Michael King

Prosperity – Sustainability – Wellness

Integrating concepts of walkability, sustainability, green jobs, public access, and environmental protection into our public policy is the key to improving the quality of life for all people, attracting newcomers and encouraging growth. It means establishing the Pinawa “brand” and identity, and building a vibrant local economy.

Promoting quality of life and well-being is increasingly recognised as an integral part of sustainable design. Not only is active transportation good exercise for the body, it’s good for the soul as well. When you walk to the store, you might run into somebody and have a chat that brightens your day.

The walkability of a neighbourhood has to take many things into consideration. How far are residential areas from commercial areas? Are there sidewalks available? What about bike paths and trails? Are there crosswalks on busy streets? All of these things are important when considering how people are able to move about in town.

There are other less obvious factors that determine an area’s walkability score. It’s important to have enough benches so people can take a break to catch their breath or feed their baby. You need decent lighting so people can feel safe walking in the evening. It’s no surprise that like to stroll through pretty areas, but are there benefits to this? Of course!

Walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, adds 1.3-1.5 years to your life, on average. This means that for every minute you spend walking, you get three back.
People who live in the most-walkable neighborhoods are 2.4 times as likely to walk for 30 minutes or more than those who lived in the least-walkable communities.
Residents of traditional neighborhoods, with good pedestrian facilities and stores and services just a short walk from people’s homes, get 70 extra minutes of physical activity per week, and are 40 percent less likely to be overweight or obese than residents of sprawling neighborhoods. (Brian E. Saelens, “Neighborhood-Based Differences in Physical Activity: An Environment Scale Evaluation,” American Journal of Public Health, Sept. 2003, v.93, n.9)

Making our town a more friendly place for pedestrians and cyclists is not just about getting people out of their cars. It is about getting people into a healthier lifestyle. With smart planning, we can make active transportation the main form of transportation. This is something that the most livable cities in the world have already done, and the benefits are far ranging. Imagine, if there were a town where living there could add 1.3-1.5 years to your life, where you would be more fit and experience more mental wellness, simply by going about your regualar everyday activities. That is what incorporating Well-being into Urban Design is all about. We can choose to build a town environment that supports its people, makes it safer for children to walk to school, allows teens a chance to experience nature after a day of computer learning, gives adults calming spaces to stroll and unwind after a hard day at work, and to help our seniors stay fit and active outside as they enjoy their golden years.

Sustainabe cities, zero waste, community resiliance, and net-zero emissions are the future. Not some distant place and time 50 years from now. We’re not talking about a sci-fi movie. It is literally happening RIGHT NOW.

Improving walkability is just one example of a sustainable policy. Cities and towns, governments and corporations across North America are embracing these design policies and investing heavily in these initiatives. Green jobs are already outperforming fossil fuel jobs in the States and the Biden administration is investing Trillions into the green economy. General Motors announced plans to phase out gas and diesel cars completely by 2035. Ford Motor Company plans to phase out gas only cars within the next 5 years in Europe. Think about that for a second, kids born now might never drive a gas powered car in their life. By the time they’re old enough to drive, they will have quit making them for years already!

Years ago when Pinawa was founded as a planned community, the original designers would have been considered forward thinking people. The use of curving roads, walking paths, a central mall with parking lot, mix of single family homes and dedicated apartment blocks, public space along the waterfront; all of these things at the time were considered new and cutting edge. (Remember cities before were typically designed in a grid based around a main street). So Pinawa has a tradition of being forward thinking, the thing is, that some of the things considered cutting edge 50 years ago are no longer. At the time gasoline was cheap and infinite, the middle class was growing, houses were cheap, and carbon emissisions were not a consideration. Let’s not forget the big one: AECL would be the economic anchor of the town forever. Obviously, we know now that some of those presupositions turned out incorrect. Luckily for us, Pinawa is in an amazing position to transition into a more sustainable, greener, and prosperous town, a town that is a leader, ahead of the pack. We can begin to do this work RIGHT NOW.

How to build a better Pinawa

Traffic calming solutions such as lower speed limits to make shared streets safer and prioritise human transportation. This will protect kids and make it safer for everybody, including seniors, and frankly more fun to choose walking and cycling over the car (maybe not when it’s -40).
Invest in Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at strategic points in the town making EVs more viable for residents and more attractive to green minded visitors.
Protect and increase public access to parks, open space, community amenities, and water. Natural spaces are integral to the wellbeing of residents.
Beautify the town with murals that represent the unique culture of Pinawa and character of the land.
Defend our schools as they are a critical part of our community and a key component to attracting and keeping families in Pinawa.
Establishing a youth committee so that young people can have a say in the policies that will affect them and can help to drive positive change in their community!
Begin working on a plan to acheive zero-waste within a realistic timeframe. This means improvements to waste collection, recycling, and composting. (This is probably going to be the standard soon anyways, so we may as well get going ASAP!)
Investigate the development of a small transit system to better facilitate moving of people without the need of putting up huge parking lots at every commercial area.
Investing in better internet to allow entrepreneurs and small businesses better opportunity to work from home while living in Pinawa. Tech development in reaction to 2020 has accelerated the viability of working from home.
Incorporating minimum thresholds for Density in new developments to ensure that there is adequate housing options for single people, couples, and seniors who cannot afford or do not want a single family detached home. This means more townhouses, duplexes, condos and apartments. Increased density is more cost effective for towns to maintain, and is important to facilitate younger people entry into the Pinawa market at a time when Canadian housing prices are extremely high. More seniors are choosing to move into condos that are smaller and easier to maintain.
Supporting urban agriculture and gardening with improvments to commnity gardens and other initiatives. Growing food in urban environments is increasingly seen as a huge positive for community health. We could have a local farmer’s market!
The establishment of more parks in areas that are considered simply “Open Space” including a Dog Park and a decent basketball court and skate park.

For more information on these concepts, make sure to click the links!

You cannot fight the wind, you can only adjust your sails.

Now I understand there are still some people that are not yet convinced that a small town can go green. But let me tell you about another type of green, the kind that comes in little rectangles with pictures of the Queen on it. These projects don’t just make sense, they make dollars and cents! These projects pay dividends not just to the well being of people who live here, but will benefit the town economically as well. There are lots of grants and investment opportunities and funding sources out there right for these types of projects. Composting keeps waste out of the landfill (saving space and money) and then you can sell the compost for agriculture generating more money. Increasing density in new developments lowers maintenence costs for the town and increases values of the properties. These sorts of green policies and services are hugely popular with Millenials, aka the young people demographic that Rural areas are trying to attract! This is how we move Pinawa forward economically, my friends, not by falling into the same old ideas as other struggling rural towns, but by innovating, and following the best practices of the best cities, to find unique made-in-Pinawa solutions.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
Nelson Mandela

I believe in the idea of 1% better. One percent better today, then tomorrow improve by another 1%. Then again, and again, and again. You build upon your small successes until one day you take a step back, look behind and realize just how far you’ve come. Pinawa was founded on the groundbreaking research of Nuclear Energy, a revolutionary industry at the time. We can capture that excitement again. I refuse to believe that the Golden Years of Pinawa are behind us. The identity of this town is based on brave innovation. Of harmony between community, technology, and nature. This can be Pinawa. My friends, we can do this!

Please join me in this journey! Together we will bring a newfound confidence to this town, and hope for a truly sustainable future for all.

If you like what you just read then let me know! I want to hear from you. Also, share this post with others!

Comment below or go to my contact page and tell me how you want to get involved in making Pinawa the best place to live, work, and play, in all of Manitoba!

Healthy Seniors

Seniors are an important part of the Pinawa community. They volunteer for projects, participate in community events, and support local businesses. Retirees require products and services, and when they shop locally, this can stimulate and sustain an economy. Ensuring that people can maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle will not only have a direct benefit to their health and wellbeing, but it will make Pinawa a more attractive place for retirees to settle down for their post working lives, growing our population and building demand for new housing (Jobs!) (Revenue!)

Did you know that Canadian snowbirds inject 6.5 billion dollars into Florida’s economy every year?

Safe Shared Streets

Walking for wellness. Communities that are walkable are healthier than those that are car dependant. Going for a walk gets you in the sun for vitamin-D, promotes muscle maintenence and cardiovascular health. Being in nature has an impact on our mental state, and seeing others is an opportunity to socialise and connect with the community. A town that has a high walkability rating makes it easier for people to choose walking for their day to day errands. The original town plan includes multiple pathways to get people from the residential areas to the town centre (very forward thinking by the original planners) but these are currently underdeveloped. Choosing to more often walk to the Solo for groceries rather than drive is a simple lifestyle habit that will benefit anyone. For seniors, being able to incorporate a more active lifestyle is probably the most important and impactful thing one could do to improve their quality of life. How do we acheive this?

Increase the amount of benches so people can rest while out for a walk.
Improve the public paths and walkways so that people can use these as viable ways of getting from place to place, as was their intention in the original town plan!
Innovate traffic calming strategies such as crosswalks and lower speed limits to improve safety of seniors and everyone on shared roadways.
Help people to choose products to assist them in carrying groceries, such as those little pull carts or bike baskets and panniers

Recreation for Retirees

The Pandemic has been stressful on everybody, especially seniors. Since they are at the highest risk for Covid-19, many of these folks have been quite isolated. This takes a toll physically, mentally, and emotionally. This period will eventually pass, and as we move into a post-covid world, restoring recreation activities will be very important for everybody. We must establish a recreation department (since parting ways with Winnipeg River Rec) and work with other organizations, endeavouring to host a wide variety of activities for all ages, such as:

Social Lawn bowling and Horseshoes area in the park.
Indoor and Outdoor Pickleball.
Dance Night!
Yoga and Medidation for physical and mental health.
Programs to encourage gardening as a hobby with programs such as Raised Bed Planting Boxes, Accessible community gardens, seed sharing. Gardening has many benefits for wellness! There was an enormous uptick in interest in Gardening in 2020.

Retirement is the time to enjoy the fruits of one’s labours. Whether one has a million dollar pension or a modest retirement income, we should ensure that there is always access to free or low cost activities for everyone to enjoy. After a year of mostly staying within our own homes, I believe that people have a newfound appreciation for the importance of social activities for keeping us in a good space physically, mentally, and emotionally. Let’s make sure that Pinawa is innovative in its approach to being an Age Friendly community.

What sort of activities would you like to see in Pinawa that would get you out and moving?

Investing in Youth

It takes a village to raise a child.

By the end of that week we had bought our house.

When it comes to attracting families, the quality of life for children and young people is of the highest consideration. I know this because I have a young family (My kids are 6 and 4)! Back when me and Erin were considering possible places to set down some roots, of course we were considering how the neighbourhood we would live in would affect our future children’s experience growing up. When I “discovered” Pinawa, the first thing I noticed was that there were schools, parks, and recreation like the beach and tennis courts. We looked at the town on Google Maps, and I imagined our future kids riding their bikes to school on those streets, building forts in the woods, and skiing with their classmates on the trails. You can see the Ironwood Trail in the satellite images, and I remember thinking, “Wow, what a forward thinking progressive community that would protect that land and keep it public for the people. Honey, we’re going to Pinawa!”

When we invest children and young people, it will pay dividends big time in the near term and in the long run.

Our story is not unique. There are a lot of young families in town and more are moving in. My son’s Grade 1 class has nearly 20 kids in it! People are coming to Pinawa because they see they want a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment where their family can thrive. Once here, a lot of these adventurous people are starting their own businesses, from massage therapy, hair salons, cabin rentals, eco outfitters, and gyms, and others end up finding work in local enterprises. And as one of the many consequences of 2020, there has been a great advancement at the feasability of working remotely from home. More and more people are not tethered to their office in Winnipeg, all they need is a home office with a solid internet connection. The point is, that if somebody believes that a place like Pinawa will help support them in achieving their best life, they will do everything they can to find a way.

The mission for us, is to make Pinawa stand out from the crowd and offer the most attractive living experience for young educated adults.

Photo by Alexandr Podvalny on Pexels.com

For Babies and Little Kids

When it comes to our littlest citizens, it comes down to safety and supporting parents. There are several things we can do to help make Pinawa even better for young families.

Add crosswalks at strategic locations on school routes and near parks and rec facilities for increased safety.
Lower speed limits in town on Shared Roads.
Prohibit on-street parking in targeted areas during specific times on busy school routes or near recreation areas where there is no sidewalk. Parked cars make kids harder to see, make it harder for them to see vehicles, force them to walk closer to the middle of the road when there is increased traffic. This is a simple change that will greatly improve children’s safety.
Re-evaluate and improve on our parks and playground planning. Currently we have some nice parks, a bunch of outdated ones, and some areas of town like the North side and the West side where there are none at all! Besides being a huge benefit to kids and parents, playgrounds boost land values of the surrounding neighbourhood!
Adequate access to baby change tables! (Dad’s change diapers too you know!)
Make sure there are enough benches in parks and other public areas so Moms can feed their babies. Also it gives a place for parents to sit and have a chat with other parents, helping to maintain their well-being and sanity.

For Teens and Students

Young people today are growing up in a world of unprecidented change. The challenges that this generation will face are numerous. Many of these challenges are the result of policies in which they have had no say. It is our responsibility to give our young people the greatest opportunity possible to gain the experience and skills necessary to succeed and thrive going forward. In Pinawa, we can do this in several ways.

Expand access to FREE activities for teens! Young people need places to hang out and be active and socialize. Teens seem to love the diving dock at the beach. Activities like youth swim and teen skate are awesome, but we can build on that. There are many youth activities that are highly organized by adults, but it’s also important for there to be places for young people to have independant play, like a decent basketball court, tennis, or maybe a skate park. These activities are critical at a time when youth obesity and depression are causing significant harm. Youth access to basic social and physical well-being should not be restricted by their parents salaries.
With the influx of tourism related business there are more and more opportunities for Summer jobs which is great. Working with local business, we need to make sure that any youth employed in our jurisdiction are educated in their rights and responsibilities as it pertains to Labour and Occupational Health and Safety.
Youth in Politics (YIP) This would be a pilot project that would form a joint committee of LGD Councillors and Students. These young people would have the opportunity to represent the wishes of their peers and present them in an official channel. With guidance from educators and councillors, they would learn about the democratic process, committee work, writing proposals, budgeting, and organisation. This would offer students the opportunity to earn, potentially, some partial extra credit, experience, professional references, and to affect real meaningful action in their town on behalf of their peers. This would be a good introduction to leadership, and these students would likely go on to being future champions of the issues and challenges that they will face.

These sorts of small improvements will add up to build on Pinawa’s already high quality of life. When we invest children and young people, it will pay dividends big time in the near term and in the long run. Playgrounds full of kids, couples on evening strolls, teens shooting hoops, all of this contributes to a more vibrant and healthy community. With the nice sunny spring weather out the past couple days, you see a lot of people out walking. And they’re smiling. That sort of sense of well-being from being out and about, has immense value for us as individuals, and for our community as a whole. Let’s build on that.

Do you have any ideas that would be a hit with the kids these days? Let me know!

Sustainable Tourism

Tourism is a growing industry in Pinawa. The pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions in the Summer of 2020 brought many thousands of new visitors to our town. Although we as a town have been encouraging tourism growth as a way to create jobs, it was clear that we were unprepared for the exponential increase in visitors, especially at the Pinawa Channel. We need a robust plan to manage the influx of tourists, decrease the negative friction between visitors and residents, and make sure that the tourism industry has a direct financial benefit to the citizens of Pinawa.

Tourism is an important and viable industry for Pinawa. Between the Channel float operators, golf course, motel, and the numerous summer students employed by the town, it creates a lot of jobs! But let me be perfectly clear, we do not want our natural areas to become a Mardi Gras scene and be left with nothing at the end of the season but a big mess and a headache.

Photo by Munbaik Cycling Clothing on Pexels.com

When tourism gets out of control, it’s not just locals who suffer, it decreases even the satisfaction of the tourists! I know as citizens we’re not quite as concerned about that, but we should be. Think about the people coming to visit. Many of them are nature lovers who want to visit a pretty town, get on the water, see some animals and have a good time. However, if things get out of control and those tourists see a party zone and a big mess, they might not come back, but the yahoos will return again and again. On the flip side, when the tourist scene is clean and peaceful, the visitors who want to party it up a bit will tend to take it down a notch. When in Rome, as the saying goes. Think about the tourist scene in a place like Cancun vs Tofino.

There were problems last year. But let’s not devolve into bullying, negativity, and hostility towards tourists and outfitters. They are our guests and Pinawanians are friendly and welcoming people. Let’s make sure to give people a smile and a wave when we meet them at the beach, the Ironwood Trail, the Golf Course, or on the Channel.

As councillor I will work towards a constructive and comprehensive tourism plan, that aims to mitigate the negatives, and maximises the positives (ie. Money!) My recommendations include:

Installing larger, animal-proof garbage and recycling bins in all public areas in sufficient number.
Improving signage, parking, and pathways to encourage visitors to check out other areas of town, reducing excessive concentration in some areas, and promoting patronage to other businesses in town.
The introduction of a Eco-Tourism Operators License to ensure that operators are held to certain standards of environmental stewardship and commercial practice.
The introduction of a Eco-Improvement Surcharge, a small fee that will be tacked onto the price of tickets charged by operators directly to the consumers (appearing as a seperate line item on the receipt). This new revenue stream will ensure that taxpayers are benefiting directly from the tourist industry, and could be reinvested in amenities for everyone, such as improvements to public recreation facilities.

Tofino, British Columbia.(CNW Group/The Network Hub)

An integral part of my plan is the devolopment of an Eco-Tourism Zone to support businesses that rely on facilitating access to Pinawa’s natural areas and waterways.

Enhance and modify Pinawa’s secondary plan to incorporate an Eco-Tourism Zone centred around (but not limited to) the end of the highway which is to become part of the town in the next year.
Develop the site near the diversion dam as an Commercial staging area for operators. This area will eventually be home to a multi-use building with Garage doors so operators can rent a space to house their supplies, such as tubes and kayaks, on site. This will reduce traffic in town and save time and effort for the companies, increasing productivity.
The staging area would include some small commercial spaces which would function as a check in area for guests to sign their rental agreements and get set up.
The building would include bathrooms to increase sanitation and the comfort of workers and users.
Parking would be reorganized to be more efficient and ensure safety and that the golf course paths are not blocked by cars.
The installation of a dock for launching of canoes, paddleboats, kayaks, and other small vessels.

An example of a building that could be part of a Eco-tourism Staging Area.

I’ve worked in customer service since I was 14, and have spent the last decade working aboard one of the world’s premier passenger trains. Pinawa is at the beginning of a tourism boom. This is our chance to define what sort of tourist town we want to be. We should be inspired by green tourism pioneers such as Costa Rica, and my plan will help get us there. When we hang out on the trail or at the beach and meet some visitors enjoying the same activities we love, remember that they are just people who haven’t figured out a way to live here, YET.

If a visitor were to ask you what to do in Pinawa, what would be your best suggestion?

Protect our Greenspaces

The natural environment in Pinawa is one of our greatest assets. Public parks, greenspaces, and reserves enhance the town environment, and improve the people’s well-being. They provide space for recreation and physical activity, improve our mood and mental health, and increase land value. Of course, not to mention provide habitat to birds and animals. However, without proper management, these vital areas are being threatened.

If you have ever gone for a walk in one of Pinawa’s natural reserve areas you may have noticed strange lack of diverse vegetation, coincidentally at about the height of a deer’s head. We have gotten to the point that in Pinawa there are essentially two types of trees: old ones, and dead ones. New saplings, whether they be poplar, pine, or cedar, are quickly devoured before they can become established. This destruction of the forest understory not only damages biodiversity, but threatens the sustainability of these areas. We don’t want to get rid of the deer, so we’re going to have to work with them!

Steps have been taken on the Ironwood trail to mitigate this issue, fencing off some areas from deer to allow for natural regrowth. That’s a good start, but is far from a complete solution. As a council, we must officially recognize the importance of public greenspace access and sustainability now, so that these areas will be available for future generations of Pinawaneans.

As councillor I will work hard to protect Pinawa’s natural beauty for the future by:

Officially recognizing the principles of sustainable management as part of Pinawa’s urban planning.
Ensuring that future developments include natural areas and public access paths, parks, and green belts for all people to enjoy.
Creating a comprehensive forest rehabilitation strategy, that includes community group involvement in revitalizing and improving our existing reserves and green spaces.
People need to stop feeding the deer! It hurts the animals, it interferes with the natural instincts of the young and teaches them that humans are a food source, it damages the ecosystem by supporting an unnaturally high population for a small area, attracts other animals such as bears which are dangerous (several had to be killed last year). Feeding wildlife is considered animal harassment and it is illegal for a reason. For the wellbeing of the deer and the natural ecosystem, do not feed the deer!.

Pinawa is a forest town, and that is something that makes this place special. But we can’t take it for granted. The natural reserves are under a different ecological pressure than the wilderness of the Whiteshell, and so it is incumbent upon us to take care of these unique environments within our town, to ensure that the will remain healthy and viable for our children, and future generations of Pinawanians.

This photo is my son and my little cousin out for a walk in North Vancouver. When I see this I can practically smell the life the old cedar trees. How do you enjoy the natural areas in Pinawa?