Bradford council is pushing ahead with its strategic priorities for the 2022-26 term.
A report from chief administrative officer Geoff McKnight Jan. 16 outlined the progress made in the first year of the term and presented a road map for what to expect in 2024. Committee of the whole then recommended council receive the report for information.
“We’re moving along with our strategic priories and it’s going along quite well,” Mayor James Leduc said.
The strategic priorities fall into one of five areas:
- Community safety and traffic congestion
- Infrastructure and major access roads
- Economic development
- Downtown revitalization and urban renewal
- Enhance recreation and leisure facilities and services
Each of those comprises 18 different strategic priority actions as laid out in the implementation work plan adopted by council in March of 2023.
According to the report, 27 of the 49 activities identified in the work plan were expected to be undertaken in 2023 with 22 categorized as completed or well underway, four underway but delayed, and one that has not yet started.
“We moved on every one but one, so that's a good thing. Our staff have been busy fulfilling our strategic priorities,” Leduc said.
The started but delayed activities include:
- Implementing new traffic control signals as part of the Holland Street revitalization (which is likely delayed until 2025)
- Completing the 10-year municipal transit plan
- Undertaking the municipal comprehensive review to address long-term housing supply
- Finalizing the detailed design, tendering and awarding the new town hall project (now expected to take place in the first quarter of 2024 and take nine months)
The one activity which has not yet begun is: Partnering with local health practitioners and developing a recruitment plan to attract additional health-care professionals to town clinics. This is now expected to begin in the third quarter of 2024 and take three to six months.
Councillors had a variety of suggestions for how that could happen.
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott suggested that the expansion to Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston, as well as future campuses for Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) and Southlake Regional Health Centre presented opportunities for partnerships and recommended a working group of local doctors, health-care professionals, staff and councillors to tackle the issue.
“We’ve got to get our hands around the health-care issue in this town,” he said.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper agreed and asked McKnight for an update on the progress so far.
McKnight pointed to past success transforming the old library building on Holland Court into a health clinic, but acknowledged times have changed and there are new challenges to creating and attracting health teams.
As a result, McKnight recommended it would be best to continue working with a group of physicians with whom town representatives met last year “to get a pulse” for the situation.
“What’s scary is, as we get older, we realize these doctors we’ve known our whole lives in Bradford are getting older and they’re going to be retiring soon,” Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie added.
Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik agreed the town needs to do “whatever we can,” to attract family physicians, but also “we should have something in Bradford for urgent care.”
Activities for 2024 by strategic priority include:
Community safety and traffic congestion
- Update trails master plan, particularly riverside and canal trails — expected to begin in first quarter and take six months
- Review best practices for on/off-road multi-use pathways and set town standard — expected to begin in first quarter and take six months
- Undertake operational assessment of main corridors to determine opportunities to reduce congestion (i.e. further signal synchronization, add/delete left turns, add right-turn slip lanes, consolidate driveways, etc.). Prepare implementation plan and cost estimates — expected to begin in third quarter and take six months
- Through data analysis, identify areas of high-incident safety and risky behaviour (speeding, vehicular accidents, vandalism, vagrancy, arson, etc.) — expected to begin in first quarter and take six months
- Develop and implement correction plan for previous activity (may include increased enforcement, environmental changes, public education, increased fire prevention activities, regulatory changes, etc.) — expected to begin in fourth quarter and take six months
- Partner with Ministry of Health, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, RVH and Southlake to assess community health needs of Bradford and identify opportunities for local service improvements — expected to begin in first quarter and take six months
Infrastructure and major access roads
- Following direction of comprehensive municipal review, update master servicing plan and transportation master plan — expected to begin in first quarter and take two years
Economic development
- Undertake industrial lands strategy — expected to begin in first quarter and take nine months
- Co-ordinate the development of promotional material tailored to each industrial quadrant — expected to begin in fourth quarter and take six months
Downtown revitalization and urban renewal
- Obtain Bradford Curling Club’s preferred solution for their long-term facility needs — expected to begin in first quarter and take three months
- Finalize replacement plan for curling club — expected to begin in first quarter and take three months
- Finalize design for remaining park space at 125 Simcoe Rd. campus — expected to begin in third quarter and take six months
- Establish stakeholder liaison committee to assist with development of construction mitigation, communication and marketing plans for Holland Street revitalization — expected to begin in third quarter and take three months
- Conduct downtown patron’s surveys and focus groups to provide insight into preferred goods and services for the downtown core — expected to begin in third quarter and take three months
- Develop marketing plan that supports the above activity — expected to begin in fourth quarter and take three months
Enhance recreation and leisure facilities and services
- Following the finalized design of Celebration Square, tender and award construction — expected to begin in first quarter and take three months
- Explore BWG Leisure Centre expansion opportunities — expected to begin in third quarter and take six months
- Following the curling club’s preferred solution and finalizing the replacement plan for the club, develop a business plan for constructing a new curling facility — expected to begin in third quarter and take three months
- Develop implementation plan and cost estimates for recommendations flowing from the leisure services master plan — expected to begin in first quarter and take three months
Ongoing multi-year efforts include:
Community safety and traffic congestion
- Continue with annual intersection upgrade program
Infrastructure and major access roads
- Complete environmental assessments, detailed design and construction in accordance with the develop sequencing plan for urban arterial upgrades (i.e. Holland Street, Line 8, Line 6, Sideroad 10)
- Lobby Simcoe County to accelerate construction of the Highway 27 bypass in Bond Head
Economic development
- Populate database with up-to-date industrial landowner info (i.e. parcel availability, asking price, timing, own/lease, etc.)
- Lobby Simcoe County for additional affordable housing
Recommendations from committee of the whole are considered for approval at the next regular meeting of council.
