3 March 2008
Imagine Sudbury With No Tracks
Sudbury Ontario - A group of prominent Greater Sudbury
residents is hoping to revive a massive project long considered an unachievable vision for the city's downtown - removing the railway
tracks seen by many as an impediment to economic, social, and cultural development in the city core.
The informal group, known as Imagine Sudbury, is comprised of business people, professionals, academics, and community activists. The
group has been meeting under the radar for some time, but it was publicly promoted and praised last week by Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci.
"I think it's a great idea, as part of a bigger plan" for downtown development, Bartolucci said following an address to the
annual general meeting of Downtown Sudbury, the business improvement association in the city core.
Removing the rail lines and redeveloping the large tract of land owned by CP Rail has been pursued in decades past. As recently as a
few years ago, city politicians met with CP Rail officials to discuss the issue, but nothing came of the proposal - apparently due to
the huge costs involved.
However, that history should not preclude new attempts to revive the project, said Bartolucci, the provincial minister of community
safety and correctional services.
Massive undertakings such as four-laning Highway 69 and completing Sudbury's single-site hospital demonstrate
community and political leaders can "move from the impossible to the possible," he said.
"Just because we failed once, for a number of reasons, shouldn't... discourage a group or a downtown entity to come together and
explore the opportunity. That's what Imagine Sudbury is all about."
Bartolucci assured Downtown Sudbury members that he will be an aggressive advocate for provincial funding for improvement projects in
the city core.
"I will be asking the government of Ontario to give me money - your money - to invest in our downtown," he said.
Sudbury Star publisher David Kilgour, a member of Imagine Sudbury, described the group as community-minded volunteers who
want to pursue a new vision for economic, social, and cultural growth in the city. The group still is in the preliminary stages of its
work and does not have concrete plans or proposals to publicize, Kilgour said.
The new group's vision was wholeheartedly supported by Downtown Sudbury chairman Bob Wygant during Friday's annual meeting.
"Nothing's impossible," Wygant said. "If we could get the railway tracks out of here, my goodness, downtown would be
totally revitalized, with more space than we'd know what to do with."
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