Our competitive advantage is that we’ve not yet adapted to large urban growth, but we have that opportunity now. Or we can be “a mid-size city with big city problems.”
Traffic congestion is about to explode in Regina. We are only 11km from top to bottom, or west to east. Sprawl will make commute times worse. We’ll get Calgary’s problems.
Portland is a better example of what to do. Infill, transit, pedestrianism and cycling. Stretch out sidewalk, and narrow the roads.
Plan for cars- you get car oriented streets, signs, buildings, city, greater distances, so you then NEED a car! Cycle.
Plan for PEOPLE! People streets, buildings, city, shorter distance, less infrastructure.
16% in SK spent on transportation of total household expenditure (2008 StatsCan)
People value going home for supper with their kids. Some go home for lunch, and that will be lost in a bigger city that is not mixed use in its neighborhoods.
Walkscore.com
Check out neighborhood amenities if you buy real estate. Walkable neighborhoods are worth more in a world with increasing gas prices.
Zoned Out by Jonathan Levine.
Jennifer Keesmat continues with her presentation. She urges those with different political views to look at this mound of evidence.
The market is producing what regulations in planning allows for. Regulations have to change to get a better product to market. The market is not demanding badly planned homes and cities, but that’s what is available to consumers.
Our nice wide streets lets us infill with Urban Repair. Complete streets.
Plan for nearness.
Living within your means
Quality of life
Prosperity
Have a high level of transit service on Albert St. and Broad St. to provide fast service that is in demand.
Affordable housing. Integrate with other housing. Immigration.
Chris Szarka, City Councilor:
Mixed use isn’t here, and makes for empty buses at many times of the day. It makes an infrastructure deficit. Minus forty isn’t walkable he says, it builds a mentality of commuting in a car. No nightlife in downtown, how do we change that?
Dr. Thomas Chase: how can we build on vision of the founders of the city?
Campus sustainability is in the Master Plan for the UofR.
Honourable Dr. Lynda Haverstock, Tourism Sask:
Thrilled to be here, Jennifer is preaching to the converted in this room. For generations we’ve taken for granted the wonders around us. Some are in ill repair now.
Older generations gave more than we have so far.
Taxation is unpopular, but why are we complaining? Spend money creatively, for the greater, long term good.
Weeds theme song, little boxes, and Paved Paradise came to her mind when looking at suburbia photos during presentation. Yes, the former Liutentant Governor watches TV about pot dealing Nancy.
Dustin Browne, Youth Peer Homes: even if it’s minus forty, poor youth still need to get around and walk or take transit. They have bus passes.
It’s not safe to get by bike from North Central to downtown though, the bike paths don’t work for that. Can’t even dream about buying a house right now as a poor young person. Affordable single person dwellings downtown, is impossible right now. Have to focus on aboriginal youth, or our planning is dead in the water. Take it into account in everything Design Regina does.
Jennifer says you can extend the walkable season by building better, and thinking in a different way. Don’t orient on the automobile.
Small group in Portland thirty years ago stopped an expressway, and got bike lanes and bike to work weeks.
Plan differently, or become intentional about change.
Questions:
No geographical barriers to stop sprawl.
Transit, how can we link Albert St. and Broad St., and could we make another downtown neighbourhood, mixed use, and build up
Value is infrastructure multiplied by time. Infrastrcture is most efficient if it is used all the time, by lots of people.
Stupid to build out, and go to Feds for money, after causing a problem.
Urban farming, mixed use. Unfortunately Mike O’Donnell has staked his position on the opposite of this.
Curt wants sidewalks fixed and cleared for year round use. Encourage kids to walk.
Motorbikes are a dense form of transportation, we need more. Vietnam has millions of motorbikes.
Mike, from here, but lived in Victoria, young person, moved back here, misses Victoria only for not needing a car.
Urban planner, here for 120 days. Walks to work downtown. Not so vibrant at 8pm.
20,000 downtown office workers.
8 to 80, planning. Downtown plan is called Walk to Work.
Susan Burley, she walks to work from Cathedral. Integrate North Central with other neighborhoods. It should cost less to turn parking lots into housing or useful spaces downtown. Knows the public warm spots.
Put transit near warm public spaces. The main library is one. YMCA is another. Victoria Park, don’t cut down trees.
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff 
winter
What is your comment in response to though? Not many people are eager to see Winter, but as Councilor O’Donnell said, “embrace winter”, it beats whining about it for 6 months and beyond.