Barrie has a population of about 136k, and a census metropolitan area of 187k, so quite a bit smaller than Windsor. It has seen significant growth in recent years, being about an hour outside Toronto (as long as the traffic isn't completely backed up - as anybody who has ever been stuck in the monster traffic jams between TO and Barrie will attest). The feel of the place is very different from Windsor. It seems more like a giant Tecumseh. The hospital is just over 4 km north-west of the downtown core, which is entirely reasonable. |
What isn't quite as reasonable is when you zoom out and look at the way the city has developed over the years. It's shaped like a giant C around Lake Simcoe. If you live due south of the hospital, you will face an almost 15km drive.
What conclusions can we draw from this? The first is that even Barrie's strange hospital placement is not as extreme as what is being proposed for Windsor. 15km is only three-quarters of what our Ward 2 residents will face.
Secondly, Barrie has grown significantly in a very short time. People who move there are tied to their cars. They know they are going to be driving. If you move to one of the new subdivisions in the south of the city, you're not moving there for its walkable neighbourhoods. That is different from Windsor which is bigger and has plenty of older residents and others who don't drive. Our neighbourhoods in the core are about a century old. Our city has deep roots. (Barrie is an old community too, but it was much smaller for much longer)
It would be good to get a discussion going with Barrie residents to find out how they feel about a hospital placed way in the north of the city. Our guess it many don't like it at all.
Moving our hospital 15km outside the core (as much as 20km from Ward 2) will fundamentally change Windsor's urban fabric. We should learn from other cities' mediocre urban planning decisions before we make a mistake that is much worse.
What conclusions can we draw from this? The first is that even Barrie's strange hospital placement is not as extreme as what is being proposed for Windsor. 15km is only three-quarters of what our Ward 2 residents will face.
Secondly, Barrie has grown significantly in a very short time. People who move there are tied to their cars. They know they are going to be driving. If you move to one of the new subdivisions in the south of the city, you're not moving there for its walkable neighbourhoods. That is different from Windsor which is bigger and has plenty of older residents and others who don't drive. Our neighbourhoods in the core are about a century old. Our city has deep roots. (Barrie is an old community too, but it was much smaller for much longer)
It would be good to get a discussion going with Barrie residents to find out how they feel about a hospital placed way in the north of the city. Our guess it many don't like it at all.
Moving our hospital 15km outside the core (as much as 20km from Ward 2) will fundamentally change Windsor's urban fabric. We should learn from other cities' mediocre urban planning decisions before we make a mistake that is much worse.