Brandonites favour inward, upward development of city

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/08/2022 (1162 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“The intent of the city plan is to provide that high-level policy structure to guide the city in how we manage the growth and change, so that it provides as many benefits to the community in general while mitigating the potential downsides that might go in it.”

— Andrew Mok, senior planner with the City of Brandon

In preparation for Phase 1 of the new Brandon City Plan, city administration took careful steps to reach a large number of people through online and in-person surveys, by hosting community-themed workshops, posting to social media, community outreach through calls and emails, and meeting with local groups and organizations.

To the city’s credit, planners made solid efforts to reach out to ordinary Brandonites to find out what kind of city they want Brandon to become as the decades pass, and hundreds of people participated.

What city planners were told, and what came out in its Phase 1 report this week, was eye-opening — particularly considering the ongoing discussions over city hall’s contemplation of borrowing millions of dollars to aid further development in the city’s south end.

There were several themes that came out of these community discussions and surveys; questions were raised and comments made on everything from housing and traffic to accessibility, downtown safety, development, parking and environmental concerns.

When it came to housing, respondents suggested there is a need for more options in Brandon, including tiny homes, one-bedroom or basement suites, along with more student and senior housing developments.

It was also suggested that Brandon have larger-scale developments with higher density, rather than low-density urban sprawl. This was particularly noted under a heading in the report titled “Corridor Intensification,” where there was a voiced desire for main city corridors to have better pedestrian, cyclist and public transit access, and a call for higher-density housing on such corridors.

“Build up, not out” was the clarion call.

There was commentary on the need for more bike lanes, and a public safety campaign to provide better education for drivers about their responsibilities on city streets. Respondents spoke of a need for a future Brandon to have “less reliance on cars and sprawl” and to fix the roads and back lanes in existing neighbourhoods so that people can use their garages instead of parking on the street.

Many respondents said they wanted to see more urban trees and green spaces for citizens, along with better recycling programs and more garden spaces.

The report reads much like a laundry list of wants and wishes for a city that invests in the health of its citizens, and a vision of a more environmentally friendly community and a greener city hall in any future developments.

More directly, residents told the city they would like to see improvements to existing neighbourhoods and districts, along with more sustained efforts to address homelessness and drug addiction in downtown Brandon.

On the surface at least, this new vision appears to contrast with that of the current city hall, which is moving forward with plans to borrow upwards of $30 million from the Bank of Montreal to finance the construction of upgrades to wastewater infrastructure in the southwest part of town.

As we have reported, once approved, that debenture will be paid off over 20 years at an interest rate of up to 7.5 per cent and an annual payment of up to $2.943 million. To help pay for the debenture, residents will be levied a fee that would essentially double water utility rates for city residents.

The city says these improvements are vital to the ongoing development of residential and commercial properties on the city’s south end.

It rather feels like a tale of two competing visions for the city — one that looks more inward and upward, and one that looks outward. But it’s not quite so simple. Growth is necessary for Manitoba’s second-largest city, as new development lays the foundation for our future potential. And thoughtful, creative leadership is necessary to take competing interests and find a way forward — something that all aspiring and incumbent council candidates should heed in the weeks that lie ahead.

As we have said before, there’s a lot of issues that need addressing in this city, and they all require time, commitment and most of them an infusion of cash. The danger is that we lose sight of the need to nurture and improve what we already have, as we reach for that new and shiny future.