More housing options, recreational opportunities and pathways are what some Diamond Valley citizens say is needed in their small communities.
Approximately 80 Black Diamond and Turner Valley residents attended two workshops on July 14 to provide input for a 60-year growth plan being created by both towns.
The workshops were held at the Flare ‘n’ Derrick Community Hall is the first stage to develop joint growth strategies. Residents were split into four groups and rotated between stations that addressed recreation and outdoor space, transportation and infrastructure, community development and residential development.
Turner Valley resident Tracie David attended the afternoon workshop. She grew up in Turner Valley and doesn’t want to see it lose its small town feel.
“I think there’s opportunity for growth, but I don’t want to see it changing too much,” she said. “I think there’s a lot that’s already here.”
The mother of three said she would like to see better accessibility between neighbourhoods with more pathways and more recreational opportunities.
“There was lots of people who felt there was a need for activities and recreational things for kids to keep them safe and out of trouble,” she said. “I think there’s a need for more playgrounds and more central outdoor spaces like Millennium Park – a space where people are encouraged to stay and not just walk through.”
David felt many people agreed maintaining a small-town feel was important.
“I feel that the group doesn’t want to see Okotoks here and that is reassuring,” she said. “They want to maintain that small town feel and hopefully that will be listened to.”
Murray Knowler also doesn’t want to see the small town charm lost as the two communities grow.
“The small town charm is probably the thing a lot of people move here for,” the Turner Valley resident said. “That’s what people like about the area. I don’t like the idea of big box stores here.”
Knowler said he liked being able to discuss and hear the ideas with others regarding various aspects of his community.
“I think it’s a good first step in getting the opinions of the residents,” he said. “For the most part it’s things we discussed before – my community and neighbours.”
Other suggestions included the need for more information about community resources, an indoor pool, an off leash park in Turner Valley, improved parking, public transportation, charging stations for electric cars, more businesses, wider sidewalks, mixed housing types and more open spaces.
Matt Atkinson, Turner Valley’s planning coordinator, said the afternoon and evening workshops gave him a good idea of what residents would like to see in the coming years.
“There was a lot of commonalities between the residents,” he said. “A lot of them had quality of life at the forefront of their thoughts, protecting the environment and how we interact with it, as well as the social well-being of the town and keeping it so that you really know your neighbours and incorporating it into the design of neighbourhoods.”
Atkinson said an important part of the growth strategy the Towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley area developing is creating a place where residents feel at home and proud of their community.
He said several citizens said they want a range of housing options, pathways incorporated into developments, small businesses, rather than the big box stores and incorporating park and recreational opportunities that are close in proximity.
“Because this is visioning it’s really identifying how we want to build for the future,” he said. “We incorporate this into the principles of the plan and so this is really forming the document and the outcomes of this will be an integral part of that.”
Atkinson said the next step is for an advisory committee, consisting of staff and elected officials from both towns, to discuss goals, visions and objectives.
“All of the public feedback will be incorporated into those principles,” he said. “Then we go into the engineering and statistical analysis for developing how much growth and where that growth should be located for the next 30 to 60 years.”
Andrew Palmiere, 02 Planning + Design’s principal of urban regional planning, which is working with the Towns on the joint growth strategy, said a draft plan will be brought to the public this fall.
“This is an amazing starting point,” he said. “We’ve got some amazing information of different scales.”
