A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
Q & A
Imagining our future.
Over the course of the election I’ve been inviting citizens to answer this question.
“People move to great cities and stay because they are vibrant and alive. What’s one wish or possibility that excites you, that would help Red Deer thrive and make it an even better place to you?”
Here are the responses that have come in. Please feel free to suggest your answer, or add to something that’s already been said, here using the comment box at the bottom of this page.
“All grass clippings and natural yard materials be placed in reusable containers for pickup… no plastic bags” — Colleen
“I would like to see increases in quantity and quality of seniors’ homes and longterm care placements in the city. Increase subsidy to private homes. Increase subsidy to families caring for seniors” — Dorothy
“Time the traffic lights better” — Scott
“Would like a small off leash dog park in the downtown that I don’t have to drive to. I don’t drive.” — Elizabeth Craig
“I would like a spray park for kids. Every town in Central Alberta has one but not Red Deer.” — Allison W.
“We need a civic auditorium, and one or two more libraries, especially in the south end.”
“Better snow removal for our city. Thank you. My little Honda Civic has troubles 
” — Jayme Boyce
“I would like a soccer building and more spray parks.” — Emily (age 10)
“That at some time in the near future, a balance is determined between ‘growth’ and sustainability that maintains all good agricultural land surrounding the city; i.e. enough is enough… in the long run we will need to eat, and drink and we cannot eat asphalt…” — Pete & Barb Waddel
“Plow some paths for the walkers at Three Mile Bend” — Sharon Ritchie
“Traffic lights on/used when required” — Greg Gigliuk.
“I would like to see all City hiking and biking trails in the parks system plowed in the winter. This would promote fitness and environmentally friendly transit.” — Ron Baugh
“Extend bus services to Penhold.” — Patti & Grant Henley
“Bus Services to be extended to Penhold.” — Betty Kirkpatrick
If I get this business plan approved Red Deer will be getting something very exciting for children and their families!
We all know by now that you are big on downtown revitalization, but I think it is worth another mention how much of an impact something like this can have on our city. In order to promote a more vibrant city, we need a more vibrant downtown core. We need more arts-based activities to be up and running throughout the entire week (including the evenings). In order to promote an active downtown we need shops that are open later and that will entice the community to visit the downtown area, not only once but consistently!
I would like to see the city continue with their “green” thinking. The solar power at the civic yards, living roof at the downtown parkade. Now let’s consider rubber sidewalks made from recycled material. They resist cracking, can be colored and are easy to walk on.
I would like to see a better effort made for cyclist commuting aad bicycle culture. Things like bike lanes, better pathways (ie. for crossing the bridges), a community bike shop that make bikes affordable for families and low income people. This could greatly improve our overall health, traffic problems and environment.
Extend the public transit hours of operation. Many people work until midnight and then have to walk home, at risk of their personal safety. It seems insane that a city this size doesn’t have 24 hr bus service.
Please advocate for increased plastic recycling options through the blue box program. It has bothered me for years that we are limited to hdpe 2 when other centres can recycle almost all kinds of plastics.
we should get a water park in red deer (Grade 6 student)
more swimming pools (Grade 6 student)
more trees to climb!!!
(Grade 6 student)
we should have a skateborde park in every area of red deer just not down town my dream is to become a professinoale skate border i live in glendalae area (Grade 6 student)
on your website why did you choose all the different colours on your page…Also i like how you did your website…it looks like you like nature…bye bye (Grade 6 student)
hello am keona and i was worndering were u but ur signns and i would like more trees too climb and more pools and more parks more ice cream for free i think are city need more trees cuse the give us oxygen (Grade 6 student)
I would like a aquatic center in the glendale nourmandeau area (Grade 6 student)
hi my name is Shauna i would love to have more trees to climb. i think that our city needs more trees because trees give us oxygen.if you vote for one person ones can you vote for some one in a nother position? (Grade 6 student)
i think that since the animals of the world are dying from plastic bags i think that the % of plastic bags (should be lower) because the animals are butifull (Grade 6 student)
i think it would be cool if there was a fishing pond in the normandeau glendale area (grade 6 student)
I would like a petting zoo, one more skating rink and a library in the Normandeau area. (grade 6 student)
hi (grade 6 student)
I say that some children should be able to vote because most children actually learn about the people who are trying to vote in school so they know as much about the vote as 18 and people who are older so i think a reasonable age is 11 and older,and my dream is the bills go down and food is not so high of money because each week we spend 150$ so most people are going poor and they need to eat and they lost there job so they don’t have a lot of money!So i think its just so sad seeing a family loose there home so please try to make this happen (grade 6 student)
Shauna,
That is a good question. You may vote only once for mayor, but you may choose up to eight people for council. It is important to know that you don’t need to choose 8 for council; if there are only three people you think would do a good job, you may vote for just three.
Gail (Paul’s campaign manager)
Keona,
Actually, Paul doesn’t have any election signs on our streets. Instead, he has cloth book bags, buttons and of course he is using his webpage, facebook and Twitter to tell people about him.
Gail (Paul’s campaign manager)
I’m thinking about park programs. The best way to keep our parks safe is to use them. If there were programs set up during different seasons that were family oriented, & low cost (or free), all could enjoy and the many parks in our beautiful city would be utilized the way they ought to be. Evening tobogganning & snowman making for winter activities, etc. Games organized; getting teens involved in running activities. The possibilities could be endless. We take back our parks, and those that want to use them for undesirable and wicked purposes would be ousted.
Kallista,
Municipal politics is not based on parties like provincial and federal politics. I wanted to be sure that the colours I chose weren’t similar to those of the parties. I picked that blue colour because it’s my favourite and reminds me of the sky. I like the sky because it encircles the earth and gives us ALL air to breathe regardless of who we are. In that sense it’s a little about supporting diversity. I picked the lime green and the orange colours because they are kinda trendy, funky and modern. I’d rather be ‘hip’ than stuffy. I think the three colours together suggest something fresh and new, warm and inviting, hopefully and creative… those are the messages that I wanted to portray. Thanks for the question. Paul.
I would like to see a greater importance put on Recreation in the city. We have some fantastic facilities already, the Collicut Center, The Recreation Center, the newly renovated Dawe Center, the list goes on. The city is in desperate need of a new recreation facility, one with a 50 meter pool and dive tank, one with another ice rink, one with a running track, one with numerous squash courts. The list goes on with what could be put in a new facility. With having a new recreation facility the City of Red Deer could become a hub for sporting events, which will bring in more revenue to the city’s businesses. People hate the bigger cities of Edmonton and Calgary because of the traffic and everything else that comes with a city of over 1 million residents. Plus with the location of Red Deer, how could someone go wrong with building a new facility?
More diverse recycling program, particularly for the plastic.