Of course this is not to say we think it was a good idea to build North Bay's hospital right on the edge of town. It seems there is a pattern here which is not conducive to optimizing travel distance to hospital.
Moving our hospital so far 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. |
North Bay is a city that has been held up as an example of a place that has its hospital on the edge of the city. We have heard from several residents that what is being proposed for Windsor isn't at all unusual in Ontario. We can see this pattern too. However there are some differences. Where North Bay's hospital is located at under 5km from its City Hall, in Windsor the distance is more than twice as far. Also, if you zoom out and look at the entire city of North Bay, it is clear that residents in the south have to travel a much longer distance to access healthcare than residents in the core. However, this total distance is under 10km. In Windsor, west end residents face a travel distance of 20km. Since many of our west end residents don't drive at all, that makes the proposed County Rd 42 hospital site even more inaccessible. |