If a picture says a thousand words, then Whitehorse residents told the city loud and clear their thoughts on the downtown area on Tuesday evening.

A sample of the photographs taken as part of the Downtown Plan project were on display during an open house on the project at the MacBride Museum. The session was hosted by city planners and project consultant UMA Engineering.

With the plan in its beginning stages, the city made disposable cameras available to anyone wanting to take pictures of what they like and even things they don't like about the area.

'I actually got more cameras back than I gave out,' city planner Zoe Morrison said in an interview as approximately 30 people wandered around the room. They were looking at the photos, display maps and writing down their ideas for the downtown.

In the end, 500 photographs were developed and sorted into themes.

Among the more popular items being photographed were the sculpted bike racks, murals and local businesses around the area.

'Hougen's new street-front showed up in almost every roll of film,' she said.

Other pictures showed off musicians performing on Main Street, the riverfront, log skyscrapers and trails throughout the area.

Attached to the photo display were comments submitted by the photographers such as: 'Replace graffiti with murals' and 'You only need a small space to plant beautiful trees.'

Litter, dilapidated buildings and graffiti appear to be issues that residents want addressed through the plan, as many pictures displayed those shots.

Other photographers raised more specific issues like cracks in sidewalks, Morrison said.

'At this point, we're trying to get all the issues out,' she explained.

Paul Davis was among the photographers who showcased some of the issues he has with the downtown, including the slotted sewer grates the city uses.

'These are killers for cyclists,' he said, adding bicycle wheels can often end up between the slots.

Many cities stopped using the slotted grates in the 1970s, he noted.

He wants to see the plan move toward not having excessive vehicle dependence and better public transit and snow-clearing.

'I think they're city-wide problems,' Davis said. 'I think we encounter them, sort of, at their most difficult downtown because we have many employers here and people who live here.'

While there are challenges downtown facing the city, Davis pointed out the neighbourhood also has assets. He mentioned the scenic views, workers and residents of the area who are willing to use public transit and the grid pattern of the neighbourhoods, which needs to be maintained.

'What's happening is we're getting the freeway mentality,' Davis said, then referred to Second Avenue.

'So, if you can believe it, we have a road a four-lane road between the bars and where people live.'

Overbuilt roads like Second Avenue 'are like moats that divide the community,' he said.

Though Davis has continued to bring up these issues numerous times, he said he remains hopeful that changes will happen.

'I just keep on banging away at stuff and over time, yeah, eventually things do get better,' he said.

In addition to the photography project and Tuesday's open house, a workshop on the downtown plan will be held this evening at the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel.

One resident who attended Tuesday's session said he'll present his idea for the city to take the height restriction off of buildings at tonight's event.

He would like to see a certain zoning area for high-rise buildings that would permit Whitehorse to look more like Yellowknife.

'You know, I think that high-rise buildings, they're kind of a beacon of progress,' he said. 'They kind of say this city's moving, it's a vibrant city. We're the capital, the financial centre of the Yukon, so I don't see why not.'

The taller buildings could stir some debate. One of the comments posted on the wall at the open house suggested a size limit on buildings was positive for the downtown.

While he'd like to see taller buildings in the downtown, he also noted there should be an old-town section of the neighbourhoods rather than the current mish-mash of new and period-style structures.

'There's nothing you can take a tourist here and say, This is how Whitehorse was 100 years ago,'' said the born-and-raised Whitehorse resident.

Period buildings keep the character of Whitehorse heritage, read one comment posted at the open house.

'That has sadly eroded over time,' the writer added.

From the input received, a draft plan will be developed, Morrison said.

'So that would be more practical strategies, policy recommendations, ideas of how we would implement the plan,' she said.

That would then come back to another series of meetings likely to be held in early June to look at the recommendations coming out of the May meetings.

'(UMA) will go away, work on the plan,' Morrison said, adding another chance for public input will then come in the fall, with the document wrapped up by the end of the year or in January.