The Vision for a more connected, accessible, and active Jackson-Park Brookdale Neighbourhood

by Kortney Dunsby, GreenUP NeighbourPLAN Coordinator

The goal of GreenUP’s NeighbourPLAN program is to support residents in reimagining public spaces in three Peterborough neighbourhoods. NeighbourPLAN brings residents together to connect, imagine, and design by hosting a wide range of engagement activities using a collaborative process called, co-design.

As part of NeighbourPLAN, residents of Peterborough’s Jackson Park Brookdale neighbourhood have created A Vision. After eighteen months of working together, residents of this unique community are ready to showcase their long-term visions for public spaces, streets, and sidewalks in their neighbourhood.

A Vision for the Jackson Park-Brookdale Neighbourhood, is a document that has been created, featuring design concepts that are the result of a co-design workshop in the neighbourhood. Residents and built environment and public health professionals came together in this workshop to create innovative ideas that address residents’ concerns, and build upon existing assets.

If you’re curious to see what residents have been working on, join us to celebrate this new Vision, at the Neighbourhood Vision Celebration for Jackson-Park Brookdale on Wednesday June 19, 2019 at Highland Heights Public School from 3:30PM – 6:00PM. Come see The Vision, enjoy food together, and meet some neighbours.

Joan Corrigan has been involved in NeighbourPLAN for over a year and has enjoyed the learning process of the program.

“[The NeighbourPLAN Coordinators] have an impressive store of knowledge and information about neighbourhoods in general,” says Corrigan, “I am retired, so this is a great way to keep informed and involved in my community.”

Corrigan is one of many residents to have contributed their thoughts to the community’s Vision. Over the last eighteen months, over 300 residents have contributed their desires to the community vision document by way of guiding the project as members of a core committee and speaking with the NeighbourPLAN team at pop-up locations.

“I love that my neighbourhood gives me direct access to all sorts of walking and bicycling trails,” says Corrigan, who has been a resident in this north end neighbourhood for ten years, “Equally, I love having needed services and a good assortment of shops and eateries all within easy walking distance.”

Overall, two overarching themes have emerged during the Jackson Park-Brookdale NeighbourPLAN process; these themes form the backbone of The Vision document. Residents want enhanced community connectedness. This would include a built environment that supports a strong social fabric through revitalized neighbourhood parks and gathering spaces.

Additionally, residents would like safer and more accessible streets and sidewalks. This means a neighbourhood where residents are supported to travel safely and are able to choose diverse transportation options. The Vision document showcases how incremental changes to the public spaces in the Jackson-Park Brookdale neighbourhood can lead to a community that better addresses these themes.

It suggests adding enhanced crossings, four-way stops, rain gardens, and placemaking initiatives such as a community mural. The Vision, along with the previously developed Portrait of the Neighbourhood, will be used as communication tools to help residents articulate and advocate for changes they would like in their neighbourhood’s public spaces.

Are you interested in getting more involved in NeighbourPLAN but don’t live in the Jackson Park-Brookdale neighbourhood? NeighbourPLAN is also working in two other communities in Peterborough.

The Downtown Jackson Creek neighbourhood is working towards creating a Vision for their neighbourhood, and we will be hosting a Vision + Design Workshop for Downtown Jackson Creek on Friday June 14, 2019 at the McDonnel Street Activity Centre from 10:00AM – 3:00PM.

The day will begin with a resident-led exploratory walk of the neighbourhood. Here, you will learn about the top focus sites of concern. The walk will lead us to the McDonnel Street Activity Centre, where we will first enjoy a catered lunch from By the Bridge, then dive into the workshop.

The workshop will bring residents together with built environment and public health professionals to brainstorm creative enhancements to their community. If you are interested, please RSVP to Eventbrite at DTJCworkshop.eventbrite.ca.

NeighbourPLAN is now also working in the Talwood neighbourhood, bordered by Sherbrooke, Clonsilla, and Greenville. If you live in the neighbourhood, reach out to us and share your thoughts; we want to hear from you and this is just the beginning!

Want to learn more about NeighbourPLAN and the work we are doing in all three neighbourhoods? Check out the website at www.greenup.on.ca/neighbourplan. For more information about NeighbourPLAN, contact Kortney Dunsby at kortney.dunsby@greenup.on.ca.

This project is a partnership with Active Neighbourhoods Canada and is generously funded by Ontario Trillium Foundation and supported by many local community partners.