Tache presents plan for Centre of Canada

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This article was published 05/03/2021 (1536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tache council gave residents a glimpse last Thursday of its vision for further developing the area surrounding the longitudinal centre of Canada into a hub for tourism and economic activity.

Land-use planning consultant Andrei Friesen delivered a 40-minute virtual presentation and fielded questions from area residents whose primary concerns were higher traffic volumes and the loss of agricultural land.

The municipality is midway through a secondary planning process that aims to establish a guiding vision for the area surrounding the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Provincial Road 206. Friesen’s virtual presentation followed an in-person open house meeting held last September.

The area is currently home to a wayside stop, opened in 2017, where motorists can stretch their legs, eat a picnic lunch, and take selfies next to signage proclaiming the spot as midway between Canada’s east and west coasts.

Friesen explained the municipality wants to further develop the area into a “commercial, employment, and tourist hub” with designated land set aside for each use.

The RM of Tache owns most of the land that would be re-designated for commercial activity or tourism, but farms and private residences are scattered throughout the proposed planning area.

Friesen assured landowners that re-designating the land wouldn’t change how any private property is currently used. Council could also weed out unsuitable development proposals through a public hearing process.

Friesen said a proposed rural employment area would be suitable for warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centres, which don’t require intensive servicing (the area lacks wastewater infrastructure).

Institutional land would be reserved for the existing municipal office and public works shop, and for a nearby house of worship that wants to build a school on its property southwest of the intersection.

Friesen said he’s consulting Manitoba Infrastructure and CN to learn what infrastructure upgrades, including a set of traffic lights, may be needed for development to proceed.

Long-range plans shared by Manitoba Infrastructure show Provincial Road 206 moving three-quarters of a mile west, so any new development must align with that relocation, Friesen said.

Several residents questioned the logic of redeveloping farmland and adding more traffic to an already busy intersection.

Friseen maintained the commercial uses proposed would generate relatively little traffic, and noted the RM, whose population grew 25 percent between 2006 and 2016, has little rural land available for commercial purposes.

One local farmer suggested the RM embrace agri-tourism, such as a sunflower farm, rather than construct buildings that obscure the countryside. Friesen said his goal is to balance economic development with agricultural activity.

Friesen said another public engagement session will occur after a final draft of the plan is complete and before council votes on it.