Twenty years from now, Thompson's population may have grown enough that the people who live here today wouldn't recognize the city, says Shaun Klassen, a planner with AECOM, the company providing technical and management support to the City of Thompson's sustainable community and master parks plans.
But that doesn't mean current residents can't have a say in how it looks.
"You need a plan to go forward," Klassen said while hosting on open house on the plans at the Thompson recreation centre May 12. "Ideas have to be formalized to make it happen. It's incredibly important to have that."
Based on 20-year growth projections, Thompson could need as many as 1,800 more housing units in 2030, a fact that may seem to be evidence that the city's boundaries would have to expand. Klassen says it isn't necessarily so. In fact, 80 per cent of that housing could fit within the existing boundaries, he says, if people are willing to accept higher density.
"We don't have to grow in areas that are less sustainable in the short term," Klassen says.
To accommodate such growth, rezoning of certain areas may be needed. For example, the commercial area that stretches from behind City Centre Mall up to the intersection of Princeton Drive and Station Road could be redeveloped as a mix of commercial and residential development, making room for another 600 people.
Out-of-town housing is up for discussion, too, he said, as is the servicing of potential large lot estate housing to the north of Thompson, which may have to be borne by residents if such a project comes to pass, rather than see all taxpayers bear the cost of extending city water and waste for the sake of 60 to 100 people.
The sustainable community plan is by no means a done deal, but AECOM and the city would like people to be aware of such possibilities - and to hear back what they think.
"Is there potential for infill housing along River Road?" Klassen asked. "Are people willing to consider that? We're looking for the public to respond. We're definitely looking for feedback."
AECOM has also been contracted by the city to map out its recreation needs, both metaphorically and literally, says Joy Viberg, a landscape architect with AECOM who's worked on the city's master parks plan, which started with an inventory of parks and recreation facilities.
"Thompson's really well covered for recreation," said Viberg, referring specifically to sports facilities. "There are a lot of softball fields. The recreation part's covered pretty good."
What could be added, she said, includes community gardens in higher density neighbourhoods and city parks for people who just want to be outside.
"They want pretty places to kind of hang out in," Viberg said, recalling some of the things brought up in previous public consultations. "People have asked for a powwow arbour."
Other potential upgrades include new tot lots and new facilities for some old ones as well as things such as outdoor skating rinks in areas that don't currently have any., mostly on the west side of the city.
What's really important, say Viberg and Klassen, who co-hosted the open house with AECOM project manager Don Hester, who's both a landscape architect and a planner, is hearing from everybody about what they want - or don't.
Certain segments of the population are harder to connect with than others.
"We've heard what youth need from adults," said Klassen, but they'd rather find out directly from youth. Other hard-to-reach demographics include Paint Lake residents, who may feel they don't have much of a stake in the designs and plans of the city, and seniors.
The population pyramid for Thompson, said Klassen, has very few old people.
"That demographic should be looked at, too," he said.
For both plans, however, Thompson starts from a good base, endowed as it is with plenty of green space and pedestrian connections.
"You have all these green connectivity spaces," said Klassen.
