Located in south Regina, Ward 1 is home to the residential neighbourhoods of Douglas Park, Hillsdale and Whitmore Park. It is also home to Wascana Lake, the legislative grounds and the University of Regina.
There are seven people running for this seat, and it appears road repairs and water main woes are top of mind for voters in Ward 1.
Six of the seven candidates agree that something must be done about the crumbling streets and aging pipes in south Regina.
For Terry Madole, a community association leader, it’s pretty simple.
“We have to make (infrastructure) a priority,” he said. “Everybody in Regina knows how bad it is and it’s kind of a joke of who’s got the biggest potholes and who’s got the worst roads.”
Shawn Kuster, an exercise physiologist, says his local ties make him the right man to tackle the infrastructure deficit in Ward 1.
“It’s said every year by everyone but nothing gets done,” Kuster said. “It’s time now to settle in and get it done.”
Former school board chair Barbara Young favours a city-wide approach to addressing Regina’s infrastructure issues.
“We have had plans for the downtown area, but I don’t think we have a master plan for how we would look at the scope of the issues we have to face with infrastructure and how we would go about doing that,” Young said.
Rob Armstrong is a member of the Regina Lyric Musical Theatre and has lived in the city for the past two years. He believes he can offer an outside take on infrastructure upgrades. But he cautions that tough choices and sacrifices lie ahead.
“We need more money put toward (infrastructure), even if it does mean increasing taxes,” Armstrong said. “I know that’s the big T-word that everybody hates to address. But if it does improve the quality of the city then I think it is a necessary evil.”
Conrad Hewitt has all the optimism of youth. The 18-year-old spoke of, new innovations, methods and materials in infrastructure repair, as well as new funding sources to pay for it all.
“I’d like to look into partnering a little more with the provincial government in that kind of field,” Hewitt said.
“I think they could be a great help in providing us with more funding maybe and some leadership on how we should be doing that.”
John Klein is the operator of the Regina Car Share Co-operative. He argues that having residents help pay for local street and sidewalk repair is wrong and that the city should pay for the work itself.
“It’s unaffordable for a lot of people, so instead of letting these streets get farther and farther behind, we can take some resources that are used elsewhere in the city,” Klein said.
Rounding out the slate of Ward 1 candidates is Keith Rey, who brings to the infrastructure debate his own set of priority repairs, including “more city maintenance to keep the back alleyways and easements properly maintained so people can actually use them for walking.”
In May, Ward 1 councillor Louis Browne announced he wouldn’t seek re-election this fall.
Based on a report by Dale Hunter, CTV Regina
