Design Regina - LiveBlog recap

The following are my notes of the first Design Regina event.

Introductions underway at the first Design Regina presentation series at the UofR Education Auditorium.


Video streaming by Ustream
(Watch for my voice at 1hour 35 minutes.)

Fred Clipsham gives a greeting on behalf of Mayor Fiacco.
Tonight is Participatory Democracy.

7:22 the current Regina plan was designed 25 years ago. Demographics have changed, and so have technology and desires of the population.
Infrastructure isn't all in good repair, and some needs replacing.

Ken Greenberg says we're undergoing our third transformation in Regina.
In the 30s, the Interstate highway system "seemed like a good idea at the time".
An interesting cartoon from the late '50s depict how cities could be in the future.

Showtime magic highway USA 1958 by Disney.
They didn't foresee expensive energy, or traffic jams. They didn't see the impact of roads, that they always fill up.
They didn't see the effect on children's health, making kids obese from lack of activity.

Mentions Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

How are convenience and value perceived?

Buying real estate downtown instead of where you have to commute is a better investment. Commute time predicts value drop of suburb property.

Bike share, car share, pay with mobile devices, Asian Octopus.

Next fifty years is our time to retrofit the suburban infrastructure we've inherited.

Sustainability is a way of synthesizing and connecting.
Find higher levels of mix and overlap in new projects.
Shopping on main level, business above, and residences above that.

We're colonizing parking lots in the next phase.
We have no better options. We need to create a new political space that reflects how we actually live in cities.

St. Paul, MN lost its beautiful waterfront to commerce, shipping containers. In the mid 1990s Ken was asked to create a plan to transform it to be more picturesque.

Re-evaluate, and set the bar higher again.

Stockholm example given next. Northern climate examples are important for here.
Suction garbage removal, underground!
Removed industrial squatters.
Citizens involved in planning, and they aren't sustainability geeks, they're just average people caught up in the excitement of renewing their living environment.

So, how can Regina capitalize on the growth? Grow into parking lots, or grow outward and disconnect people through distance?

He bluntly says we can improve our transit system, through high investment, and a better layout than Calgary undertook. He says to make a serious move to car sharing too (YAY!) Regina Car Share Co-operative agrees.

A panel now speaks:
8:31
Nelson Bird: interesting and enlightening video, like the Jetsons. Regina downtown after five pm is desolate, but Saskatoon isn't at night.

Mo Bundon:
Right on Ken! Regina punches above it's weight. 25000 people in downtown living there? Political cycles don't line up with the longterm view. How does the stadium fit into this? Opportunity costs lost, stadium vs. Theatres, development, and smaller facility for same money spent.

Pat Dell:
Hard for young people to buy homes. Warehouse district is turning into condos and bar street.

Mike O'Donnell: kids affect him. Wants a safe place for kids, like depicted in Stockholm photo in presentation.
Multicultural Regina he is proud of it. Embracing Winter is key to success.

I got the first question, after Ken said a in city large, single use stadium wouldn't deliver all it promises.
I asked what the City could do to make it easier for car sharing to be adopted. Ken said it's possible to integrate bike, car, and transit sharing into one payment method, and for developers to get benefits from including car sharing in their designs. (The new R-Card could be for bikes and shared cars too, with mobile devices telling people where they can find each source of transportation near where they are standing. The technology is here, it only needs the people of Regina to implement this system by next year.)

Next question was a concern about library downtown being sold into private development, with loss of architectural heritage.

Next guy wants to build parking underground in more cases. Ken noted the cars in his photos were underground, with a city parking layer on top, then street level shopping, then business/commercial, then residences on top. This creates a bustling street-front all day and night.

Next comments on housing affordability. And building strategy.
Ken asks what constitutes the most efficient use of resources. Some infrastructure we use for only one thing for only part of the day, it's not efficient. Use downtown at night as well. This is why the current downtown is not efficient, it dies down completely at night, losing the opportunity to use the infrastructure more completely in one area and having to build separate infrastructure elsewhere to serve the people that commute daily.

The shared cars should be used night and day as well, business in the day, and families and youth at night for recreation and resource acquisition (ie. shopping).

The sprawled infrastructure is hard to maintain.

The end?
There are two more presentations like this, I encourage you to go!
Afterward I had stimulating conversations with many city employees, some of whom were happy to be talking to a transportation guru like me. I like walking, cycling, and car sharing, and I've used the bus, and drive at times. I'm flexible in how I get around, and know a lot about transportation systems, so I can teach a lot. I can also learn a lot more, and it's thrilling to have the ear of others in employed roles that could make some of my vision for Regina become a reality.

Rolling Along

We've activated the online booking system today, so all of our members should have a message in their email box now with details on booking, and using, the car.

Thank you to everyone who was so patient with the process that has put Saskatchewan's first car share smack into the middle of Regina. Thank you to our members, and my fellow board members (past and present) for your years of hard work. I look forward to helping RCS grow and improve service over the years to serve more of our community, at even more affordable rates, with high tech equipment in every car for added convenience.

The RCS Board is currently in negotiations with a business to bring car sharing to another neighbourhood in the city. So, expect our fleet to expand soon!

Yours in sharing,
John Klein
President
www.reginacarshare.ca

Latest News

Good evening Car Sharers:

It's been a long time in the making, and full operation is so close I can taste it. We're about 2 weeks, or less, away from having our first vehicle available to approved members. A deposit is in for a vehicle, we're just waiting for an affordable and quality used car (that meets our criteria) to show up on the market for our dealer to snap it up.

Our latest board meeting was tonight, and we're excited to be so close to offering the province's first car share to the people of Regina. We'll be making information available to members soon on how to book the car online from our website, and how to get their key once it's available.

John Klein
President
Regina Car Share Co-operative
www.reginacarshare.ca

Joining is easier

At today's board meeting we've tweaked the application form so it's even easier to understand, and has some more important information with included on it. Read on for pricing once we have our vehicles in place.

We're accepting applications for membership, and would appreciate you signing up now so that when we have vehicles in service this Fall, you're ready to drive.


You'll have to visit or fax an SGI location to get a Driver Abstract, copy your valid drivers licence (black and white is okay), write a $525 cheque ($500 of which is refundable given simple conditions), read the application form and membership manual, and mail us the completed application form.

Pricing we're keeping simple, just remember FIVE-FIFTY. It's $5.00/h and 50¢/km to drive RCS vehicles. For example, a 2 hour booking where you drive 10km would cost just $15 on your bill.

The next RCS Board meeting is July 30, 5:30 PM at the RCS office on 11th Ave.

Sincerely,
John Klein
President
Regina Car Share Co-operative
http://www.reginacarshare.ca

Latest News

The Regina Car Share Co-operative is moving along, looking at putting together a solid plan to have car keys into members' hands this year. To that end, the Board has elected a new President and Treasurer to join the current Secretary on the executive. The Board will have a retreat outside of Fort Qu'Appelle this coming weekend to work out more of the details of the business plan that will launch the first operational car share in the province.

-John Klein
President
Regina Car Share Co-operative

Office Grand Opening Party

December 6, 2008
Saturday night party to celebrate the opening of the RCS office.

2520 11th Ave
Regina, SK

For more information:
Michael Bell
Project Coordinator
www.reginacarshare.ca

Next meeting Oct. 29, 2008 UPDATED AGAIN

Location update!

Join us for our next meeting on Wednesday October 29th at 6:00 PM,
#406 - 2121 15th Ave
581-4233

We have updates on office renovations, and lots more.

For more information you can reach the 'Regina Car Share' at 306--550-7223

Next potluck meeting August 25 Monday

Come out to our next potluck and meeting at 31 Centennial St. Apt. 33 at 6:30PM Monday August 25.

Next meeting Aug. 12... UPDATED AGAIN new location, no potluck

The next RCS Meeting will be on Tuesday August 12th at 7:00pm. It will be at the booked room in Atlantis Coffee House 1992 Hamilton St (Victoria Ave).
Everyone is welcome.

The official website is now under construction, and after a short lull through the last month, the organization is ready to push ahead with putting rubber to road in August and the future.

For more information you can reach the 'Regina Car Share' at 550-7223.

Next Meeting June 3, 2008

7:00 pm (6:30 potluck supper) on Tuesday June 3rd at Apt. 406, 2121 - 15th Ave.

Hope to see you there :-)

Next meeting May 14, 2008 6:30 PM

Join us for our next pot luck supper / meeting on Wednesday May 14th at 6:30 PM,
1909 Toronto St.

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As a side note of possible interest, there is even "bike sharing" starting up in Washington D.C.

April 22 pot luck

Sorry for the late notice, but the next pot luck meeting is set for Tuesday
1909 Toronto St. April 22 (Earth Day), 6:30PM

April already?

Next meeting 1909 Toronto St. April 8, 6:30PM Tuesday

It's a pot luck supper, so bring some food and have a good time with the interim-Board.

Next meeting, March 5, 2008 Wednesday

Potluck - start eating at 6:30 pm, meeting to start at 7:00 pm. You can come over earlier if you need to setup your potluck items.

Address is #406 - 2121 15th Ave

Next meeting Thurs. Feb. 7 6:30 PM

Come out to our next meeting to share some pot luck food, and the latest information on Regina's car share co-operative.
Thurs. Feb. 7 2008
6:30 PM
15th St. downtown
Email reginacarshare @ yahoo.ca for details.

Regina Car Share Co-operative on Facebook

You can add the RCSC to your groups on Facebook.

Next Meeting Wednesday Jan. 23, 2008 6:30

Our next meeting is this week, Wednesday January 23rd 6:30 pm
at H. Russell's apartment #406-2121 15th Ave.

- Any bikes can be parked in the garage, just let someone at the meeting know