Archive for December, 2009
Update from Afar
Dec 31st
Sorry for the utter lack of posts these past 10 days. Xmas and a much needed vacation have been occurring in Ontario (Hamilton to be exact) since the 22nd.
Having been born and raised in Southwestern Ontario it’s amazing how much of a shock to the system coming back has become since I ventured away (Fredericton, NB then Saskatoon) some 8 years ago. Yet, driving on 10 lane highways at 120 km/h plus, walking down Queen St. in Toronto, or seeing the acres and acres of suburbs seems so familiar at the same time.
This trip has re-inforced a number of things for me about this part of Canada, some good some bad. It’s probably bad to do so, as I have been told many times before, but there are so many good comparisons to be made between this part of Canada and Saskatoon. I know, I know, Saskatoonian’s would rather comparisons to Edmonton, Calgary, or Winnipeg (I still remember confused looks while presenting to City Council and using Hamilton as a comparison with respect to our <lack of> recycling!), but even those cities are far behind what smaller urban centres such as Burlington, Oakville, or Kingston are doing.
Anyhow, I’ll be back More >
NIMBYism alive and well in Hampton Village…
Dec 21st
Granted this article only interviews one resident of Hampton Village, I’d like to think he is in the minority on this one.
City Council will consider an application to re-zone a small portion of land in Hampton Village from RMTN to RMTN1, which basically allows for higher density development.
The quote that took me aback, and my officemate, was this (story here):
“It’s hard to say it without sounding a little snobbish. You want to live in a nice area that equals what your income is, and you don’t want to be surrounded by low-income housing. That’s why we didn’t buy something down in the Riversdale area,”
[...]
“If you look out my backyard and you see the tops of these cheap townhouses, it’s definitely going to take away. It may not hurt the value too much, but it will definitely make it harder to sell,”
I’m not sure if this gentlemen is fully aware, but Hampton Village is not a gated community and it is not merely intended for only those who can afford 500K homes. Infact, the range of zoning within Hampton Village has much more diversity than we see in most of our existing neighbourhoods, with smaller lots, and denser development. Furthermore, he More >
If NYC can do it, why can’t we?
Dec 14th
While working away in the lab this morning instead of my usual CBC Radio3 selections to keep me company I came across a great talk on Urban Transportation, as it relates to New York City, by Janette Sadik-Khan, via Gordon Price’s blog. Janette is the Transportation Commissioner for NYC and has overseen one of the most ambitious urban transportation revitalization projects in the world, namely making NYC more pedestrian and cycling friendly. So if you have a spare hour, check out her presentation and the Q&A session that followed:
For me, the take home message was (as one questioner put it) “if you can do it there, you can do it anywhere”. Janette coherently lays out how with just buckets of paint they were able to fundamentally able to change transportation patterns in NYC, while providing more green-space and people gathering places. Most importantly, NYC coupled their changes with an aggressive public education and engagement strategy.
So come-on Saskatoon – let’s get our act together!
Saskatoon Visioning Proposal II: Additional Thoughts
Dec 14th
After some sober second thoughts on the proposed “Community Visioning” report coming before City Council this evening I wanted to expand on a few thoughts that have arisen through both personal reflection and conversations with others.
I am really excited to see this topic appear on the agenda for Council – It is something I strongly believe in and something I spent many, many, many hours talking with people on their doorsteps about. It’s good to see our Admin (and hopefully Council) going down a path that includes a wider community engagement process on the future of Saskatoon. However, there are a few points that need to be clarified and examined closer before this process gets off the ground:
1. The report before Council seems a bit ad-hoc and not all together coherent in what the eventual engagement process will look like. However, I believe it sets out some broad strokes that potentially lend themselves to the development of a great process.
2. I am curious why City Planning is not mentioned within the report and why Corporate Services would be leading a community engagement project. 3. A detailed outline on how the City intends to introduce, promote, and engage residents within the process is lacking, More >
Saskatoon Visioning Proposal
Dec 11th
This looks very promising and exciting, from the City Council Agenda (Section G1, December 14, 2009):
The rest of the report can be accessed here (opens PDF file).
While details are brief within the report, should Council adopt the recommendations and allocate the requested funding let’s hope that City Administration follows through on developing a truly comprehensive and inclusive Community Visioning exercise for the entire city. Currently, Calgary and Winnipeg have embarked on similarly themed visioning exercises (Plan It Calgary and Vision Winnipeg) that are attempting to engage their residents to give input on how their cities will develop over the next 50 years.
The idea of a comprehensive community visioning strategy is something I strongly advocated for during the past election. I generally explained it to Ward 4 residents as a process that gives them a say in how Saskatoon would grow over the next 10, 20, to 50 years. The buy in at the doorstep was tremendous, as the general feedback I received was that residents don’t feel they have any real say in how our City is run and such a process would give them that voice. I know that many others within the City have been pushing for just this type More >
