Suggestion Box: What do you want us to know?

Create a buy local guide for Red Deer and area.

Create an inventory of local producers and assemble it into a guide to help residents source locally made food and products. Work with the Chamber of Commerce to create a self guided tour for residents and tourists.

Collecting household compost year round. In the winter it may be once every two weeks or once a month.

Improved bussing so there is less reliance on cars

We urgently need initiatives to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels e.g building codes that can get us off the grid and on to green energy supplies as soon as possible - the technology is readily available and will save not just pollution problems but energy costs in the future.

Less road building and much better transit to get people out of their cars.

The Landfill - Why is city residential yard waste products (tree trimming - etc.) only free for dumping at the landfill for certain week(s) each year??

Also - this past spring - many people brought sod - and were informed it had to go into the landfill - since the dirt is too abrasive on the compost cutters...

Same with any coniferous tree branches - too sappy/acidic for composting...

This should be better explained to residents (seasonal mail-box drop, etc.) when the free yard waste week is announced...

OR -

Better yet - consider alternatives for the products - to keep them more…

Keep the Summer Market. Use it to info people of balcony compost bins and balcony gardening. Use the Market to give info about how to better use the City for Staycations - give a wonderful basket of goodies to a winner or three who post ideas and photos of their Red Deer Staycation in our Park System. Maybe another prize for a back yard Staycation, and one for the Winter for sure.

Keep City Hall Park and the clock and making downtown a lovely place.

I would like to see each sub-division, not only with the names all the same Letter but with the history of the names posted some where - in a Park? Make each sub-division unique. Get the residents involved. Riverside completely took charge of their neighbourhood and it is looking good!

Create Pedestrian Friendly (and accessible!!) Shopping Areas & Neighborhoods!

The 'box store' shopping areas are awkward to walk around & across. In a wheelchair or for a visually impaired person, they would be dangerous.

I understand that the new area behind Michener Centre is striving to be a walkable neighborhood! I think that this is excellent and that it is fitting with the great job that Red Deer has done to date with the amazing trail system!

Plow all hiking and biking trails in teh winter to encourage environmentally friendly modes of travel, like walking and biking, year round. It would also encourage people to use the parks system recreationally year round by providing low cost recreational options that all residents could afford. For a small amount of money we could reduce polution and make our general population healthier.

Reduce light pollution; street lights; why do they have to shine up?, city yards lights look like air craft landing lights, office buildings lit at night? (high municipal taxes on electric energy use after 9 PM), tax rebates on better more efficient dimmer (better directed) light fixtures, all saves $$$ in the end

Roundabouts.... - there are certainly numerous intersections that would benefit from converting to roundabouts - rather than traffic control lights... - not all - but some - mostly where traffic is below threshold levels...

How has the one in Sylvan Lake worked so far for them???

Is Red Deer considering installing any - or are any installed as of yet???

While they regulate traffic - they also do not require vehicles to sit and idle and wait when there is no cross-directional traffic...

I visit White Rock, BC and from one roundabout - they have now numerous ones - all across the city...

Red Deer would definitely benefit from roundabouts

Community online forums....

There are over 20 communities in Red Deer...

Each one is unique - sporting their individual advantages, personalities and problems.

Why can the City not start an online forum - not unlike what we have right here - but have it divided into communities - and even "micro-communities"

I live in an older development - part of a main community - but we are individual from our community - we have our own set of features, and problems...

Being able to discuss things - build a micro-community association - would go far to improving our neighbourhoods...

Think of it like developing numerous small diamonds - each on their own - not too impressive - but when brought together in a well designed arrangement - these micro-diamonds can be stunningly gorgeous!!!

No city can ever hope to be a 100 karat diamond - but a cluster of smaller diamonds - that is very possible - if we have not achieved it up till now - it is time to bring new ideas to the table

boynorth@shaw.ca

The welcome to Red Deer sign at the south end of the city is in the wrong place. It is at the end of a 'pullover'. When a vehicle, especially the trucks pullover, you can not see the sign. It should be at the other end of this pullover. Note # I cannot think of the proper term for these pullovers, rest stops?

Push reel mowers

How can we reduce all the number of gas and electric lawnmowers currently being used???

A gas lawnmower creates more pollution than a 2010 car driving from Vancouver BC to Halifax NS. Not to mention they completely are the noisiest thing going!!! -

Electric mowers - while quieter - still require energy generated elsewhere

We purchased a reel mower - if properly tuned and sharpened - these new models are easy to use - quiet - good clean exercise - and a 50 foot lot is not too big to do with one of these...

Understandably - there are properties where these reel mowers are simply not capable - due to size and terrain - however - most City lots - are 100% able to be mowed with a reel mower

Another advantage for Red Deer - the grass does not have to be dry to mow - so early morning dew - no problem - afternoon sprinkle - no problem - the opportunities to mow are so much more!!! d:o)

Are other cities doing anything to encourage a switch from gas and electric mowers to push reel machines???

Small businesses and charities can not recycle easily... at my home I can recycle, at work I can not. At work we process a lot of stock, all of it coming in cardboard....we do not have room for the full size dumpster(which only takes carboard, not paper, etc.) that is my only other choice. Our volunteers and staff need to go weekly to the recycling station to recycle. We are lucky if there is enough room in them to leave all that we have. This seriously can't be fixed? Why bother caring about at home recycling if we can't at work?

Traffic is better if we had transit, transit that went more places, more frequently....timing of the lights is key, and roundabouts/traffic circles are a tool all of us can use.

There should be light polution reduction work/bylaw, when it is night... it doesn't need to be high noon because of one light in one parking lot.

Comprehensive plastics recycling is a priority issue for me - I understand the difficulty is a poor market for plastics other than #2. For me this is not the primary concern, but a problem to be solved - perhaps by researching what other municipalities are doing. I would strongly support subsidizing comprehensive recycling in order to achieve the more important objective of eliminating plastics from our landfills.

please

remove 20% increase for non residence for available recreation programs:)

I think long time users especially skaters, using older facilities, should not have to see increases - moreover they should get added bonuses like points toward free skates. This could help bring more skaters back & out.,. I especially hope the City will encourage more slow skates to continue for any one wanting to participate vs having age and out of town resident penalties.

thankz 4 UR attention

We need a bike/pedestrian (+ horse?) overpass over Hwy 2 from Heritage Ranch to the Fort Normandeau road far more than we need a yet another bridge from Alexander Way over the river to Bower Ponds. (The ponds are easily enough accessible by the Taylor Drive bridge.)

There is NO pedestrian/cycle route over Hwy 2 at 67th or 32nd Street or 11A, or under Hwy 2 along the river. These should be retrofitted to have one; any future bridges over the highway or the river should have a footpath as part of the initial construction.

To go along with the environmental issues with water, something small that adds up is the showers in our recreation facilities. The Collicut and Dawe from my experience have public showers inside the pool facilities that have manual valves on them that are constantly left on by people with no conscience. Removing these manual valves and replacing them with timed flow valves would save a considerable amount of water.