Local neighbourhoods deserve to benefit from their successes in attracting redevelopments. Incentives and a competitive spirit between neighbourhoods has the potential to add greater population density and diversity. Thereby making the city more vibrant and exciting.

The city typically expends minimal money to upgrade infrastructure in support of redevelopments. Usually costs for infrastructural redevelopments are borne by developers.  Certainly, in mature neighbourhoods the city incurs no expenses for constructing sewers, roadways, street lighting, natural gas lines, power lines, or for providing cable, phone, or satellite services.  Public transportation like bus lines already service the mature areas, police already patrol the streets, and the fire department is already on call to service these locations. Increases in revenue that are derived from increased property values represent windfall revenues that can be easily shared with neighbourhoods.

Community leagues could use their share of hopefully rising yearly revenues from ongoing redevelopments to improve: pedestrian crossings, install new playground equipment for children, improve outdoor ice, sports facilities, and opportunities for teenagers, build sound attenuation walls, plant trees and install irrigation systems on boulevards, install motion activated video cameras in areas prone to vandalism or unsolicited graffiti, as well as clearing walking trails and sidewalks and building bike, wheelchair, and Segway paths.  Community leagues would have the funding to be able to seek advice from outside experts and provide more support for block parties, community conferences, and local cultural events. 

The city works at keeping arterial roads clear in the winter but many local neighborhoods, even higher property value neighborhoods, don’t get the same quality of service. Nor do neighbourhoods have access to funds to get their own streets cleared on a timely basis.

Arterial Road - 142 Street & 104 Ave – Jan 19, 2010

Glenora Community - 135 Street & 104 Ave – Jan 19, 2010