet.

Work to replace 100 year old sewer and water pipes under Goderich’s Courthouse Square started on May 12, 2025. Half the square was closed to traffic at a time, as crews dug up and replaced the aging infrastructure.

While they were at it, downtown sidewalks were widened, intersection signage and bump-outs were added, and for the first time ever, driving lanes were painted on the one-way circular downtown street.

“It’s a legit two lane pathway for people to get around the Square now. It was kind of a free for all before. With the wider sidewalks, it provides more accessibility for our pedestrians, and people with accessibility needs. We’ve added more accessible parking on the spokes of the Square, as well,” said Bazinet.

The Downtown reconstruction project cost about $11 million, and will receive it’s final top coat of asphalt next spring.

Bazinet says the project was on time, and on budget.

“It was a long process, Two years is a long time, but I’ll tell you, everyone was really positive about it, and the support that the businesses received was incredible. So, I can’t thank our business owners enough for their patience,” said Bazinet.

Across town, a project of a different kind is being celebrated this weekend. The grand reopening of the Goderich Memorial Community Centre. The former arena was closed in January 2025, due to required safety and accessibility upgrades.

Late last year, community groups joined forces, and volunteers did the majority of the work to get the 77-year-old building reopened as a multipurpose community centre.

“We’ve got floor hockey in here. We’ve got conversations underway with Minor Baseball. We’ve got wrestling in here next week. We got Comic-Con coming back. We’ve got a Home Show coming in. We’ve got rentals upstairs. Shuffleboard. Pickleball. I’m really looking forward to the next 12 months to see what we can make of this,” said Randy Carroll, and Matt Hoy, Co-Chairs of the Goderich Memorial Community Centre.

A community led board will run the facility, while Goderich retains ownership of the building.

Carroll says Goderich’s service groups have spent $133,000 so far to refurbish the old arena, and have raised $38,000 towards their $750,000 fundraising goal.

“We just do like anyone would do with a building of this age, you just work on it as you can afford to work on it. It’s a good start. We’re in a better place than we thought we’d be, that’s for sure,” said Carroll.

A grand reopening celebration for the Goderich Memorial Community Complex is happening Saturday, Oct. 10 starting at 2 p.m.