Red Deer has lost it’s lustre.
Nearly 1,000 people packed up and moved out of Red Deer, last year. 700 people moved to Blackfalds, some moved to Penhold, some moved to Sylvan Lake. The last time the city shrank was 46 years ago and it was only by 17 people.
Red Deer is being seen as a bad investment. High crime, high vacancy rates, high unemployment, high PM2.5 content in our air, to name but a few.
Red Deer has done a census 57 times in 61 years, and this is the worst news that they ever received. In 1970 the city shrank by 17 citizens. In 2008 during a global meltdown, the city grew. In 2013 when the energy sector collapsed, the city grew, so why not now. Will it continue? The city will not do a census in 2017 for 2 reasons. It is afraid of a second year of shrinkage before a municipal election, and secondly because you would need growth to cover the costs of a census.
So why is Red Deer shrinking now? The future in Alberta is more optimistic now than in 2014, so why shrink now? What is Blackfalds doing to inspire growth?
The city is broken into 2 parcels with the river separating them. Normally 1/3 lives north of the river and 2/3 live south of the river, but 777 of those 1000 people who left Red Deer lived north of the river. So as we dig deeper we start to find more information.
The north side has been neglected, horribly for decades. There are a number of schools being built, now, on the south side, while the last school built on the north side was in 1985. More than 30 years ago. There new indoor ice rinks currently being built south of the river, while the north hasn’t had a new indoor ice rink built in over 30 years. That would mean 6 or 7 indoor ice rinks on the south side with 1 on the north side. Swimming pools shows similar planning. Construct south of the river while the north makes due with 1 pool over 30 years old.
High schools are all on the south side of the river. There are currently 3 high schools on the south side, 1 being built and 2 more planned for the south side, with 5 high schools along 30 ave between 29 Street and 69 Street. There no high schools north of the river, there is no plans for a high school north of the river with expected population growth to hit 55,000 north of the river.
Hazlett Lake came up last year. It is north of the river. It was an opportunity to diversify from the boom and bust energy sector into tourism, offer something to the residents of the north side, to complement the Collicutt Centre, and become a destination but the city said no. No wonder 700 people moved to Blackfalds maybe the Abbey Centre was partially the reason.
Red Deer north has had high concentrations of particulate PM2.5 that the province has stated it needs immediate attention, for about 3 years now, and our city has not addressed it in any meaningful way. They want to expand the industrial parks on the north side. There are no industrial parks on the south side within city limits. Compartmentalizing the city with industry on the north, education, recreation, and culture on the south just means more commuting, more pollution and punishes those who can least afford to commute.
There are many issues and many are within the purview of our municipal leaders but they refuse to acknowledge this. It is the energy sector: partly, but why is Red Deer feeling the worst impact, compared to other cities in Western Canada?
City hall, being very protective of it’s turf, may be blind to the consequences of their actions. The north-south inequality is but 1 example. They may pass it off as the rantings of a cantankerous old man, but the evidence is in the people leaving, the depreciating real estate market north of the river, or the dying businesses in Parkland Mall.
The money being spent downtown, the entertainment, the advertising, and all the talk has not stopped businesses leaving the downtown for areas like gasoline alley. Perhaps it is time to hit the reset button. Less money being spent on the downtown, perhaps decrease the size of downtown and concentrate less on show and more on utility.
Red Deer may have been hit so hard, compared to every other city, during this latest downturn because people have fallen out of love with Red Deer. A festival cannot compete with constant commuting, a flowery media spot cannot compete with lack of services, and a smile will not divert long from apparent neglect. No wonder the city lost it’s lustre.
2017, may be the year for second sober thinking and perhaps the changes in leadership and planning. Perhaps it is time to take off the gloves, stop smiling and start listening. We might regain the glow.