How people get around the city now may not be the same 50 years from now.
A draft of the future framework of the city’s potential transportation network was on display by the City of Red Deer. Jeremy Bouw, City of Red Deer divisional strategist, said the mobility playbook proposes a shift to accommodate balance between walking, driving, transit and cycling.
“I think it represents values we heard are important to people, said Bouw. “People want to live healthy lifestyles, they want to be able to get around safely and they want to be able to get around efficiently. That’s what we’re hoping we can get to.”
A group of about 20 people gathered in the Gull Lake room of the Red Deer Lodge Wednesday.
“We’re using this time to connect with people who use all different modes (of transportation),” said Bouw.
Frank Bauer attended the meeting and said the city is heading in the right direction with this plan.
“This city is really built just for cars so if you don’t have a car or the money to take a cab then it is quite a challenge to move around from one end of the city to the other,” said Bauer.
“That needs to change.”
Bauer rides his bike to work and wherever he can when the roads allow it.
“I can’t see using huge trucks with only one person in it driving around the city being sustainable,” said Bauer.
The playbook tries to amalgamate all modes of transportation, including walking, cycling, public transportation and driving.
Bouw said they spoke with more than 2,000 Red Deerians about varying topics related to mobility, including how they drive through the city, what does public transit mean to them, what do public spaces mean and how does it feel to walk through the city.
“That all led into now what is the draft mobility playbook,” said Bouw.
The playbook is broken down into three chapters focusing on why the city is ready to think about these changes, the criteria around what would work in Red Deer and the five recommendations.
These recommendations include putting pedestrians first, tying land use and mobility together, making transit part of the journey, connecting the trails and nurturing a culture of change.
The mobility playbook will go back to city council at the end of May.
“That presentation to council will include the final draft of the playbook,” said Bouw. “Any changes are recommended through the process of talking to citizens now. We’ll also be compiling the results of the feedback form we have and presenting that to council.”
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com