Maurice Lloyd Reply, Halifax Chronicle-Herald, November 1st, 2002

URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING ESSENTIAL TO A HEALTHY COMMUNITY

I would like to respond to Brian Lee Crowley's article entitled "Urban planners out of step with society".

The logic in the article goes something like this: People like their cars; people like space around them; therefore we should not plan our cities and towns, but allow development to sprawl wherever it likes over the countryside - and certainly providing alternate modes of travel such as transit is a waste of time. What nonsense!

More and more people are recognizing that we must use our land and resources wisely and practice good stewardship. We see this on the international scale with the Kyoto accord; we see this throughout Canada with the need to manage and protect our forestry and wildlife resources; we see this in agricultural areas such as the Annapolis Valley with the need to preserve our agricultural resource lands and the economy that is tied to those lands; and we see it in our cities and towns with the need to optimize the use of our infrastructure through proper land use planning related to our transportation systems and our water and sewer systems. There is concern about our water supplies and a demand for wastewater treatment - witness the fact that polls show that 90% of the HRM urban population support the Harbour Solutions Project even though it will cost them more on their water bill. And I could go on.

Does urban planning mean that everybody must give up their cars and switch to mass transit, or not have choices as to where they live and in what type of accommodation? Does the fact that not everybody will use transit mean that we should not provide transit service and encourage its use? Does the fact that people like their cars mean that we should not also provide other opportunities for moving people, such as pedestrian trails and bicycle trails? Certainly not! We need diverse communities with a wide range of opportunities for moving about. There are many excellent examples of high-density urban communities that are exciting where people desire to live, including many parts of peninsular Halifax and downtown Dartmouth.

Our communities will be richer with good urban and regional planning and our economies will be stronger. Diminishing the trips between work and home with communities that provide for mixed uses through good planning will lessen travel costs and time, which will allow for more family and leisure activities. We might even be a little healthier! As to the use of transit - 25% of the rush hour trips entering peninsular Halifax and 40-50% of the rush hour trips entering the downtown are by transit. Pretty impressive numbers, which can be improved through better transit systems. We'd be

hard-pressed to handle that additional volume of traffic with private cars carrying one or two passengers each.

The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is in a transitional stage. Studies show that cities go through a metamorphosis at various stages in their growth, and the first of these occurs when the population approaches 500,000 persons. The urban core area of HRM is now nearing 400,000 and growth will continue. HRM is, more and more, fulfilling its role as the "Centre of Trade and Service for Atlantic Canada". Statistically, such a regional centre will contain 50-60% of the region's population; this would imply a population of over a million people for HRM. This number will be mitigated by the fact that we have a number of other vibrant cities within Atlantic Canada, including three other capitals. We should, however, be planning for a city that will reach a population of 600,000-700,000. Accommodating this growth will require a bold effort in effective urban and regional planning as we create a world-class city while still protecting the environment and demonstrating good stewardship.

Within the broader picture, let's look at the example, noted earlier, of the need to preserve agricultural resource land in the Annapolis Valley. The four-lane highway is now being extended and, while this will make for safer travel, one by-product is that the Valley communities will become very attractive as living places for people who work in HRM - just look at the volume of traffic entering HRM from Truro and points in between every day. This will put pressure on the agricultural resource as, without planning, good agricultural land will be taken directly out of production through absorption and indirectly through conflicts between urbanites and the farmers. The economy suffers and we end up paying more for our food products. Good urban and regional planning will help to separate conflicting land uses to the benefit of the larger community.

Cars contribute to greenhouse gases and work against our ability to meet the requirements of the Kyoto accord. No rational person would suggest that we can implement Kyoto without any dislocation, but I believe strongly that the bottom line will be an improvement in our economy and our industries, as well as our environment, as we adapt to this new reality. Who, in good conscience, can argue against a better environmental future for our children, grandchildren, and future generations? Good urban and regional planning has a role to play here.

Will all of this mean new policies and regulations which will impact on us all, including the business community? It certainly will. However, my experience with members of the responsible business community is that they are not against rules and regulations as long as they are clearly stated and fairly enforced. In fact, this diminishes risk and creates the climate for sound investment. It's lack of decision and clarity that creates the problem.

Maurice Lloyd is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners and a Life Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia. He is President of AtlanPLAN Ltd. and can be reached at mlloyd@atlanplan.com

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This document was last modified on November 21, 2002.