The following is a summary of the feedback that was received at the various Neighbourhood Engagment Sessions.

We appreciate your feedback! If you have an questions or enquiries please contact us at jkeim@city.pg.bc.ca

Blackburn

Hart

South Bowl

Blackburn

1. What is working well?

• Community is quiet
• Lack of crime
• Fire protection works well
• Great quality of life for residents
• Friendly residents and a sense of community
• Great community hall
• Engaged neighbours
• The Strong Start program
• The Preschool
• Low density keeps traffic congestion down
• Great air quality
• Snow clearing is great
• The rural feel, know our neighbours and look after each other
• Neighbours respect one another
• Safe neighbourhoods
• Glenda Newsted does a great job as Community Association liaison
• Most occupants are home owners
• Good collaboration between school district and community association – playground replacement, raised over 30,000. 
• Huge effort everyone and stepped up
• Partnership between school and community association
• The empty field beside the hall
• Community garden at preschool
• Rural but still on City services
• Still small enough that neighbours can keep an eye on each other’s places, watch out for each other
• Handi Dart service is available
• The people respect the wildlife
• There are play areas for youth and children
• Great water quality
• Ice skating rinks
• Parent Advisory Committee
• Seniors who have moved away still come back for community events
• Multi –generational family living
• Younger families moving in to the neighbourhood
• Wildlife is present
• Community has a “get it done” attitude
• Want to keep rural environment but with City services

2. What can we improve on?

• Water –midland road has no water but there have been lots of promises
• Water/sewer situation – some residents have City services and others do not.
• Better communication to Blackburn on the direction of Blackburn with regards to planning
• South Blackburn road and Giscome have a 4inch line too small for fire protection
• Need more street lights
• Roads need more maintenance and upkeep
• Load restrictions need to be put into place
• Increase solutions/options to issues (more
• Instead of a flat “no”, work with residents to solve issues
• Create public transportation to airport
• Create public transportation to residents of Blackburn
• Ensure Blackburn is consulted more on City issues
• Bittner park needs to be better maintained
• Washrooms up kept and available
• Allocate funding for new infrastructure
• Increase water pressure on Sommerville rd
• More communication from the City on current construction
• ATV / snowmobile  designated area
• Need sidewalks
• More parks
• Would be nice to have a Park-n-Ride reduce traffic into town – catch bus to come home
• More trails for walking and riding bikes
• More activities for children
• Mow grass along the road – more often
• Affordable housing for seniors
• Airport is not user  friendly for people who have disabilities
• Need to go back to having ditching done
• Build sand volleyball court
• Better zoning – potential impact as a result of sustainability and planning

3. How can we better communicate?

• Neighbourhood engagement sessions
• Email
• Posters on mail boxes
• Better communication on City webpage
• Blackburn community association website
• Active Living Guide in hardcopy
• City Matters
• Council
• Representation from key stakeholders ie Lheidli T'enneh, SD 57, RDFFG

Hart

1. What is working well?

• Report a pothole system is working well – quick response
• The Hart Pioneers
• The Hart Seniors Association
• Taxi Saver program
• Seniors bus pass
• All of the greenery, green areas, green belt areas, trees, plants
• Great air quality
• The Library branch up in the Hart
• The Hart Ski Hill
• Recreation facilities
• Garbage pick up
• Mail delivery
• The Senior Centre
• Hast Community Centre
• Beautiful hanging baskets
• Christmas bows that were on the light posts
• Proud that the neighbourhood is safe
• Kids can get on a bike and ride away from the house and be safe
• Family oriented neighbourhoods
• Can leave my door unlocked and be okay
• Neighbourhoods all keep a good watch
• Proud that the Kelly Rd school designed the banners for their area
• Parents want their children’s gifts displayed and make them feel valued in their community
• Great sense of community, friendliness, people happy with where they live
• Low Crime Rate
• Longer winter is good some years
• Like that we have “basic services”  only thing missing is Dr’s, shopping, dentist, basic shopping, recreation for kids and adults all available
• Glad that we don’t have Big Box Stores – like that the Big Box stores are 16 km away, can go to them if we want or can stay away
• The Nature Reserve has brought out people interested in nature
• Grateful for gravel portion of the roads to be paved
• Awesome snow removal
• Well maintained community parks
• Upgrade to water supply was great
• Supportive Business community
• Glenda Newsted Community Association liaison  appreciated

2. What can we improve on?

• Need streetlights coming up to the Hart - Highway 97
• Sidewalks are needed on W. Austin Rd
• Road improvements on W. Austin Rd
• Add a district/destination park
• Glenview Park (could be renamed to Darren Fitzpatrick Park)
• Add frontage road between Nordic Rd and Weisbrod Rd
• Improvement to crosswalks so they’re more visible and safer for all seasons
• Attention to growing seniors demographic in the Hart
• Balanced attention to play and family spaces
• City partnership with ski hill
• Hanging baskets – Hart Community Centre (more direct lines up here to get permission to pitch in)
• Would like to have pretty flowers not dandelions
• Traffic light at Chief Lake Road
• City sewer and water
• Instillation of curbs
• Target unsightly fences
• Crack down on all year round yard sales
• Diversity of all neighbourhoods
• Block Parties
• Heather Park School is too big, people are moving away
• Concern all growth into the West, Hart Highway being neglected, Hart is becoming stagnant, no growth, we need something to draw people from downtown
• Heather Park not being maintained
• Saan’s Store is empty, use these empty spaces
• Hart Highway complete eye sore and embarrassment, does not look good
• Curbs, money wasted.  Look at other communities Quesnel, Williams Lk, Houston
• Volunteers have a plan for a green space. A lot of work to get approval from City Hall
• Mall absenteeism owner believes City should take responsibility
• No budget from City, no City Commitment to plant or maintain, no park bench – don’t want to increase budget
• Wish we had a mini City Community Plan, and some commitment behind it
• Heather Road Park (across from Volunteer Park) dirt bikes & four wheeler’s everywhere – very difficult to reach someone at City Hall.  Barricades have been removed by dirt road bikers, ball parks completely un-kept.  Parties & drug deals - police can’t catch them. Someone is going to get hurt
• Mall has not been developed
• No skate park for youth
• Promotion of the Hart being of a good place to invest
• Closest bus stop approximately 5 km away from some areas
• We need more signs or speed bumps around Springwood Elementary School
• Ferguson Lake gravel road – dust and dirt issues, lumps, bumps, and mud.  Is graded often but have some concerns about paving and potential potholes
• Fergus Lake road residents – request to council: install two speed limit signs and a No Dumping sign
• More barriers to prevent motor vehicles accessing the trails in the park
• A City Park Watch representative
• Glenview Park - Needs upkeep and maintenance
• Beautification projects - convoluted process for volunteers to achieve goals I.E. Hart Highlands sign
• Better use of closed schools
• City use of Austin Road Elementary school to avoid it going into despair
• The litter that is along foothills – more cleanup from the City

3. How can we better communicate?

• More Community Engagement sessions
• Use the Seniors networks to promote events
• Hart Pioneer Centre’s monthly bulletin
• Library bulletin board
• Bulletin Board at the Mall
• Church bulletins
• School newsletters
• Social Media
• Newspaper
• Council meetings
• Events within the city are often hard to find
• Recreation groups now create newsletters – advertise in those
• Online communication dialogue with citizens
• Have all different community associations have a website partnership with the city so that everything is in one place
  

South Bowl

1. What is working well?

• Lots of dog areas
• Parks are great
• People know each other
• Canada Can Lane/Opening Block Party
• Trails (but needs more connectivity from home to work)
• Proximity to shopping (within walking distance)
• Easy access to the river
• Community gardens
• Small town feel with rural and urban at the same time
• Only takes ½ hour to drive across the city
• Concerts
• Most occupants are starting be homeowners
• Drug reduction in the area
• Neighbourhood watch type of system in place in 3 areas
• Effort made to inform new people in the area of the block watch system
• There is “Pride in ownership” (of the homes)
• Greenery
• Ducks
• Neighbourhood is older and well established
• Affordable housing
• Neighbourhood is very central
• Candy cane lane
• Bird wildlife

2. What can we improve on?

• Fostering block parties/gatherings
• “Block Party Day”
• Nancy O’s  type coffee shop in neighbourhoods
• Fix potholes
• Reduce weeds on medians
• Find a way to have downtown trees survive abuse
• Development of infrastructure on waterfront (entertainment, etc.)
• Ice cream shacks and more
• Perception vs. reality regarding safety – how it is portrayed in the media
• City to do neighbourhood media and submit good news clips on YouTube
• Family restaurant in neighbourhoods
• Community Association gets lower turnout here vs. Hart (need to improve advertising, interest)
• Pathways between Mackenzie & Watson should be ploughed in winter, and grass mowed in the summer by city
• Heritage river trail is not very safe (criminals, not safe to travel alone)
• Increase animal control for residents - lots of wild cats
• Introduce cat licensing
• Targeted education about Control Substance bylaw
• Crack down on houses that are unfit for people to live in
• Increase RCMP Presence
• Increase road maintenance
• Community pride
• City beautification
• Murals on buildings
• Beautification of meridians
• Continue improvements from Norwood to the Slough on the trails
• Parks better maintained

3. How can we better communicate?

• Electronic media
• Working with the RCMP and block watch
• Social Media