Mount Pearl Mayor Dave Aker got everyone in the groove for his annual outlook speech to the Mount Pearl – Paradise Chamber of Commerce last week by asking everyone in attendance to don sunglasses, pairs of which were thoughtfully left at each table. Aker’s message focused on the city’s bright future. Mark Squibb photo.
By Mark Squibb \ April 28, 2023
The future is so bright you’ve got to wear shades.
That’s according to Mount Pearl Mayor Dave Aker, who donned a pair of sunglasses — and asked Mount Pearl-Paradise Chamber of Commerce members attending last week’s luncheon to do likewise —before launching into a presentation of ‘Building Tomorrow,’ the City’s new five-year strategic plan.
“The future of Mount Pearl is what I’m here to talk about today on behalf of council,” said Aker. “Not the future of the next six months, but for multiple generations to come. The future of this city is something we must carefully consider, and strategically consider. It’s not something that will happen by chance.”
One major aspect of the plan is a ‘reimagine’ approach to transportation within the City.
“We are focused on attracting more people to live and work in the City of Mount Pearl, and to do that, they need to be able to get ‘to-and-from,” said Aker. “Something needs to be done about transportation, and we know that there are challenges.”
While Aker allowed the City could consider a public transit system, he said it needs to focus on other “active urban modes of transportation” such as “cycling, walking, and more.”
The plan also calls for a focus on developing and adopting a new traffic calming policy and more upgrades to the trail network.
Another focus of the plan is on development, particularly of land north of Topsail Road. To that end, the City intends to hire a third party to guide development in the area, complete a new infrastructure plan, and develop an Investment Attraction Plan.
Council also intends to continue to support the Find Your Centre Plan, a campaign launched in 2020 to redevelop the city core.
Council also hopes to attract more residents to Mount Pearl and will implement a new 5-year Economic Development Strategy within the strategic plan.
A final goal of the plan is to improve workplace culture and internal communications within the walls of City Hall.
“If this diverse, multi-faceted plan has a single unifying principal, it’s that every choice we make must take into account the City’s future, and that’s the way the City has been run the last 25 years,” said Aker.
The mayor added that folks can expect annual updates on the City’s progress.
“No plan is complete without built-in guidelines to track progress,” said Aker. “Annual update reports are imperative to our success, making certain that we are on the path to achieving our vision.”
The plan, said Aker, is a “living document” to be maintained by council and staff over the coming years.
During the presentation, Aker unveiled a new promotional video that will be released to the public in the coming weeks.
