Discussions

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/brandon-pauses-public-engagement-on-30-year-vision-over-inappropriate-and-unsafe-behaviour-1.6334510  
 
I am getting so sick of the conspiracy theorists. The concept of 15 minute cities is to plan a city or neighbourhood so that all of the services a person needs or wants for daily living are within a 15 minute walk of their home. It is a city planning guideline only, something to aspire to when planning a neighbourhood.  
 
Somehow, people got it into their head that it means that you will need a pass from the government to go beyond 15 minutes from your home. It is freaking insane and has no basis in reality. And now they are disrupting local planning meetings.

I was a little disappointed in CTV's coverage. They barely covered what happened but the Brandon Sun has a good account. Apparently they also think a 15 Minute City means there will be a hospital built in every neighbourhood. I also read in another forum that they are concerned they are not going to be allowed to drive their big trucks - which honestly I wouldn't mind that.  
 
Also they were rather belligerent to the lone city employee but thankfully two councilors were there.

These conspiracies usually come from a place of ignorance. If half of these people took the time to sit down and listen to what is taking place, they would understand that all this is just a function of gathering citizen input on what the future of Brandon should look like! They would be shocked to fund out that everything being proposed is generated by citizen feedback.  
 
As I understand it, many people that do not own vehicles want a more walkable City that affords them the ability to safely walk to the grocery store, work and parks...I thought we all wanted that???

I visited a friend in Oakville Ontario a few years ago, we had to drive everywhere ...restaurants, coffee shops, theatre, groceries etc. It was annoying and it seemed that there was exactly zero effort in the planning for convenience.

First, I would like to recognize the planning representative(s) that were put in this position. The people at the meeting showed a level of frustration, that in itself, sent a message. Not saying this is a proper way to get a message across, but let’s say there is an iota of merit to the concerns. With every comment made, the frustration could be linked to taxation frustration, and a lack of trust for city planning. If indeed you want to communicate with the taxpayers, list all the points on “growing, healthy, and moving”. Now put a cost$ to the taxpayer, on each one. I am sure transit and maintenance would be able to help. Parking for businesses should be their choice, to have it, or not, as they are in properly zoned areas. However, community centers that opt to follow this option, clog residential streets. This could cause back lash. Convenience stores are a dinosaur and haven’t been around since Walmart showed up. Unless the city (taxpayer) is funding this too………?  
Just saying it is ok to dream, but this is real life for the taxpayer.

Interesting you bring up taxpayers. This is where the education component comes in.  
 
Most infrastructure services - whether it be roads, sewer and water, etc - are delivered by the linear foot. That means that the more of those we lay, the more it costs to install, maintain and run. Many other services, like electrical, cable etc also operate on the linear foot when it comes to delivery.  
 
Our current model of delivering services is NOT sustainable for the taxpayer. The maintenance replacement costs, especially for roads, far exceeds what can be collected in taxes. Compact core areas essentially subsidize outlying suburban areas in our current model.  
 
Do you know what's efficient with taxpayers money? Compact cities like what's envisioned with the 15-minute city. You collect more taxes per square foot of development, and the services those taxes pay for cost less because there's less linear feet to build and maintain.  
 
Take a look at how traditional modes (pre World War 2) of development look and operate and how dense, desirable cities worldwide are set up. Most of them are 15-minute cities at their core.

I don't know about you but I drive everywhere in Brandon too and it is a very small city where everything is close but the public transportation is terrible, one hour to reach from point A to point B on city buses and I would have to sell a kidney in order to pay for taxis on a monthly basis also lets not forget the frigid temperatures so driving is the only way.

If you didn't have to walk for an hour to get to work, if that walk only had to be 15 minutes, would you need public transportation?  
 
Like it or not, there are several households in Brandon that do not own a car, and you are right, public transit needs improvement.  
 
Catering to the internal combustion engine is not in the best interest of Brandon's citizens, nor is it the best use of tax payers dollars. If you want to make a City attractive to visitors and new residents, you need amenities like walkable neighbourhoods, a healthy parks and recreation system, a public transit system that is accessible and affordable for its citizens and all of this in a City that is safe to live and work in.  
 
All the City plan does is address these needs in arranges them in a way that is relevant to you, the resident of Brandon.  
 
O get it, not everyone is going to benefit from every single thig in the City plan. But, what it does is provide a little bit for everyone.

So all our jobs are going to suddenly move into our 15min neighbourhoods? Every neighbourhood is going to have its own of everything? That’s how your first comment reads.  
We still need to put focus onto maintaining our city roads, and not just making them walking/biking accessible. We can’t just focus on one group over another.  
I agree with making them more walkable to a point, however we need to be realistic and know that people will still need to rely on vehicles for many things, and our jobs.  
You couldn’t pay me to take public transit in Brandon or Winnipeg for that matter. No matter how safe you try to make it.  
One group on fb, who is all for this stuff as it benefits them, has only 40 plus followers. Doesn’t seem like a big number?  
I don’t see the 15 minute city being something Brandon needs. I can see this for sure in larger cities, such as Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, etc. but Brandon doesn’t need to be separated into smaller neighbourhoods. It’s not a huge city.  
If people want that smaller town feel, move to one. I live in a city for a reason.  
But this is all just my opinion.  
 
Edited by Cheezies, 2023-04-04 10:30:42

Your understanding of the planning department's involvement in the process is grossly misinformed.  
 
The City's growth will still occur at the developers' will to some degree, with the City simply identifying certain areas of the City for certain 'types' of development. Similar to how cities are built in video games. For instance, the City can only identify an area as 'residential', but that does not mean that stores, services, hospitals, schools and other amenities CAN'T exist there.  
 
Your assumption that the City is looking to restrict the freedom of its own citizens is waaaaaaay off the mark.  
 
Don't forget that those that work in planning also live, work and play in the City.  
 
And, if you want to become a large City, it needs to have the foresight of a large City. Remember, that Winnipeg wasn't always as big as it is now, and abandoning planning and zoning leads to disastrous results. I'm not sure anyone wants to live next door to a sand blasting company simply because the City plan didn't factor it in their master plan. If you want a city to be successful and attractive, you have to have a plan in place for growth that takes into account where schools are best placed, areas that might need more community centres, or where best to place a swimming pool so that all citizens can enjoy...not just those with a vehicle or access to public transit.  
 
Let's be clear, there will always be houses with yards, neighbourhoods with little or no access to public transit, and no one is forcing you to move, and no one is restricting your movement. All that is being suggested, is to improve people's access to the things they need, in a way that i:ncludes input from its citizens.  
 
We get it, you would rather drive to a parking lot and use the services served by that parking lot. But that is the kind of thinking that is killing Brandon's downtown, and if you seriously want that fixed, then I would suggest warming up to the idea of walkable neighbourhoods where services are within a 15 minute walk (i.e downtown).

Thank-you for your explanation. Perhaps we can find another term than 15 min cities perhaps then. As from what I am reading about other cities with same concepts, cars are restricted in use. Meaning they are closing off certain roads for walking and biking only, they are shutting down traffic flow in areas of the city to reduce wear and tear on streets, there is restricted street parking, as to allow for wider streets/sidewalks for walking and biking. Therefore restricting auto mobile use and ease. As well as less parking available everywhere.  
I’m glad this is not what’s being proposed here, but could stem where all misconceptions may be coming from.  
I have zero interest in rejuvenating the downtown areas. I prefer the sprawled out city we have. I’d definitely prefer to drive, and park in the corresponding parking lot.  
Especially for the grocery store etc. hard to carry $400 worth of groceries home (however that doesn’t get much anymore lol).  
With that said though, I do feel things should be accessible to those without vehicles and do like the use of public transit.  
As long as we aren’t putting focus on removing accessibility for those that prefer to drive and park in these areas.  
I will look more into the view you are sharing, and what the city’s proposal is. Thanks.

Winnipeg has been restricting cars on some roads during the summer, to encourage more active transportation. It's an affordable and easy way to encourage people to be active and to improve the health and fitness of citizens. It's been met with mostly positive reviews. It would be nice if Brandon could do something similar.  
 
Sprawling cities are very expensive to maintain. The sprawling suburbs often don't pay their fair share for all the roads and services that need to be extended out to the edge of the city. Older and denser areas like downtowns often have to subsidize the sprawl.