Planners from across Atlantic region meet in Charlottetown

Planners from across the Atlantic region are meeting in Charlottetown to discuss how to face future challenges.

The group has discussed a range of topics from climate change to new technologies and how these issues may affect city designs going forward. 

These technologies will allow us I think to need less parking in the future. And that's a very good thing because I think in a lot of commercial areas that'll allow sensitive redevelopment that could really add to a great public realm rather than sort of vast asphalt lots.- Jeff Lehman

Alex Forbes, president of the PEI Association of Planners, says the speed technologies emerge makes planners' work more difficult and important.

"It's putting pressure on us to respond quicker ... in some cases should we even regulate these things or should we let them sort of move forward and sort of manage them or work with them," said Forbes, who is also Charlottetown's manager of planning & heritage.

"In a lot of these cases it's not an easy decision in regard to how to proceed with it at either a municipal or provincial level."

'The exciting world of parking'

Driverless cars and ride-sharing businesses were one of the discussion topics and Forbes said it is important for municipal and provincial governments to be patient.

"It's trying to sort out a whole number of things to allow people to adjust," he said.

"We just don't want to be in the way of preventing people from moving quickly to a new job or a new type of technology that could take them somewhere."

Jeff Lehman, the mayor of Barrie, Ont., said driverless cars and the growth of ride-sharing should change the way cities approach parking lots.

"We need to think about the exciting world of parking much differently ... we've built our parking lots for the peak demand … we've got these vast parking lots that generally sit empty the rest of the year for a lot of the time," he said.

"These technologies will allow us I think to need less parking in the future. And that's a very good thing because I think in a lot of commercial areas that'll allow sensitive redevelopment that could really add to a great public realm rather than sort of vast asphalt lots."

Climate change

Climate change was also on the agenda, as changing weather patterns means cities have to rethink the design of storm water systems.

"From a mayor's point of view we plan for emergencies differently now," said Lehman.

"For 100 years we've taken stormwater … and tried to rush it out to the nearest river or lake as quick as we can.  Now we're learning that what we need to do is ... allow nature what she does very well which is get the water into the ground and moderate the impact of severe weather."

For Forbes, one of the challenges is convincing the public that taxpayer money should be used to protect against something many haven't experienced, like a powerful storm. 

"As humans we tend not to respond to things until we as an individual realize why you should do these things," Forbes said.

"If they [the public] have never seen this storm, they don't understand why they have to pay more money for something, or in the case of P.E.I. it would be storm surge. 'Why do I need to be that far back from the coast? Why do I need to build my building higher?' Because you may be a 70-year-old and you've never seen it."

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Half of P.E.I. psychiatrist positions filled by actively working doctors says province

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | 'Like a heavy fog': P.E.I. man waiting for cataract surgery for months