Council dreams up vision for downtown
Three-year action plan to include development of 50/50 lot and business incentives
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Council members had visions of a vibrant city centre dancing in their heads this week.
Council unanimously directed administration to develop a three-year action plan to revitalize downtown on Monday. - NNSL file photo |
At Monday's council meeting, they unanimously directed administration to develop a three-year action plan to revitalize downtown.
"This is easily one of my proudest days as a city councillor," said deputy mayor Adrian Bell on Aug. 28, when the issue popped up for debate.
"We haven't had a comprehensive plan for the downtown since 2002 and that I believe has been a major problem."
After downtown revitalization was declared a priority in 2016, council explored a number of pilot strategies this spring, such as the Win Your Space and Street Outreach programs, a littering campaign and monetary incentives for local businesses to open sidewalk patios.
The new plan covers ideas such as kickstarting development in the 50/50 lot, supporting a new visitors' centre and adding more housing, parking and public transit to the city's core.
That list isn't set in stone.
"We'd always be open to opportunities and to reviewing the action plan on a regular basis," said city administrator Sheila Bassi-Kellett at the meeting, describing it as "organic."
Council was supportive of the plan and eager to kick it off.
But not everyone was so gung-ho with the concept. Coun. Niels Konge said he was pleased something was finally being done for downtown, after he said he's heard the issue come up on every council he's been a part of. He doesn't want council to get real-estate tunnel-vision.
"Yellowknife is a small place, the downtown is important, but we also need to ensure that we're having a whole-city approach to some of this stuff," he said.
One of the recommendations he pointed to is a plan to improve housing downtown by limiting development of high-density residential housing elsewhere for the next decade.
Coun. Julian Morse agreed on this point. He pointed to public transit, where he said he wants to see development expand outside downtown. He suggested an express bus route along Franklin Avenue to the Yellowknife Co-op as an example.
"The bus takes me as long as it would to walk," he said on Aug. 28. "That's a transit system that doesn't work for me, it doesn't make any sense."
Administration will present its three-year action plan at a future council meeting.
