琉璃神社鈥檚 future started to take shape this weekend, in an alley connecting Rutland Centennial Hall with the May Day carnival grounds.
Away from the hubbub of the celebrations, but close enough to catch a whiff of cotton candy, it wasn鈥檛 the most inspirational location for the city鈥檚 Imagine 琉璃神社 project to get underway.
But those who stopped for a moment to offer their two cents on what they want from their city鈥檚 future weren鈥檛 short on great ideas on how to build a brighter future.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e getting is interesting,鈥� said Rafael Villarreal, a City of 琉璃神社 planner who鈥檚 leading the project.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of youth involvement鈥e鈥檙e getting 10-to-15-year-old kids who are being pretty thoughtful.鈥�
One who stood out to Villarreal was a girl who, at 10- to 12-years old, said her main concerns with the city were 鈥渏obs, security and education.鈥�
鈥淲ow. That was really interesting,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hen we had more talking about recreation, diversity, technology, community building and greening the city.
鈥淲e also had a lot of people talking about traffic.鈥�
No subject is off limits in the early stages of this community exercise which is being billed as the 鈥渓argest city-wide conversation in our history.鈥�
The hope is to gather as much input as possible and then as the process to set city goals moves ahead, those ideas will be whittled down and refined with the assistance of professionals of varying kinds.
鈥淲e鈥檙e creating a vision for the city,鈥� said Villarreal.
鈥淭he last time we did that was 25 years ago, so we鈥檙e looking to see what is the thing that will redefine 琉璃神社. 鈥�
To get an idea about how the 1992 plan informed the current shape of the city one need only look as far as its bike lane infrastructure.
Villarreal pointed out that there鈥檚 a high concentration of bike lanes in this city, and that was one of the things laid out in that plan.
鈥淭he vision can change, but the idea is to prepare the city to be adaptable, so it can respond to a future that鈥檚 pretty unknown,鈥� he said.
City staff will be out collecting your opinions at a variety of events.
Next up will be at the Parkinson Recreation Centre鈥檚 Family Fun Day on Sunday, May 29 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Those who are social media savvy may also want to make note of the hashtag #Imagine琉璃神社.
Using Instagram or Twitter, tell the city what you鈥檇 like to see by stating 鈥淚 #Imagine琉璃神社鈥︹��
That avenue comes with a chance to win from a weekly draw.
Prizes, says the city, will vary.
For more information go to http://imagine.kelowna.ca/.
