FRED IRWIN – this article is a response to an opinion piece by Sylvia Sutherland published in the July 3 edition of Peterborough This Week. Some wording has been changed for clarity.
Hi Sylvia
I noted that the $107 Million design proposal for a new Sports and Entertainment Centre in the downtown area included parking for 3000 cars.
Such a proposal is totally ridiculous and price-wise unaffordable.
What we need is electrified light rail transportation that cuts the use of all forms of energy and reduces the parking requirement downtown. The permanence of rail will increase the long-term intensification of development and the resulting municipal tax base to support the system. Parking spots will not do anything to increase intensification or increase the tax base.
Further, I have never dug into the design far enough to know if the $107 Million includes a Sports Hall of Fame. I have long advocated that the Peterborough Sports Hall of Fame needs to be pulled out of the Memorial Centre and expanded to be more inclusive of all sports rather than be focused so much on hockey and lacrosse, note I didn’t say 100%!
I have always wanted to see the Sports Hall of Fame in the downtown core but now feel that there may be an opportunity to move this and maybe the art gallery to the Heritage Loop as I proposed in my Blog #19. That is, along with the new canoe museum.
By the way, I intentionally imagine made the Heritage Loop as one-way, ending up in the downtown area where food and drink are readily available. Also the City owns a lot of property on the loop.
Then there is also the golf course which needs to be purchased and turned into a City-owned local food farm co-op.
This would all be part of the re-engineering of the City which needs to get started soon.
Appreciate any info you have and your comments. I don’t know what I don’t know!
I do expect to meet with the Mayor next week on Blog #19.
Fred
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