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A Monet inspired impressionist painting. We stand on a curving path next to the water, trees rising beside us. The sun is setting off in the distance behind the shadows that allude to a city. It is the "golden hour" when sunlight bathes so purely across the skies.

This artwork is inspired by a view of the Barrie waterfront, taken from an existing image held by the city. The work gives nods to the bucolic ambience of impressionism, focusing on the pastoral beauty of the waterfront during the golden hour while only hinting to the buildings in the distance.

Original artwork by Surface Impression (Aedán Crooke) for the Information Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

City of Barrie

New award-winning app chock-full of useful city information, news and events

The City of Barrie’s app gives residents access to popular resources, a way to customize what information notices they receive, and a chance to engage in matters affecting them and their community.

View the exhibition

The City of Barrie’s new mobile app, launched in April 2022, gives residents convenient access to a wealth of popular, customizable information and services in the palm of their hand.

By using the app, residents can quickly and easily access information about news and events, road closures and roadwork, municipal elections, council, committees and task forces, garbage and recycling, transit and parking, public notices, jobs and other employment resources, parks and recreation, maps, access to information requests, and the list goes on.

The app also offers direct access to the city’s public engagement hub, an online community engagement platform where residents can share their ideas, provide feedback, learn about municipal projects, policies and initiatives, and even get involved in the legislative process. Through the app, residents can also report service concerns and communicate directly with the city.

Many municipalities have mobile apps, but a few elements that make the City of Barrie’s app stand out are the volume of timely and popular information made available, its user-centric design, and the notification preferences that are available. Users can opt in or out of general-interest notifications and/or ward-specific notifications, and/or service-specific notifications. This gives residents more granular control over the types of notifications they receive and ensures the city provides targeted and relevant information.

The app is one way the City of Barrie is modernizing its services. The city reviews the metrics associated with the app’s usage, for example, in terms of the popularity of different sections, so that it can continually improve it. Available via the App Store and Google Play, it is worth noting that the app was awarded the highly-competitive 2022 Gold MarCom Award in the Digital Media in the Mobile App/Web category.

For more information
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