As you may be aware, the City of Edmonton is planning for a more sustainable future by encouraging Transit Oriented Development (TOD) around existing and future LRT Stations – almost 60 in total.
Transit Oriented Development refers to development that is planned and integrated around a transit station. Its aim is to create more attractive, liveable, and compact neighbourhoods based on pedestrian-friendly design and a well connected mix of land uses within roughly 400 meters walking distance of a transit station.
My work, alongside a team of talented consultants and committed community members, seeks to find out how TOD can strengthen and preserve the character of the McKernan and Belgravia neighbourhoods while capitalizing on the benefits of the existing LRT station. Put another way, we are looking at how we can make both community and LRT station work better together through TOD planning.
To date, we have conducted research on the area, spoken with local community leagues, and on November 22, 2011 held our first Public Open House Workshop at the McKernan Elementary Junior High School. We had an excellent turnout with about 120 people attending to hear about the project and share their own knowledge of the area with us. At the meeting, our team displayed some boards about the project followed by a presentation, a little Q&A, and then a series of break-out discussions based on a workbook we prepared to help facilitate things.
The information we collect will inform what policies, redevelopment concepts and design guidelines will best support TOD in McKernan and Belgravia neighbourhoods.
Overall I’d say we received excellent feedback from the Open House Workshop which we will post a summary of on our webpage when ready. This will help us ensure the project’s final recommendations are grounded in the community’s aspirations while reflecting local conditions, opportunities, constraints, and collective solutions. But don’t worry – there’s still time to have your say!
If you haven’t read the workbook and sent us your comments – please do! Alternatively, you can always share your thoughts here on this blog.
So I open it up to you… what do you think of the current area around the McKernan/Belgravia station? Do you walk and do errands in the area? How might the neighbourhood immediately around the LRT station change over time? What new uses or amenities could make the neighbourhood around the LRT station more interesting, attractive and liveable? What do you think? We want to know.