Despite some opposition, Brandon residents showed overwhelming support for active transportation and community growth during Thursday evening’s city plan event.
More than 70 residents filled the Brandon Curling Club’s upper lounge at the Keystone Centre for the first city plan event since March, when a confrontation between attendees and city staff at a previous session led to the temporary cancellation of consultations for the project.
A group of citizens confronted staff and accused them of trying to implement elements of a conspiracy theory surrounding 15-minute cities.
The concept of 15-minute cities proposes communities be designed in a way that allows residents to access all necessary amenities and services in 15 minutes or less of travel time. The conspiracy theory alleges a plan to assign people to zones within their community they’re not allowed to leave.
The first member of the public to speak was Rick Macl, part of the group that confronted city staff in March.
He criticized the city for pursuing growth and trying to attract new residents without working harder to reduce the cost of living. He said originally coming from Winnipeg, the property taxes in Brandon were “insane” and decried upcoming increases to Brandon’s water utility rates.
Macl brought up 15-minute cities while speaking, saying they aren’t a conspiracy theory and the city’s actions show it is pursuing that goal.
While kicking off the meeting, Brandon’s director of planning and buildings, Ryan Nickel, said when the process to design a new city plan started, thought was given to how to generate engagement from the public.
Nickel thanked those attending for their time and consideration, and said he hoped people had come because of a variety of interests and opinions. He said he hoped the event would be a safe environment for everyone to address their concerns.
“We want to acknowledge that we had a pause,” Nickel said. “We know there was a lot of passion.”
After an introduction to the concept of a city plan and how it’s made, city planner Sonikile Tembo and Nickel gave a series of short presentations on elements of the plan broken up by opportunities for attendees to ask questions.
On top of the prudence of planning for the city’s future, Tembo said Brandon is required by the province to complete plans like this every so often.
Nickel said in recent years around 74 per cent of Brandon’s growth has come from “emerging” areas in the southwest and the North Hill, with 26 per cent coming in more established neighbourhoods.
One challenge to industrial growth, Nickel said, is while Brandon plenty of industrial land, only some of it is fully serviced with utilities and infrastructure. During consultations, the city has heard residents ask for a greater variety of housing and a bigger emphasis on mixed-use zoning to allow services to operate near residential areas.
While the city has identified a desire for more active transportation routes around town like bike paths, Macl questioned the value of doing so given how many people drive to work and the number of months where biking is inaccessible due to winter weather.
He said he’d like to see members of Brandon City Council walk to work every day and see how that suits them.
Addressing some of those concerns about active transportation, Nickel said it’s not about restricting vehicles, it’s about providing safe options for people who are travelling on foot, by bike or other methods of movement.
“It’s about taking the space we already have and using the space a little bit differently,” Nickel said.
In response, Macl argued against the potential cost of maintaining more bike paths and said he hasn’t heard any safety concerns from pedestrians or cyclists.
Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen, sitting on the panel of city representatives, said there are several motor-vehicle collisions and bicycle accidents every year and it is the city’s goal to prevent them.
Macl challenged Balcaen to say how many fatalities he’s seen over his 30-year career, to which a fellow member of the public said: “One is too many.”
Cycling advocate Grant Hamilton, who lost a finger and suffered a permanently separated shoulder last year when he was struck by a car while riding his bike, said it is “absolutely wild to hear that people like me don’t exist.”
He said he didn’t speak up to complain about himself, but to say he doesn’t want any motorists to feel the guilt the person who hit him did. That, he said, is why Brandon should pursue safety for all road users.
Another resident said that while she doesn’t intend to get rid of her vehicle, she appreciated road safety issues being looked at so she and other people can more easily choose to walk if they want to. She pointed out that by making more accessible walking and cycling infrastructure, it will also make it simpler for people using scooters or other mobility aids to get around.
Multiple people spoke about how they either bike during the winter or would if the city had the proper infrastructure in place.
While speaking about movement, Nickel acknowledged that residents have made it clear they’re unhappy about the current state of Brandon Transit and said city council has identified improving the service as a priority.
The city’s community housing and wellness co-ordinator, Shannon Saltarelli, said in working with the city’s most vulnerable population, she’s found how important active transportation options are for them.
More information on future city plan events and the feedback generated by the public can be found online at brandon.ca/cityplan.
» Twitter: @ColinSlark