AECOM, a global provider of professional technical and management support services, with specialties in transportation, water, community infrastructure, environment and design, held an open house in Thompson on March 17 at the Army Navy & Airforce building to engage citizens with their ideas for the city.
Planner Shaun Klassen, sustainability specialist Maina Waiguru and senior planner and landscape architect Don Hester came up to Thompson from Calgary and Winnipeg to hold the event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The meeting was the first of a series of public sessions put on by the Thompson Planning District and the City of Thompson with regards to the sustainability plan and the master parks plan for Thompson.
The three had set up information boards around the entire room within the Army Navy & Airforce building for people to peruse covering all topics of community sustainability, but focusing mostly on six pillars for development and integration - economic, cultural, built environment, natural environment, social and government elements.
According to AECOM, there are four areas of design that determine overall community design, and the subsequent development of neighbourhoods, streets, utilities, buildings and green spaces. These elements include community form, streets, sites and buildings and parks and open spaces. The group says many possibilities in Thompson exist to work within the built environment, including downtown revitalization, creating a walking-friendly community by improving the Spirit Way trails and sidewalks, creating more opportunities for seniors, especially when it comes to housing, creating primary worker housing, upgrading the water treatment plant, undergoing solid waste management initiatives and creating a new terminal with the Thompson Regional Airport Authority.
There are also many ways, according to AECOM, that Thompson can hone in on the many cultural opportunities that exist in the area. The group suggests that the city should focus on rapid advancement potential, retention strategies involving "major employers", an increased First Nation population, focus on the young population, the idea of a multi-cultural city and a community action plan involving Wapanohk Community School.
When it comes to Thompson's economy, AECON believes it helps provide work and income for people in the city through policies and programs that attract investment and employment, the promotion of local entrepreneurship and ensuring the community is a net contributor to the fiscal strength of the area. The group suggests Thompson grasp opportunities available such as industrial upgrades, diversification, such as cold weather testing, focusing on creating a regional service centre for Northern Manitoba, as well as a transportation centre, and focus on growing Thompson's tourism potential. AECOM also suggests the city pay close attention to Thompson Unlimited's economic diversification, the new water metering that will commence shortly, the Local Government District of Mystery Lake's sustainability plan, new approaches within the Mystery Lake School District and the Thompson Urban Aboriginal Strategy.
For making the most of Thompson's natural environment, AECOM is spreading the word that Thompson should continue to protect and improve natural systems and undertake studies to determine the current inventory of species and environments requiring protection. The natural environment opportunities that exist, according to the group, include the Community Led Emissions Reduction (CLER) plan, with a target of 20% less emissions for municipal and six per cent for private, Vale Inco's policy for sustainable development, and bringing nature into the city by maintaining forest buffers, an environmental impact assessment and tree preservation.
AECOM cites a strong sense of community as being one of Thompson's major strengths, and suggest the city look at developing more social and community services, recognizing Thompson's historical and cultural background and including more housing options to meet a range of demographics and economic markets. The social opportunities the group mentions as being integral to Thompson include Ma Mow We Tak Friendship Centre's Saving Our Aboriginal Youth program, Spirit Way, recreation facility improvements, Northern Spirit Manor and other organizations such as the seniors resource centre.
According to AECOM, Thompson would benefit from a sustainable transportation system that focuses on transportation demand management strategies and transportation system management strategies. The group also suggests the city minimize water use by the use of low-flow fixtures, water saving appliances, system pressure reduction, alternative landscaping, maximizing reuse, and the consideration of alternative sewage treatment technologies such as effluent refuse. The promotion of on-site erosion control is also a top priority the group would like to see happen in Thompson. As far as buildings go, AECOM suggests using durable building envelopes and long lived materials, recycled content, FSC-certified woods, less toxic materials such as alternatives to CCA-treated wood and an innovative application of natural materials.
Hester says the Thompson Planning District has been working on the open house for a number of weeks as part of four-round public engagement strategy.
"We basically started in December planning for this and the work has been going on for awhile. The open house is vetted by a number of committees - a project management committee that looks at itand two other committees - the stakeholder committee and the citizen advisory group, which has about 10 or 11 volunteers on it," he explains. "Those committees saw some of the material about four weeks ago, and two weeks later they came back with some comments."
Many different people showed up to the event, including city councillor Stella Locker, Roxy Binns with Thompson Unlimited and more.
