Tyler Knight – Change in Orillia

If there was one thing about Orillia you could change, what would it be?

If I could change one thing about Orillia it would be that the main street is a pedestrian street. My grandfather actually had that done in the 70’s when he was on the BIA board and it was shut down after a month not realizing it was making a difference.

In my eyes, you need to give that a full year or two to see the progress, and I know that Orillia out of all places would be the place to do something like that. It would just be a very special downtown with that. It adds to the ambiance and the feel of the downtown when you don’t have to try and fight for a parking spot on the main street.

So, the flip side of that question is, if there was one thing you would never change about Orillia, what would that be?

One thing I would never change about Orillia is the community. There is nothing like Orillia.

I’ve lived in a couple different places, I’ve visited a lot of places and nowhere has the community that Orillia does. For a town of this size and this location, I mean there’s something special here and I don’t know what that is. “There’s something in the water” is what I always say.

Everybody is always willing to help another person, another organization, no matter what. No matter how many people have donated previously there’s always more that they’re willing to give. It’s just a great community and I’m really proud to be a part of it.