12-12-2016, 01:39 PM
(12-11-2016, 09:58 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: I also did not see any items in the capital budget (or leisure facilities master plan) for leisure facilities downtown. More and more people are living downtown, but there are no proper indoor tracks, swimming pools, community kitchen, maker space, gymnasiums, etc. for these new residents to use (unless their condo comes with it, but that doesn't build community) and residents will need to leave the core to access them. Currently all the proposed investments are in new or refurbishing facilities in the suburbs; this needs to be rebalanced to keep downtown attractive.
Given that many living in the suburbs have been waiting quite a while for some of their promised community facilities, I'm not sure that either Kitchener could tell them to wait longer while they turn their attention to the downtown areas. My understanding is that all new construction included a development charge to help pay for community amenities ranging from streets to libraries. It is to be hoped that the City and Region have a provision for who is to cover the cost of future downtown amenities since development charges are/were waived to encourage downtown construction in Kitchener and Cambridge.