City needs to rethink its development strategy

By Letter to the Editor on May 7, 2020.

In recent weeks, as businesses have shifted from retail locations to delivery services, I have had the immense pleasure of driving throughout the city and exploring all the different neighbourhoods of Lethbridge. What an incredibly diverse and interesting city, but why is it so spread out?

Developments to the west and north are massive maze-like suburban spreads that pretty much force residents to have vehicles for transport. Shopping centres for groceries, gas, pharmacies, restaurants and extraneous lodgings are shoved into tight, auto-centric developments with commercial rents so high only chain stores/corporations can afford them.

What happened to making Lethbridge sustainable? This 1960s-’80s development pattern is already 40 years out of date. Please stop building like this. We don’t need to spread further and further out. The infrastructure is too expensive in these developments to maintain, and services like transit and walkability is non-existent.

The City needs to re-assess what it allows for development opportunity in our outskirts.

Kelti Baird

Lethbridge