Iqaluit residents share ideas for proposed new subdivision
Public meeting attendees raise concerns about traffic, use of land behind Aqsarniit hotel
At the Franco-Centre Wednesday, Iqaluit residents heard from city planner Mathew Dodds about a proposed new subdivision in the city. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
An improved road system, more housing and a fenced-in dog park were among ideas Iqaluit residents shared about what should be included in a new subdivision being proposed near the city’s downtown.
The subdivision would be located on what’s currently an unoccupied ridge behind the Aqsarniit hotel.
Approximately 20 people showed up to a community meeting Wednesday evening at the Franco-Centre about the proposal. City planner Mathew Dodds outlined details and contract planners Michelle Armstrong and Samantha Toffolo were also present to answer questions and take notes on people’s comments.
The project is being led by Qikiqtani Inuit Association, in partnership with the city.
“It is a good pilot size for us,” Dodds said in his presentation, speaking about the unique partnership the city has formed with QIA to co-develop the area.
Other benefits he highlighted included the fact the area would not require major pipe upgrades, and it is close to other areas where development is ongoing.
Traffic was a major concern raised by several attendees, who said the Four Corners and Nunavut Arctic College areas can become heavily congested at times.
Dodds hinted that city council would be looking at ideas to improve the flow of traffic in those areas at some point in the future.
Residents’ other concerns included the land’s current use — attendee Myles Hawkins said people frequently use the area for tobogganing, snowmobiling, dog walking and mountain biking.
“It would be important for any development that happens to incorporate that in because I’m sure the folks that move into the development and the subdivision would also value those types of activities,” Hawkins said.
Armstrong said the buildings that would go up there would be mixed commercial and residential.
Attendee Brad Pirie said he wants to see more high-density housing to help alleviate the housing crisis.
“Something like that, I think, would be quite beneficial for the city, especially where it’s located,” he said.
Beyond housing, attendee Sandi Chan said the city would benefit from new business, a recreational centre and a fenced-off dog park in the area.
“Densifying that area between Plateau and Federal Road, I think it’s a good idea,” Chan said.
“If there’s restaurants, if there’s a McDonald’s, if there’s a new rec centre for youth so youth [don’t] have to go all the way up to AWG [Arctic Winter Games Arena], that would be really good.”
No one spoke against the development during the roundtable discussion, only offering questions and suggestions.
Another consideration briefly addressed Wednesday was the proposed Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre.
Planners for that project held a community meeting Tuesday, at which they identified the proposed subdivision area as the location where they want to build the new centre, which would house a performance space, workshops and a collection of historic Inuit artifacts.
However, those project designers are looking at an alternate location outside the city’s core area.
The city is still encouraging residents to come forward with their ideas, questions and concerns.
Dodds said the city is looking at setting up tables at grocery stores and, possibly, the Elders’ Qammaq to hear from more people.
“This is just to kick-start our engagement,” Dodds said in his presentation.
“We’ll have an online site in all three languages with some community mapping exercises and some surveys to collect more information from the community.”
Were any city councillors in attendance to listen directly to residents?
Two are in direct conflict (senior executives in the organisation the city is looking to gift this land to) Councilors Flaherty and Stevenson.
Mayor Awa, Deputy Mayor Smith, Councilor Tilly and Councilor Shepherd are south at the annual gathering of Canadian municipalities.
Kunuk and Nattaq are elders who work in Inuktitut.
The only “missing” councilor is the unelected one Councilor Aglukark.
i see only a dozens people there at the meting on the pictures, theres no way just 12 people represent the 8 thousain or more resident,what im saying is, if we plan to make iqaluit great again we should not solely listen and rely on only 12 people opinion
You’re telling me that out of 3700 Municipalities in Canada eligible to attend the FCM Conference, which receives about 1800 delegates, that Iqaluit sent FOUR councillors? What a nice vacation to Calgary.
Mayor Awa attended as the President of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities. So while Iqaluit was paying his salary, he was actually working for the small communities and other regional centers.
Awa went on behalf of NAM, the city sent Deputy Mayor Smith and Councillor Tilley as their representatives.
I guess it will be less ruff if city folks get a dog park. Meanwhile on mainland, nunavut is spacious enough to let the dog run and play. Just go to the outskirts of town and throw the ball for your dog. We just avoid places with kids at play.
This new development area has one of the most valuable views of the scenic bay in all of Iqaluit, unobstructed by abrasive high-rises or littered with visual pollution that you may find closer to ocean-level. I love the dog park idea as it’s close to residential units that house a significant amount of families and permanent residents of the Capital. It would be an insult to add extra high-density apartments to this particular development as it would diminish the overall quality of the area and add significant material and noise pollution to a space that would benefit as a family-oriented dog park and residential subdivision. I hope the planners consider the option of having detached and multi-unit homes with particular attention to the architectural design geared towards large bay windows to fully appreciate the skyline ahead of them.
A wonderful view of an industrial area and an airport. Wow.
And the Bay
These things are so useless. 19 of the 20 people most likely are Karren’s and Kyle’s that have BS opinions. Iqaluit needs to get away from the idea of a damn dog park. There’s a big ass nuna out there for their doggo’s to run freely. This is also IOL and they will do as they please but take in Karen and Kyle’s idea into consideration.
I’ve never understood the dog park thing.
Go to Sylvia Grinnell.
Go West of the Plateau.
Go to Road to Nowhere.
Go to the Apex Trail.
Go to Apex.
There’s a lot of nuna out there.
My concern is that not all dogs have the best recall abilities, and the security a fenced-in park would provide would allow owners a sense of safety to allow their dogs to socialize. This would also assist in simulating park culture found in cities so if anyone were to move, they would gain an understanding of expected dogpark etiquette without feeling an abrupt culture-shock
Can I borrow your car? These places aren’t accessible on foot
On foot. I mean, technically, you’re right. The place isn’t accessible by foot. It’s an undeveloped lot of land as described in the article, and the article discusses the collective inquiry of how the residents want it created. I’m sure they can add a sidewalk into their plans, or possibly a road, so people can drive themselves to their homes not yet developed in this particular lot.
Couldn’t agree with you more Normand! “Dog Park” is just another term for a place where delusional dog owners bring their dangerous out of control and completely unsocialized animals so that they get into fights and injure other folk’s dogs. NO THANKS!!!, There are plenty of places to walk your dog off-leash without using precious city land for something as useless as dog park.
“If there’s restaurants, if there’s a McDonald’s, […], that would be really good.”
Friggin rights
Sorry OnFoot but those places are all about 20-30 mins away by foot. Stop being lazy and get up off your butt and walk your dog.
So many comments mocking the dog park idea. Have you all forgot about people letting their dogs run on the nuna only for them to get their paw snapped in a fox/wolf leghold trap?
I don’t know about you, but when I see dog walkers here I tell them where there may be traps set up. I tell them when to watch out for foxes and wolves when one has been sighted. It’s also not hard to ask other dog walkers where is a good location to bring your dogs.
This assumes you know where all traps are located – you don’t.
It also assumes that every dog owner will consult with you to check if any foxes or wolves have been sighted – they won’t.
In a town where hunters are free to set leghold traps pretty much wherever they like, a fenced-in area for family pets to be off-leash isn’t as ridiculous as you all are pretending it is.
Wrong. Traps cant be set within a mile of any development. It’s written in the Land Claim Agreement.
Wrong. Just because it’s not permitted, doesn’t mean it’s being followed. We have discovered traps on our dog walks within the city limits.
A dog park would be a nice addition to Iqaluit and I don’t know why there is so much refusal. Focus on the dogs that are loose, and not on dogs and their owners who love their pet. Residents were advised not to run their dogs at Grinnel because of all the fox traps in the area. What is the issue with fencing an area in and let the dogs socialize and run around. Those of you who are against a dog park must not understand the value of it, and it has nothing to do with being lazy. This word however can be easily applied to the owners of all the Iqaluit specials running around in the city.
Every community in nunavut has a limit as to where they can set up traps. This applies with shooting guns. Again, like I said iqaluit can gain better access other than a stupid dog park for temporary residents or semi permanent residents who will probably than give up their dog to iqaluit humane society.
this is autrageous, have any one forgot about fancy feline ? i want a cat park and as soon as possible,before my lasagna gets cold. Garfield
The city is better off getting a new building for kids to be at. Like a new hang out spot for kids. It should have track and field. A pool. Track and field can have nets for soccer, ball hockey, field hockey, lacrosse. Anything but a dog park or a binge drinking place. A place for kids to near adults to run and play. Get the kids into a whole big sports arena where there’s tonnes of stuff to do.
that sounds crazy expensive, where are they going to get the funds for that
Let me see, uhmm. Municipal, parking tickets, local business tax, user tax, and provincial government. This stands a better chance than a dog park for some semi permanent or temporary residents to occupy. This place can pay for itself. You guys can add small business such as sports store or a bowling alley. An arcade. Heck even add a paintball arena. Iqaluit population is huge. If the city needs a better place for its people to feel safe, one big stadium would get many people away from intoxicated people. This would also create more jobs. Jobs that people need. A dog park would just take up valuable space. More garbage for municipal service is all I can see.
This is the second time you mention classifications like semi permanent or temporary residents. What are you referring to Northerner? You should mention the irresponsible permanent residents who don’t take responsible of their pets, resulting in the current loose dog situation. This situation will eventually cause harm to humans and a wide spread, out of control dog infection. I strongly agree with you in regards of a better infrastructure for our children, but a dog park is a must, and it’s financial quiet feasible.
If there’s one restaurant the health-obsessed people of Iqaluit need, it’s a McDonald’s.
Iqaluit don’t fit Macdonalds requirements anyways..thank god…
Restaurants and businesses are an obvious addition to a growing capital, however, it may prove beneficial to consider where the residents would want this centralized. The foot and vehicle traffic associated with businesses will congest an already overburdened artery of the city’s core, and I’d advise the public to consider building these into the architectural concepts of the dense high rises some residents request. Centralizing businesses downtown with the high rises built above will encourage residents to engage in more foot traffic and reduce the emissions produced by the use of vehicles. As the population rises, it’s good to consider finding efficient ways to reduce the need for contributory vehicular pollution
Dog parks are a breeding ground for disease and an arena for dog fights. In a town with no vet this would be a disaster.
You’re missing just a tiny bit of the 1 mile rule, but it is an important part.
Nunavut Agreement 5.7.16
“all [Nunavut] Inuit shall have the free and unrestricted right of
access for the purpose of harvesting to all lands… within Nunavut…”
5.7.17 “The rights of access granted by Section 5.7.16 shall not extend to:…any place within a radius of one mile of any building, structure or other
facility on lands under… lease… or owned…”
This means the territory or a municipality are allowed to ban trapping within 1 mile of a building. It does not mean that they have ban trapping that close.
You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Get a dog, tread it well, socialize it , and there are no issues at all. Dogs are just like any other animals originating from a wild breed. There will always be alphas, but I assume you never heard about that.
Sounds like an out of place teacher asking for a dog park. Sounds like nurses on 3 year term asking for a dog park. Heck they could be jehovahs witness. The same jehovah witness that was trying to use an ice auger on gravel foundation.
Where will the water be found to supply the sub division would be the first thing to consider, I’d say.
Interesting comments. One question: why do English speakers talk about “the nuna”? And a comment: using an ice auger to drill a gravel foundation is creative and resourceful and it’s not nice to point a finger at a single individual.
Please don’t destroy the snowmobile trails. These are the main trails that we use to get into town, on the bay or out to the river area. Whatever is decided, make sure that hunters are consulted and the trails remain useable.