This week, residents of Bedford will have an opportunity to discuss the waterfront development that has been on hold for almost four years.
The Mill Cove development was stopped after the release of the Bedford Waterfront Planning Study in June 2010. Though the report claimed residents were consulted about plans to develop the area, Waterfront Development soon learned opinions differed from the results. "We started to hear some new ideas from the community that we hadn't heard before," says Andy Fillmore, vice-president of Waterfront Development. "We are grateful we heard these new voices because they are important and ultimately had a shaping influence on what's to come."
One of these voices was Mark Currie's, president of the Save Bedford Waterfront group. He went to the original planning sessions but he didn't feel like residents' concerns were being addressed. "We were becoming a focal point for this collective voice of unhappiness," he says, "that was disappointed about what was going on."
Through their MP, MLA and city councillor, Currie and the group were able to access hard-to-find information. Sharing this information---including the confirmation that acid slate was trucked in from Bridgewater and New Brunswick, and dumped into the water without a full environmental impact assessment---with the public was the main goal. "The most amazing thing that happened was we started sharing the information that we have learned," he says. "People say based on what we've uncovered and what we've found, they agree with us."
Along with natural habitats that the Save Bedford Waterfront wants protected, Currie says incorporating more public space with protected natural space is also important.
There is no going back on what has already been developed, which amounts to around 18 acres of the basin already filled. But what happens next will be the main topic of discussion this week. Fillmore says the amount of accessible waterfront will be doubled, and there is enough land to ensure the project pays for itself through building residential property to be sold.
"What we found is that we could do an economic project that would still bring about 1,300 units on more or less the existing fill and that, in the business case, makes sense," he says. "There is enough revenue from the sale of those units to pay for a well-designed, high-quality public realm."
Longtime resident Rachelle Goguen says public space is exactly what Bedford needs. "I think people just forgot that that is how we built the park that we all love now, with the playground," she says of DeWolf Park, "and that is where we have the Canada Day fireworks. Everybody uses and loves that park."
Despite some differences of opinion, Currie applauds Waterfront Development for realizing that they should take another look at the project, with community input. "With Andy Fillmore at the helm of this re-engagement," he says, "we have a real opportunity here to do something really cool for that waterfront."
Bedford Waterfront Community Re-engagement Sessions
May 1-3
Sunnyside Mall, 1595 Bedford Highway
see schedule here
