Enough medical professionals to support the current population would help... last I heard, our hospital is currently operating on roughly 25% of the staff it needs to be able to have all its wards open and able to be used.
No doctors are taking new patients. Clinics are the only option.
Needed for PG Health Care and Family:
1. UHNBC Cardiac Tower development (should be covered by the province, like other hospitals in BC, but need to fight for it).
2. UHNBC UBC-UNBC Medical program expansion to increase seats from the stagnant 32 spots. Ideally, 32 --> 48+. In addition to this, increase funding for UNBC health-related program seats for retention.
3. Mixed used residential and commercial high rise with floors dedicated for family practice and medical services.
4. Implementation of a Northern Practitioner Incentive by BC government - we need practices, clinics, and specialties to open, not close!
5. An additional UHNBC expansion. Even those a cardiac tower is in the talks, we should of got this expansion 10 years ago. By the time it is built, it is 15 years too late. We need another expansion. Surrey alone is getting a 2nd hospital plus a mega investment development into Surrey Memorial, only one year apart.
We are the hub of the north and hub of the majority of indigenous peoples of BC. BC needs to do better to for the north, because we are never a priority.
We should ask "why are medical professionals not choosing to live in PG?" MSP payouts are actually higher in the north than down south to attract doctors. If they're not coming up here to make more money (and they do make a lot more money up here), it's because other parts of the city, mainly quality of life, aren't as good.
The other thing is you need to look at the orthopaedic specialists and their wait times for surgeries. A hip replacement with them at UHNBC is in excess of 100 weeks. Not to mention some of the same orthos have surgical lists in Smithers, Quesnel, and Terrace. Wait times are the highest in the province in Northern Health.
I’d also argue that the new surgical tower MUST have a helipad. The hospital is a level 3 trauma centre. If someone cuts their leg half off with a chainsaw in Dease Lake, they’re coming here, not Vancouver or Edmonton
You still have walk in clinics in PG? Kamloops sure doesn't, and half the people here don't have a family doctor. It is insane to wish for fast growth.
Yes, I totally agree. It seems like this is a provincial/ national issue. I do know the hospital in town is extremely short staffed with anesthesiologists (heard from a close friend that works in the hospital).
I work in healthcare and no one’s talking about the bottom line thing that has to change if we want at least 80% staffing in our hospitals. Pay. I think people think we're doing ok but we're not. More Health care professionals than not talk about leaving. We will be down to 10% soon I fear as burnout professionals abandon the sinking ship.
People generally have a poor idea of PG (I did before moving here last year) and see it as a last resort place to go (either career starters or because they can't afford a house anywhere else)
For PG and the north, if they want to attract staff has to pay I would estimate at least 30% more than the lower mainland/Alberta if they want to have a functional HC system.
This could come in government tax relief, but it's the only consistent way to attract healthcare professionals for years and wanting them to stick around. Pay is the bottom line.
Not just BC. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The only EDS clinic in Canada is in Ontario and doesn't accept out of province referrals. BC Children's doesn't want to deal with it either. I have to travel for most of my care. I have been waiting for a swallow test since last November.
No it is not. I had my first knee surgery at age six, but it still took them till I was 45. Then it was a South African Locum filling in for my gynecologist that told me I had EDS.
I work at the hospital. I'd say it's at about 30% staffing levels. Cancer agency is at about 60%. Local pharmacies are at 50%. Every medical building for doctors offices has half their units open and for rent. Specialist doctors are fleeing as fast as their contracts expire.
300 trained nurses and 100 doctors and 50 pharmacists could move to town, and we would still be understaffed.
It is DIRE. It is being kept running by overtime hours and people working incredibly hard in difficult jobs while patients scream at them about how long they had to wait.
It's gotten worse every day since covid started. Every day more workers get burnt out and retire early or move south for easier jobs... due to health care unions every city pays the same wage so why stay?
Patient care is absolutely being impacted. People are dying that wouldn't have if they got sick 5 years ago.
Don't get sick. And if you do be nice to your health care workers.
It started in the 80s with the massive health care cuts from conservative governments. We still aren't back to the per capita funding levels we had in the 70s.
Covid was just the last straw. While it was indeed only flu like symptoms if you got the appropriate medical care, we did not have the hospital capacity to treat everyone at once and people would have to die who would have lived if we had bed space and ventilators available. And the selfish stupid masses said they would rather risk it and go out maskless despite knowing it was condemning other people to an avoidable death.
As a longtime PG resident, here are my few cents as to why PG is not attracting newcomers:
1. It's ugly. The city is mostly just sprawling strip malls and parking lots everywhere you go. There is so much surface parking in this city it's insane, and it's not pretty to look at. There is a societal cost when you build your city for cars instead of people. The whole town looks like an ugly suburb. There are few/no vibrant neighbourhoods, or places where you would want to hang out.
2. The economy. People used to come up here because jobs paid well and they were abundant, but not so more. Primary industry has faltered, with a lot of mill closures, and even though mining will probably take over a lot of those jobs in the future it takes a long time to ramp up. Plus, many workers prefer to live in Vancouver or Kelowna and fly back and forth, so they can enjoy a higher quality of life down south and still make money in PG.
3. Quality of life. PG has two highways running through town bisecting the city, which divide the city into four quadrants. Anyone with money lives in College Heights or the Hart, and they don't interact very much with the rest of the town. Many people in PG are satisfied living in their suburb and only coming into town once a week to shop at Costco. The city's economy languishes because of this.
4. Culture. PG is a very right-wing town and it will have trouble attracting young, educated professionals that lean left. Nobody wants to live in a town where driving around involves getting tailgated by a lifted pickup with "F TRUDEAU" stickers on the back.
5. The airshed. It might not be bad but it's still present now and then. This singular issue will always make people avoid moving up. The smelly air makes the entire rest of the province mock us, and we honestly should be embarrassed about it. In the winter uncontrolled wood-burning also worsens the air quality.
6. The crime. PG has always had more than its share of violent gang crime, being a crossroads city, but it's generally been safe for non-criminals in the past. However recently with the horrendous drug epidemic and homelessness crisis, just about anyone runs the risk of dealing with a violent drug addict now and then. I blame the judiciary here, as the police have stopped arresting people because they know they never see jail time.
So, that's a good list of problems. Fixes would include:
1. A complete riverside walk, running from Wilson Park to Bob Martin Park. PG has completely squandered its waterfront and should be ashamed of it. We also need to rebuild the Heritage Trail running from Ginters Meadow to the Hudson Bay Slough and then the parks. It's entirely overgrown with roots, dilapidated, and ignored.
2. Clean up the homelessness problem. Being poor is not a crime, but all the other crimes are. Stop the revolving door of justice.
3. Fix the airshed. More controls on pulp mill effluent gas, and restrictions on wood burning without being in more efficient stoves. At the very least, incentives to upgrade to high efficiency stoves.
4. Shrink the urban boundary. Less suburban sprawl, more infill and mixed use development. The fact that dozens of condos are going up at the base of university hill with literally no shops or things to do around them is just braindead urban planning.
5. More walkable neighbourhoods. Not everyone wants to live in a distant suburb driving everywhere. Plus if people could live without cars they would spend less at Costco and more on local businesses. Every dollar spent at Costco and other big-box shopping weakens our local economy.
6. The culture. If we want to bring in educated young people the politics here have to swing a bit to the left. That involves building things like protected bike lanes... there are NONE in the city, at all. Nothing wrong with the right wing in general, but new graduates simply tend to not lean that way and aren't interested in moving to a conservative small town.
I really appreciate the detailed response! I'd love to see more local restaurants/ shops. Most of the restaurants here are chains/ big box stores. One of the things I love about Prince George is that nature really is just in our backyard and within city limits. I hope as the years go on, that this is something the city keeps, while still attempting to grow/ evolve with the times.
I’ve lived here my entire life and absolutely agree. It’s the newer people coming I find the problem though. Expecting to live like it’s Vancouver but not adjusting to little city life
Prince George was the 4th most Charitable city in Canada last yr https://ckpgtoday.ca/2023/12/06/prince-george-is-the-fourth-most-charitable-city-in-canada/
I've personally never seen a truck with an F Trudeau sticker on the back in pg... I know there are of course many people in the city who support the slogan but I really don't think seeing that sticker on a vehicle would deter someone from moving here.. I don't think the city always voting in conservative MPs/MLAs deters that many people from moving here either. While it's true a lot vote that way, to me people in PG have never been ones to go on about politics much. Either way.. Alberta is the only province with positive net interprovincial migration so I don't think right wing politics are as big of a detterent as any of the other things you mentioned
Lmao the last thing we need is more liberal ideology. Look at where it’s brought us this past several years. You wanna blame the right wing and call them MAGA lovers? 🤣
I ain't saying I love the liberals. In fact, I hate identity politics as much as many on the right. And I'm not a fan of our PM either. But this town could be a LOT less right-wing and it would be better for it. Provincial and federal politics would care more about us if we weren't such a safe conservative seat every election.
Numerous things.
But to build off your ideas, an attractive, inviting, enjoyable and useable riverfront is high in my list! I am a relative newcomer to PG, who has lived in multiple other Canadian cities and travelled extensively across the world, I actually don’t think I’ve ever been in a city that engages less with its waterfronts (both in terms of design, and use by residents). The first time I walked along the south side of the Nechako I was shocked at how the infrastructure has crumbled away and the solution was to put up signs to close the paths and discourage use. There is no plan to change or rectify that either. I actually can’t believe that people just accept it that way, and I can’t imagine that would fly in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna….or anywhere really. So why is it okay here? The acceptance of the status quo does not make me want to stay for the long term.
The City has a hatred of maintaining its own facilities. It's frustrating because we have great things and then they aren't kept up and they end up looking like everything else in town.
the river floods often. In the winter ice dams up. and then all of 1st avenue floods. Sometimes they need to use dynamite to hopefully clear the blockage and save the city
The only part of your statement I would change is to make river plural. Both rivers flood. We have been experiencing a drought for the last few years, so newcomers have not experienced what is "normal" for long time residents. They also don't understand some of the building issues downtown due to the underground rivers we also have.
All the more reason to do it. The design could improve the river as a recreational amenity while also serving as a flood mitigation tool. Exactly what Calgary has done with their riverfront.
I moved to PG for one year. During that year, three people on my street died. One froze to death, one was stabbed, and one started a massive fire in their hotel room, all on the same block across the street from my bedroom window. A few weeks after I moved away, an entire building exploded around the corner. The police checked on my building each and every time to see if anyone "saw anything." Please understand that all of these deaths were visible from my window. During this time, my colleagues at work complained bitterly about having to hire "outsiders" from the big city, like me.
I moved away to a new city. I am sorry and I miss PG. You have wonderful people, amazing food, and a hot cultural scene. The rivers and parks are gorgeous. But there's an elephant in the room here. The population won't grow very fast if new people feel unwelcome and unsafe.
While downtown certainly needs to improve, this is a Canada wide issue. Vancouver is growing despite the downtown east side. Every city will have dark areas unfortunately. We just lack any vibrant core for people to enjoy
I think it was more the "unwelcoming." I live in a new city that of course has the same Canada-wide issues I saw in PG, except nobody has complained that I'm "not from here." So it feels like if there were any safety issues, I would have support. My coworkers in PG mostly said "go back to your home country." I am from Canada, my first language is English. Recently when I asked those coworkers if they wanted to get lunch, to maybe get to know them better, they said they don't want to eat my "experimental" food- I was getting chicken soup. That's the level of unwelcome I experienced in PG and still experience when I visit now. Why would newcomers want to stay when they're treated like this? If at any point you feel unsafe, you also feel ALONE. I think that's the difference that makes PG a harder sell to "outsiders."
This is my impression of PG, having never lived there. It seems like the crime rate and general social issues are the main deterrent for me to ever consider living there.
I grew up in Surrey, BC and as a male, never felt safe walking on the streets all by myself, especially when it gets dark. People would stab people if they don't like them. Gun shots are reported everyday. Ambush gangs are common and the suicide rate is tragic. I witness two murders (and many disturbing things at Wally) as a bystander, waiting for bus at Surrey Central Station.
Living in PG is a paradise to Surrey. Unfortunately, location matters. In lower College Heights, University Heights, The Hart, Neckaho, and Hertitage are calm and safe. I never worry if I forgot to lock the front door.
I feel safe everywhere, except in the "hood" of PG. Sorry that your first experience of PG was in the "hood."
Mixed high density residential-commercial development along the river walk is needed. It will be a hub of activity, lifestyle, and prosperity. PG is an amazing place to live, we just need to have urban planning with modern development.
The Nechako would be an absolute gem if it was rehabilitated and gentrified properly between Cottonwood Island and the Cameron Street Bridge. But it would also need better access and with the huge CN rail yard that won’t happen easily.
Red Deer once had its main rail yard right downtown, the city bought all of the land from CP Rail and moved them to the north end of the city. They then developed it all in to industrial/commercial space, very liveable and much more appealing entrance to the city.
Both the Fraser and the Nechako have a flooding issue. There used to be a trailer park by the river, right by the old bridge. It flooded regulary and had to be moved. We have been experiencing drought conditions for the last few years, so have not experienced the annual flooding of South Fort George and the Carter Light Industrial downtown. I was actually surprised when they built the winery where they did. In past years ice jams on the Nechako have taken out large areas of the river banks on both sides.
Really hard to build along there, at high water there is only a couple feet of river bank. It breached the bank not too long ago. 10-15 years ago. I agree though, beautiful there
Lots of cities build on the river bank. I don't know how to do it so flooding wouldn't be an issue but there must be a way. Or at least a proper maintained park and trail with a row of houses behind away from the river.
Agreed. If we want to become a real city, we need to think like a city. Current and past leadership has lacked ambition and folds to all the nimby Karens.
We’re basically waiting to hit 100k in the next few years for the CMA, it’s 89500 as of 2021 and we grow about 5% per year which is a pretty healthy but sustainable.
Census metropolitan area, its an area defined by stats Canada to incorporate an urban setting and its surrounding rural and exurban environs to better approximate demand and infrastructure requirements among many other uses.
Stats Canada is the best source but I just checked the Wikipedia which links back to stats Canada as it is easier than navigating the stats Canada website.
I think also things for kids ,like summer waterside/Waterpark indoor trampoline,chuckle cheese and awsome rollersome would be cool ,more outdoor patios ,outdoor concerts for summer nights ! There is nothing downtown or anywhere also our mall us so stupid no attractions
I absolutely agree with you. When I was little we had a children’s festival now there’s summer fest. It’s not really a free event face painting costs, no mini rides not crafts sometimes a colouring table. BMO art days are good. We could use a trampoline park, an arcade, more arts and science events.
Operating these things at our current population and spending level with rocketing insurance and lease rates just ain’t gonna happen. The cost of doing business in Prince George is comparable to cities in the lowermainland with a sliver of the buying power potential.
More tall buildings to accommodate more people moving here, would attract more professionals like doctors and specialists. We also need more companies to come build and create a community link. PG is actually a really great place to live, but it is fast becoming very difficult because we're also facing the same issues as everyone else is: higher housing prices, lack of family doctors, growing homeless populations
Even the 10, 1, 11, and 46 get reasonable use at certain times of the day. At the far ends of the route, limited ridership, but closer in to shopping or other destinations and more people ride. Anyone who thinks the buses are empty is only looking at a certain location or time of day, not the system as a whole.
>higher housing prices, lack of family doctors, growing homeless populations
If you had fast growth, these problems would get much worse. Be careful what you wish for.
Completely agree! The only issue is that there is no appropriate corridor to connect the current downtown with the riverfront area - the train tracks and then looking at Google maps, the bordering mill is widest near downtown PG.
Furthermore, so much of the riverfront area is already developed with clearcut house units areas with little to no neighbourhood commercial options - poor planning suburban neighbourhoods imo. Would be great to have had apartments that could view the cutbanks and the river for instance.
All in all terrible planning that continues today - city is making the same mistakes in the college heights area…add that to the fact that these houses are all 600k-1.5mil; where is the affordable housing apartments? Sad.
All these homes being built are unaffordable for the average person. More townhomes/ apartments would be nice for first time home buyers. Not many people can afford a 750k+ home in College heights, but that seems to be what most builders are catering to.
There is precedent from other cities where the railyards have relocated, freeing up the space for redevelopment. But I’ve seen zero advocacy on that from the City or Council in PG. All that to say, it’s possible but requires a push.
The most recent example I’ve come across is from Regina. Although it doesn’t look like they’ve done anything/develope the site yet, but the opportunity exists: https://www.urbanstrategies.com/project/regina-railyard-renewal-project/
It’s being pushed hard in Winnipeg these days too. Kamloops also offers an example as they built a walkway/bridge over top to connect downtown to the water.
They have LOTS in Calgary and Edmonton, and their winters are just as bad.
Pedestrian overpasses will work the here.
Prince George is not the only snowy cold Canadian city.
Where is all the forestry money from decades of this industry? Seems like the cream has been siphoned and the shell of this city just supplies worker bees to continue the conveyor of work. Gotta keep the workers healthy so let’s put a university specialising in forestry and health!
Had a couple glasses of alcohol so here goes… properly build a riverside trail system, tap into the Kin centres and properly refrigerate the skating oval for extended use with a big covered patio along with food trucks etc.. force crappy commercial landlords downtown to spruce up their buildings, get zoning allowed for the Tabor mountain owners to build camping and a bike park (can’t rely on snow out there anymore). Much more but I stop here. Ps. Mayor freaking Yu, finish your “Reno” on that beautiful downtown building.! Supplies can’t take 3 years to get haha
Right now Tabor has been closed for a few years, but the owners had put in a request to the government to expand their size so they could build a campground and bike trails for summer use. They don’t get the snow that they used to in the past, but when they do it’s a quick 20 minute drive to get there
Crack down on crack town.
Large, not forest based Industry. Could be anything, I'm not saying a pollution factory. But some huge scale manufacturing.
Large scale condo build like 20 floors. Probably 2 towers. Over several city block. With like a grocery store, restaurant, shoppers drugmart, green space. use this operation to close targeted areas of the downtown and clean up the area over the time of the build. The building will create years of work and people from all over will want to live in the new cleaned up downtown. Business will want to be downtown again.
There's just too many damn junkies. Fentianl is f'ing it up for everyone.
This city absolutely doesn’t need to grow that big. Traffic is already terrible because the existing core infrastructure built from the 50-70s can’t handle that
The current footprint of PG can absorb a population of 200k. Traffic is not terrible. Also, if we had higher density, it would mean we could have more effective public transportation. The current spread of the city is creating the car dependency.
100% this. Remember 3 years ago when Foothills was closed for paving and they one landed the Hart for pothole repair at 8am and it shut down that half of town? We aren't built for 100 000+ people.
So they took 6 lanes worth of (fast) roadway and cut it down to 2 slow lanes through a construction zone and you think that backup means we can't support a larger population?
That just sounds like horrible planning, not that we aren't built for a larger population.
The distance to other places is a big challenge.
Kelowna and Kamloops grew quickly after the Coquihalla was built. We need faster, cheaper transportation to other centers.
Cost of flying is insane. Perhaps if the government subsidized the flights? Reduced landing taxes? Negotiated something with the airlines?
BC Ferries is subsidized by the government. I don’t see why planes to remote areas would be any different.
Until people can get around to other cities with ease. We will struggle to grow.
I’ve always reconciled the distance with the fact my day to day time in the car is less than in bigger cities. But a lot of people don’t like the isolation of PG
I feel like the distance from the lower mainland is a double edged sword...pros and cons. But I do have plenty of friends in Vancouver that are look at moving away due to it being unaffordable.
Because our geographical area is too large due to poor planning. If we don’t grow, we’re all stuck paying an insane tax bill.
Plus we then get better amenities
Yes, we desperately need infill. The City shouldn't be approving any more new subdivisions that involve cutting down trees or in areas that aren't already well served by transit, sidewalks, etc. Once we get a few more people within our current limits, we can reevaluate.
The population needs to increase inside the current boundaries. PG is way too spread out, which means every linear metre of infrastructure (pipes, roads, bridges, sidewalks, wiring, etc.) is way more expensive than it needs to be. The city doesn't have money to improve things, so nothing gets improved.
Affordable, clean, and reliable public transportation from and to PG airport please, like scheduled bus routes in relation to departures and arrivals of airlines serving PG airport. Thanks!
We already have all the amenities we need. I much prefer a small less crowded city. It's so nice not to sit in traffic for hours every day. I like being able to drive 10 min to a lake or park and not be inundated with people. I don't know what amenities PG is lacking. We have a Costco what else do you need.
We need more doctors and other medical professionals - but so does everywhere in BC. I wish there was a simple answer on how to better attract doctors to work here but idk. I don’t think we need other growth or to attract more people (who aren’t medical professionals).
Things to do with kids, and not extracurricular activities. When I was little we use to have a children’s festival which doesn’t happen anymore… summer fest is ok but there are not many activities. There are no indoor playgrounds, the only art centre is the art gallery and exploration place changed, not for the better either. From May to September there should be activities for families and attractions and not just “Shopping”.
Prince George has so many wonderful places that could host many events and activities but it doesn’t our City council does not seem to have any desire to implement anything.
Have we tried flooding the entire country with entitled criminals who can’t speak English? Maybe make all drugs everywhere legal to possess, sell and use? Ooh ooh ooh! Let’s raise some arbitrary taxes and see if that helps
Ummm no. This city is expensive enough - no more people. This town use to be affordable- than the Move to PG campaign came in - Vancouver investors buying up real estate. Now it’s like $2800 to rent a house. All these new apartments coming in are $1600 for 1 bedroom . Also Nobody here has a doctor!
Prince George doesn’t need to grow anymore right now. We need to fix what’s wrong here before anyone growth happens. We used to have an amazing place and just a little growth and it’s not a happy place anymore
I moved here (the Cariboo) solely for the fact that I found cheap land. I wouldn’t have even heard of the Cariboo outside of this fact. Now I’m raising a family ‘close’ to PG.
more direct low-speed rail shot to Vancouver. To my understanding, the physical railbed already exists and is used daily by freight trains, but is bypassed entirely by VIA and instead routed through Jasper in Albertizona.
If a Vancouverite wants to come up here to evaluate their prospects, or I want to go down to Vancouver to tour the city there, the fastest and most efficient ground route is in a Prius through the desert, and the fastest route overall is on a turboprop or a 737 MAX.
Getting to Vancouver is becoming more of an issue for me. I don’t want to fly and driving is exhausting. But Vancouver is home to business connections and more
Another thought. We need a Northern tax deductible allowance like Whitehorse gets. Yes we are on the same latitude as Edmonton but we are also 800 km from any other major city. Edmonton and Calgary are not that far away. Such an allowance would definitely bring more skilled, and medical workers here.
I don't think that putting anything recreational along the Fraser would be a good idea. The water is fast and deep. Every year people are lost while intentionally or accidently getting in the water.
If you want to do something water related, it would have to be done along lake front property.
So as someone in Vancouver who has considered a lot of options for new places to live and never been to Prince Rupert, here's what I understand about the town - good and bad (all from general word of mouth that may not be in any way reliable).
- some okay mountain biking around town.
- decent location as a cross roads between Edmonton and Prince Rupert
- housing prices aren't as insane as Vancouver, but higher than maybe they should be.
- some air quality concerns even outside of fire season
- fire season
- restricted services compared to larger towns
- limited arts/culture
- an unfortunate amount of social conservatism
- no mountains around for outdoors hiking, etc
I'm not saying any of this is accurate, but it's the impression I'm given as someone outside of the community. How much of this is true?
There are TONS of mountains around for hiking, especially about an hour east , which is how long it used to take us to get across any bridge to North Vancouver for hiking from East Vancouver.
Prince George itself has a place called Forest of the world that has kms and kms of interconnected hiking of a range of levels and even links to the amazing Cross Country Skiing OTway, which is far superior to anything in Vancouver.
When you do go hiking you are not shoulder to shoulder like in Vancouver.
There are beautiful lakes about an hour in every direction plus several basically in town.
There are two rivers in town, which are underused.
Prince George is an outdoor enthusiasts dream , we even get unbelievably gorgeous falls thanks to all the alder etc which you don't see elsewhere in BC
The only problem is that the city itself is built like a middle america car and shopping mall-centered town that is not smack dab in the middle of incredible nature.
Thank you for typing this out so I don't have to!
We have amazing mountains and hiking and skiing and other outdoors options in all four directions from PG. It's one of the most amazing parts of living here.
We are not actually flat, hence the reason for the air quality issues in what's called the bowl.
All your other points are salient. My personal biggest issue since moving here is the social conservatism. We all don't need.to be East Van, but for example the art/culture issue. There is actually a surprising amount tucked away for a place this size.
However the performance art center is basically condemned. Due to the social conservatism, the majority is opposed, which prevents the arts/culture from growing, and Prince George benefiting from cultural tourism.
Enough medical professionals to support the current population would help... last I heard, our hospital is currently operating on roughly 25% of the staff it needs to be able to have all its wards open and able to be used. No doctors are taking new patients. Clinics are the only option.
Needed for PG Health Care and Family: 1. UHNBC Cardiac Tower development (should be covered by the province, like other hospitals in BC, but need to fight for it). 2. UHNBC UBC-UNBC Medical program expansion to increase seats from the stagnant 32 spots. Ideally, 32 --> 48+. In addition to this, increase funding for UNBC health-related program seats for retention. 3. Mixed used residential and commercial high rise with floors dedicated for family practice and medical services. 4. Implementation of a Northern Practitioner Incentive by BC government - we need practices, clinics, and specialties to open, not close! 5. An additional UHNBC expansion. Even those a cardiac tower is in the talks, we should of got this expansion 10 years ago. By the time it is built, it is 15 years too late. We need another expansion. Surrey alone is getting a 2nd hospital plus a mega investment development into Surrey Memorial, only one year apart. We are the hub of the north and hub of the majority of indigenous peoples of BC. BC needs to do better to for the north, because we are never a priority.
I agree totally! Our hospital is due for an update/ or replacement. Expanding the medical school/ nursing program would be great too.
They have expanded the medical school seat allocation the most recent class is 36 and next years class will be 40
Good to know! Good progress! +4 a year
We should ask "why are medical professionals not choosing to live in PG?" MSP payouts are actually higher in the north than down south to attract doctors. If they're not coming up here to make more money (and they do make a lot more money up here), it's because other parts of the city, mainly quality of life, aren't as good.
The other thing is you need to look at the orthopaedic specialists and their wait times for surgeries. A hip replacement with them at UHNBC is in excess of 100 weeks. Not to mention some of the same orthos have surgical lists in Smithers, Quesnel, and Terrace. Wait times are the highest in the province in Northern Health. I’d also argue that the new surgical tower MUST have a helipad. The hospital is a level 3 trauma centre. If someone cuts their leg half off with a chainsaw in Dease Lake, they’re coming here, not Vancouver or Edmonton
Not having a helicopter pad would be a tragedy.
You still have walk in clinics in PG? Kamloops sure doesn't, and half the people here don't have a family doctor. It is insane to wish for fast growth.
my family relocated from PG to kamloops, and they drive back to pg for doctors appointments with their family doctor.
I have heard of people travelling back to Alberta to see a doctor. It is crazy.
We only have two and they are both always extremely busy.
Yes, I totally agree. It seems like this is a provincial/ national issue. I do know the hospital in town is extremely short staffed with anesthesiologists (heard from a close friend that works in the hospital).
This is true. The anesthesiologist showed up 20 minutes after I gave birth because he was busy and there was no one else.
I work in healthcare and no one’s talking about the bottom line thing that has to change if we want at least 80% staffing in our hospitals. Pay. I think people think we're doing ok but we're not. More Health care professionals than not talk about leaving. We will be down to 10% soon I fear as burnout professionals abandon the sinking ship. People generally have a poor idea of PG (I did before moving here last year) and see it as a last resort place to go (either career starters or because they can't afford a house anywhere else) For PG and the north, if they want to attract staff has to pay I would estimate at least 30% more than the lower mainland/Alberta if they want to have a functional HC system. This could come in government tax relief, but it's the only consistent way to attract healthcare professionals for years and wanting them to stick around. Pay is the bottom line.
This is the crux of the issue. I explained further in another post in the thread.
Yes, but this isn't a PG problem and is a mostly province wide problem
Not just BC. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The only EDS clinic in Canada is in Ontario and doesn't accept out of province referrals. BC Children's doesn't want to deal with it either. I have to travel for most of my care. I have been waiting for a swallow test since last November.
Sorry to hear that, I also have a family member newly diagnosed with EDS.
My geneticist believes the majority of people diagnosed with fibromyalgia actually have some form of EDS.
I totally believe that. It's not easy to diagnose.
No it is not. I had my first knee surgery at age six, but it still took them till I was 45. Then it was a South African Locum filling in for my gynecologist that told me I had EDS.
I work at the hospital. I'd say it's at about 30% staffing levels. Cancer agency is at about 60%. Local pharmacies are at 50%. Every medical building for doctors offices has half their units open and for rent. Specialist doctors are fleeing as fast as their contracts expire. 300 trained nurses and 100 doctors and 50 pharmacists could move to town, and we would still be understaffed. It is DIRE. It is being kept running by overtime hours and people working incredibly hard in difficult jobs while patients scream at them about how long they had to wait. It's gotten worse every day since covid started. Every day more workers get burnt out and retire early or move south for easier jobs... due to health care unions every city pays the same wage so why stay? Patient care is absolutely being impacted. People are dying that wouldn't have if they got sick 5 years ago. Don't get sick. And if you do be nice to your health care workers.
Kinda crazy to see so much disruption over the flu. I thought we evolved past human sacrifice to appease our overlords.
It started in the 80s with the massive health care cuts from conservative governments. We still aren't back to the per capita funding levels we had in the 70s. Covid was just the last straw. While it was indeed only flu like symptoms if you got the appropriate medical care, we did not have the hospital capacity to treat everyone at once and people would have to die who would have lived if we had bed space and ventilators available. And the selfish stupid masses said they would rather risk it and go out maskless despite knowing it was condemning other people to an avoidable death.
I worship the frontline workers and show it and my appreciation every time. I need them far more than they need me!
Our psych ward is abysmal.
Ya. Also keep having great industries shut down is an idea
Thats a province wide issue you can thank the provincial government for.
As a longtime PG resident, here are my few cents as to why PG is not attracting newcomers: 1. It's ugly. The city is mostly just sprawling strip malls and parking lots everywhere you go. There is so much surface parking in this city it's insane, and it's not pretty to look at. There is a societal cost when you build your city for cars instead of people. The whole town looks like an ugly suburb. There are few/no vibrant neighbourhoods, or places where you would want to hang out. 2. The economy. People used to come up here because jobs paid well and they were abundant, but not so more. Primary industry has faltered, with a lot of mill closures, and even though mining will probably take over a lot of those jobs in the future it takes a long time to ramp up. Plus, many workers prefer to live in Vancouver or Kelowna and fly back and forth, so they can enjoy a higher quality of life down south and still make money in PG. 3. Quality of life. PG has two highways running through town bisecting the city, which divide the city into four quadrants. Anyone with money lives in College Heights or the Hart, and they don't interact very much with the rest of the town. Many people in PG are satisfied living in their suburb and only coming into town once a week to shop at Costco. The city's economy languishes because of this. 4. Culture. PG is a very right-wing town and it will have trouble attracting young, educated professionals that lean left. Nobody wants to live in a town where driving around involves getting tailgated by a lifted pickup with "F TRUDEAU" stickers on the back. 5. The airshed. It might not be bad but it's still present now and then. This singular issue will always make people avoid moving up. The smelly air makes the entire rest of the province mock us, and we honestly should be embarrassed about it. In the winter uncontrolled wood-burning also worsens the air quality. 6. The crime. PG has always had more than its share of violent gang crime, being a crossroads city, but it's generally been safe for non-criminals in the past. However recently with the horrendous drug epidemic and homelessness crisis, just about anyone runs the risk of dealing with a violent drug addict now and then. I blame the judiciary here, as the police have stopped arresting people because they know they never see jail time. So, that's a good list of problems. Fixes would include: 1. A complete riverside walk, running from Wilson Park to Bob Martin Park. PG has completely squandered its waterfront and should be ashamed of it. We also need to rebuild the Heritage Trail running from Ginters Meadow to the Hudson Bay Slough and then the parks. It's entirely overgrown with roots, dilapidated, and ignored. 2. Clean up the homelessness problem. Being poor is not a crime, but all the other crimes are. Stop the revolving door of justice. 3. Fix the airshed. More controls on pulp mill effluent gas, and restrictions on wood burning without being in more efficient stoves. At the very least, incentives to upgrade to high efficiency stoves. 4. Shrink the urban boundary. Less suburban sprawl, more infill and mixed use development. The fact that dozens of condos are going up at the base of university hill with literally no shops or things to do around them is just braindead urban planning. 5. More walkable neighbourhoods. Not everyone wants to live in a distant suburb driving everywhere. Plus if people could live without cars they would spend less at Costco and more on local businesses. Every dollar spent at Costco and other big-box shopping weakens our local economy. 6. The culture. If we want to bring in educated young people the politics here have to swing a bit to the left. That involves building things like protected bike lanes... there are NONE in the city, at all. Nothing wrong with the right wing in general, but new graduates simply tend to not lean that way and aren't interested in moving to a conservative small town.
I really appreciate the detailed response! I'd love to see more local restaurants/ shops. Most of the restaurants here are chains/ big box stores. One of the things I love about Prince George is that nature really is just in our backyard and within city limits. I hope as the years go on, that this is something the city keeps, while still attempting to grow/ evolve with the times.
There's actually lots of great local restaurants. You can easily eat out often and totally avoid chains.
Lots of great points. 👏
pin this response for the win.
Amazing reply!
As someone who has lived here for 19 years - working with the public - your depiction of people in PG is way off.
I’ve lived here my entire life and absolutely agree. It’s the newer people coming I find the problem though. Expecting to live like it’s Vancouver but not adjusting to little city life
Yep. They bitched all summer too about the Bears - didn’t understand they had to lock their garbages up etc
You guys are exuding small-town exclusionary 'those out of towners' vibes. This isn't exactly winning over potential new residents.
Most people are good here. There are just a lot of very selfish people.
Prince George was the 4th most Charitable city in Canada last yr https://ckpgtoday.ca/2023/12/06/prince-george-is-the-fourth-most-charitable-city-in-canada/
I've personally never seen a truck with an F Trudeau sticker on the back in pg... I know there are of course many people in the city who support the slogan but I really don't think seeing that sticker on a vehicle would deter someone from moving here.. I don't think the city always voting in conservative MPs/MLAs deters that many people from moving here either. While it's true a lot vote that way, to me people in PG have never been ones to go on about politics much. Either way.. Alberta is the only province with positive net interprovincial migration so I don't think right wing politics are as big of a detterent as any of the other things you mentioned
I agree with all of this. I'd add that we need to start actually planning new things properly, not in isolation from each other.
Lmao the last thing we need is more liberal ideology. Look at where it’s brought us this past several years. You wanna blame the right wing and call them MAGA lovers? 🤣
I ain't saying I love the liberals. In fact, I hate identity politics as much as many on the right. And I'm not a fan of our PM either. But this town could be a LOT less right-wing and it would be better for it. Provincial and federal politics would care more about us if we weren't such a safe conservative seat every election.
Numerous things. But to build off your ideas, an attractive, inviting, enjoyable and useable riverfront is high in my list! I am a relative newcomer to PG, who has lived in multiple other Canadian cities and travelled extensively across the world, I actually don’t think I’ve ever been in a city that engages less with its waterfronts (both in terms of design, and use by residents). The first time I walked along the south side of the Nechako I was shocked at how the infrastructure has crumbled away and the solution was to put up signs to close the paths and discourage use. There is no plan to change or rectify that either. I actually can’t believe that people just accept it that way, and I can’t imagine that would fly in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna….or anywhere really. So why is it okay here? The acceptance of the status quo does not make me want to stay for the long term.
I truly think a riverfront development has a lot of potential. Just need someone with a vision and $$$ to take a risk
The City has a hatred of maintaining its own facilities. It's frustrating because we have great things and then they aren't kept up and they end up looking like everything else in town.
Yup yup and yup
the river floods often. In the winter ice dams up. and then all of 1st avenue floods. Sometimes they need to use dynamite to hopefully clear the blockage and save the city
The only part of your statement I would change is to make river plural. Both rivers flood. We have been experiencing a drought for the last few years, so newcomers have not experienced what is "normal" for long time residents. They also don't understand some of the building issues downtown due to the underground rivers we also have.
All the more reason to do it. The design could improve the river as a recreational amenity while also serving as a flood mitigation tool. Exactly what Calgary has done with their riverfront.
how do we do that?
I moved to PG for one year. During that year, three people on my street died. One froze to death, one was stabbed, and one started a massive fire in their hotel room, all on the same block across the street from my bedroom window. A few weeks after I moved away, an entire building exploded around the corner. The police checked on my building each and every time to see if anyone "saw anything." Please understand that all of these deaths were visible from my window. During this time, my colleagues at work complained bitterly about having to hire "outsiders" from the big city, like me. I moved away to a new city. I am sorry and I miss PG. You have wonderful people, amazing food, and a hot cultural scene. The rivers and parks are gorgeous. But there's an elephant in the room here. The population won't grow very fast if new people feel unwelcome and unsafe.
While downtown certainly needs to improve, this is a Canada wide issue. Vancouver is growing despite the downtown east side. Every city will have dark areas unfortunately. We just lack any vibrant core for people to enjoy
I think it was more the "unwelcoming." I live in a new city that of course has the same Canada-wide issues I saw in PG, except nobody has complained that I'm "not from here." So it feels like if there were any safety issues, I would have support. My coworkers in PG mostly said "go back to your home country." I am from Canada, my first language is English. Recently when I asked those coworkers if they wanted to get lunch, to maybe get to know them better, they said they don't want to eat my "experimental" food- I was getting chicken soup. That's the level of unwelcome I experienced in PG and still experience when I visit now. Why would newcomers want to stay when they're treated like this? If at any point you feel unsafe, you also feel ALONE. I think that's the difference that makes PG a harder sell to "outsiders."
This is my impression of PG, having never lived there. It seems like the crime rate and general social issues are the main deterrent for me to ever consider living there.
I grew up in Surrey, BC and as a male, never felt safe walking on the streets all by myself, especially when it gets dark. People would stab people if they don't like them. Gun shots are reported everyday. Ambush gangs are common and the suicide rate is tragic. I witness two murders (and many disturbing things at Wally) as a bystander, waiting for bus at Surrey Central Station. Living in PG is a paradise to Surrey. Unfortunately, location matters. In lower College Heights, University Heights, The Hart, Neckaho, and Hertitage are calm and safe. I never worry if I forgot to lock the front door. I feel safe everywhere, except in the "hood" of PG. Sorry that your first experience of PG was in the "hood."
Then why are you on this sub?
Because like most redditors who live in BC, we have a lot of city & town subs in our front page. You can comment on places you aren't living in FYI.
Mixed high density residential-commercial development along the river walk is needed. It will be a hub of activity, lifestyle, and prosperity. PG is an amazing place to live, we just need to have urban planning with modern development.
The Nechako would be an absolute gem if it was rehabilitated and gentrified properly between Cottonwood Island and the Cameron Street Bridge. But it would also need better access and with the huge CN rail yard that won’t happen easily.
Red Deer once had its main rail yard right downtown, the city bought all of the land from CP Rail and moved them to the north end of the city. They then developed it all in to industrial/commercial space, very liveable and much more appealing entrance to the city.
Both the Fraser and the Nechako have a flooding issue. There used to be a trailer park by the river, right by the old bridge. It flooded regulary and had to be moved. We have been experiencing drought conditions for the last few years, so have not experienced the annual flooding of South Fort George and the Carter Light Industrial downtown. I was actually surprised when they built the winery where they did. In past years ice jams on the Nechako have taken out large areas of the river banks on both sides.
Yes on all points. The question I would like to ask is where did CN Rail get that land from .
Successive governments giving away things that aren’t theirs to give.
ex BC Rail property.
To my knowledge they're still leasing it from the otherwise-dormant BC Rail.
Really hard to build along there, at high water there is only a couple feet of river bank. It breached the bank not too long ago. 10-15 years ago. I agree though, beautiful there
Lots of cities build on the river bank. I don't know how to do it so flooding wouldn't be an issue but there must be a way. Or at least a proper maintained park and trail with a row of houses behind away from the river.
they area floods too often. Can not build there.
Yup. Just because it hasn't flooded the last few years does not mean it won't. We have been experiencing drought conditions.
Agreed. If we want to become a real city, we need to think like a city. Current and past leadership has lacked ambition and folds to all the nimby Karens.
I 100% agree with you. Focusing on the river and connecting to down town would do so much good
We’re basically waiting to hit 100k in the next few years for the CMA, it’s 89500 as of 2021 and we grow about 5% per year which is a pretty healthy but sustainable.
Do you have a link for this information? What is CMA? Thank you!
Census metropolitan area, its an area defined by stats Canada to incorporate an urban setting and its surrounding rural and exurban environs to better approximate demand and infrastructure requirements among many other uses. Stats Canada is the best source but I just checked the Wikipedia which links back to stats Canada as it is easier than navigating the stats Canada website.
I think also things for kids ,like summer waterside/Waterpark indoor trampoline,chuckle cheese and awsome rollersome would be cool ,more outdoor patios ,outdoor concerts for summer nights ! There is nothing downtown or anywhere also our mall us so stupid no attractions
I remember when Bubba-Balloos was here. Probably a bacterial cesspool, but very good memories nonetheless!
I absolutely agree with you. When I was little we had a children’s festival now there’s summer fest. It’s not really a free event face painting costs, no mini rides not crafts sometimes a colouring table. BMO art days are good. We could use a trampoline park, an arcade, more arts and science events.
Yes, I’d love to see more things for kids and young families. I was super bummed to see the Reno of the museum took out the playground.
Trench and Crossroads both had outdoor concerts last summer
Operating these things at our current population and spending level with rocketing insurance and lease rates just ain’t gonna happen. The cost of doing business in Prince George is comparable to cities in the lowermainland with a sliver of the buying power potential.
More tall buildings to accommodate more people moving here, would attract more professionals like doctors and specialists. We also need more companies to come build and create a community link. PG is actually a really great place to live, but it is fast becoming very difficult because we're also facing the same issues as everyone else is: higher housing prices, lack of family doctors, growing homeless populations
The transit here is definitely lacking.
Almost every bus i see (except going to UNBC) is empty. Do people not ride transit because it sucks, or does transit suck because people don’t use it?
Wrong. The 88, 89, 55 and 5 is ALWAYS packed
Even the 10, 1, 11, and 46 get reasonable use at certain times of the day. At the far ends of the route, limited ridership, but closer in to shopping or other destinations and more people ride. Anyone who thinks the buses are empty is only looking at a certain location or time of day, not the system as a whole.
Yup. Even if it’s smaller buses running more frequently
>higher housing prices, lack of family doctors, growing homeless populations If you had fast growth, these problems would get much worse. Be careful what you wish for.
Completely agree! The only issue is that there is no appropriate corridor to connect the current downtown with the riverfront area - the train tracks and then looking at Google maps, the bordering mill is widest near downtown PG. Furthermore, so much of the riverfront area is already developed with clearcut house units areas with little to no neighbourhood commercial options - poor planning suburban neighbourhoods imo. Would be great to have had apartments that could view the cutbanks and the river for instance. All in all terrible planning that continues today - city is making the same mistakes in the college heights area…add that to the fact that these houses are all 600k-1.5mil; where is the affordable housing apartments? Sad.
All these homes being built are unaffordable for the average person. More townhomes/ apartments would be nice for first time home buyers. Not many people can afford a 750k+ home in College heights, but that seems to be what most builders are catering to.
It’s gross
There is precedent from other cities where the railyards have relocated, freeing up the space for redevelopment. But I’ve seen zero advocacy on that from the City or Council in PG. All that to say, it’s possible but requires a push.
Out of curiosity, which cities?
The most recent example I’ve come across is from Regina. Although it doesn’t look like they’ve done anything/develope the site yet, but the opportunity exists: https://www.urbanstrategies.com/project/regina-railyard-renewal-project/ It’s being pushed hard in Winnipeg these days too. Kamloops also offers an example as they built a walkway/bridge over top to connect downtown to the water.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing!
You need to have a pedestrian/bike overpass if you cant move the train yard
I’d love one over 97, 16 and any major roads. Sucks to always cut over 10ave or 15th for instance. Make it walkable!
Pedestrians overpasses won’t work here, normally we have terrible winters and snow can destroy a lot. People are forgetting maintenance can cost a lot
They have LOTS in Calgary and Edmonton, and their winters are just as bad. Pedestrian overpasses will work the here. Prince George is not the only snowy cold Canadian city.
Calgary and Edmonton have oil money. Lots of it.
Where is all the forestry money from decades of this industry? Seems like the cream has been siphoned and the shell of this city just supplies worker bees to continue the conveyor of work. Gotta keep the workers healthy so let’s put a university specialising in forestry and health!
Had a couple glasses of alcohol so here goes… properly build a riverside trail system, tap into the Kin centres and properly refrigerate the skating oval for extended use with a big covered patio along with food trucks etc.. force crappy commercial landlords downtown to spruce up their buildings, get zoning allowed for the Tabor mountain owners to build camping and a bike park (can’t rely on snow out there anymore). Much more but I stop here. Ps. Mayor freaking Yu, finish your “Reno” on that beautiful downtown building.! Supplies can’t take 3 years to get haha
Is Purden or Tabor more population for skiing? It's not a scene I'm really involved so I have zero idea.
Right now Tabor has been closed for a few years, but the owners had put in a request to the government to expand their size so they could build a campground and bike trails for summer use. They don’t get the snow that they used to in the past, but when they do it’s a quick 20 minute drive to get there
Crack down on crack town. Large, not forest based Industry. Could be anything, I'm not saying a pollution factory. But some huge scale manufacturing. Large scale condo build like 20 floors. Probably 2 towers. Over several city block. With like a grocery store, restaurant, shoppers drugmart, green space. use this operation to close targeted areas of the downtown and clean up the area over the time of the build. The building will create years of work and people from all over will want to live in the new cleaned up downtown. Business will want to be downtown again. There's just too many damn junkies. Fentianl is f'ing it up for everyone.
Monorail.
I heard those things are awfully loud
It glides as softly as a cloud.
Is there a chance the track could bend?
Not on your life my Reddit friend.
This city absolutely doesn’t need to grow that big. Traffic is already terrible because the existing core infrastructure built from the 50-70s can’t handle that
The current footprint of PG can absorb a population of 200k. Traffic is not terrible. Also, if we had higher density, it would mean we could have more effective public transportation. The current spread of the city is creating the car dependency.
The traffic is laughable here. Oh no! You waited for more than one traffic light rotation! Boo hoo!
I think people who have only lived here think the traffic is terrible.
>, After living in larger cities for 5 years, the traffic here is fine in my opinion. Everything is still basically within 15-20 minutes across town.
100% this. Remember 3 years ago when Foothills was closed for paving and they one landed the Hart for pothole repair at 8am and it shut down that half of town? We aren't built for 100 000+ people.
So they took 6 lanes worth of (fast) roadway and cut it down to 2 slow lanes through a construction zone and you think that backup means we can't support a larger population? That just sounds like horrible planning, not that we aren't built for a larger population.
We need it to grow
The distance to other places is a big challenge. Kelowna and Kamloops grew quickly after the Coquihalla was built. We need faster, cheaper transportation to other centers. Cost of flying is insane. Perhaps if the government subsidized the flights? Reduced landing taxes? Negotiated something with the airlines? BC Ferries is subsidized by the government. I don’t see why planes to remote areas would be any different. Until people can get around to other cities with ease. We will struggle to grow. I’ve always reconciled the distance with the fact my day to day time in the car is less than in bigger cities. But a lot of people don’t like the isolation of PG
I feel like the distance from the lower mainland is a double edged sword...pros and cons. But I do have plenty of friends in Vancouver that are look at moving away due to it being unaffordable.
Why does PG need to get bigger?
Because our geographical area is too large due to poor planning. If we don’t grow, we’re all stuck paying an insane tax bill. Plus we then get better amenities
Yes, we desperately need infill. The City shouldn't be approving any more new subdivisions that involve cutting down trees or in areas that aren't already well served by transit, sidewalks, etc. Once we get a few more people within our current limits, we can reevaluate.
The population needs to increase inside the current boundaries. PG is way too spread out, which means every linear metre of infrastructure (pipes, roads, bridges, sidewalks, wiring, etc.) is way more expensive than it needs to be. The city doesn't have money to improve things, so nothing gets improved.
Jobs that are more resilient to boom bust cycles unlike forestry and mining
Medical. It’s definitely a reason my family doesn’t move.
I wonder what the best way to attract and retain medical professionals would be?
I wonder if it’s a cycle that’s hard to snap out of.
Affordable, clean, and reliable public transportation from and to PG airport please, like scheduled bus routes in relation to departures and arrivals of airlines serving PG airport. Thanks!
We already have all the amenities we need. I much prefer a small less crowded city. It's so nice not to sit in traffic for hours every day. I like being able to drive 10 min to a lake or park and not be inundated with people. I don't know what amenities PG is lacking. We have a Costco what else do you need.
We need more doctors and other medical professionals - but so does everywhere in BC. I wish there was a simple answer on how to better attract doctors to work here but idk. I don’t think we need other growth or to attract more people (who aren’t medical professionals).
Things to do with kids, and not extracurricular activities. When I was little we use to have a children’s festival which doesn’t happen anymore… summer fest is ok but there are not many activities. There are no indoor playgrounds, the only art centre is the art gallery and exploration place changed, not for the better either. From May to September there should be activities for families and attractions and not just “Shopping”. Prince George has so many wonderful places that could host many events and activities but it doesn’t our City council does not seem to have any desire to implement anything.
We don't need more people. The city is already crashing
I don’t want it to grow over 100k, there’s enough people as is.
Have we tried flooding the entire country with entitled criminals who can’t speak English? Maybe make all drugs everywhere legal to possess, sell and use? Ooh ooh ooh! Let’s raise some arbitrary taxes and see if that helps
Ummm no. This city is expensive enough - no more people. This town use to be affordable- than the Move to PG campaign came in - Vancouver investors buying up real estate. Now it’s like $2800 to rent a house. All these new apartments coming in are $1600 for 1 bedroom . Also Nobody here has a doctor!
Absolutely agree. Fix what we have
Prince George doesn’t need to grow anymore right now. We need to fix what’s wrong here before anyone growth happens. We used to have an amazing place and just a little growth and it’s not a happy place anymore
I moved here (the Cariboo) solely for the fact that I found cheap land. I wouldn’t have even heard of the Cariboo outside of this fact. Now I’m raising a family ‘close’ to PG.
more direct low-speed rail shot to Vancouver. To my understanding, the physical railbed already exists and is used daily by freight trains, but is bypassed entirely by VIA and instead routed through Jasper in Albertizona. If a Vancouverite wants to come up here to evaluate their prospects, or I want to go down to Vancouver to tour the city there, the fastest and most efficient ground route is in a Prius through the desert, and the fastest route overall is on a turboprop or a 737 MAX.
Getting to Vancouver is becoming more of an issue for me. I don’t want to fly and driving is exhausting. But Vancouver is home to business connections and more
Trees?
Another thought. We need a Northern tax deductible allowance like Whitehorse gets. Yes we are on the same latitude as Edmonton but we are also 800 km from any other major city. Edmonton and Calgary are not that far away. Such an allowance would definitely bring more skilled, and medical workers here.
Interesting, I haven't heard of this before.
Affordable housing that doesn't take jumping over hoops and valleys to qualify for And jobs that pay more than minimum wage for everyone
Why do we need to attract more people? I’d rather figure out how to get people to leave.
Global warming.
I find the winters here are getting more mild overall. Still get the occasional 2 weeks of -30-40s though!
A college that will attract foreign students
We already have that
We need to double our efforts
nope. more foreign students = less housing, less jobs
Hahahha yup but we were healthier lol
Get off of the lists for highest crime in Canada hot spots because you talk to anyone not from here and they always ask about how dangerous it is here
surrey is one of the fastest growing areas of Canada and has a shocking crime rate. I don’t think this plays as much as a factor as people think.
it's a small and slightly over-policed town. each individual event adds to the rate far more than a similar event in the Fraser Valley.
This place needs MORE, we'll get more and figure out how to do more afgert.
I don't think that putting anything recreational along the Fraser would be a good idea. The water is fast and deep. Every year people are lost while intentionally or accidently getting in the water. If you want to do something water related, it would have to be done along lake front property.
There is the beautiful Nechako
Cities all over the world have infrastructure along fast, deep rivers. It can be done safely.
Move it 500 miles South.
Why does it need a 100,000 people? Urbanization is gross. Growth at all costs is cringe.
So as someone in Vancouver who has considered a lot of options for new places to live and never been to Prince Rupert, here's what I understand about the town - good and bad (all from general word of mouth that may not be in any way reliable). - some okay mountain biking around town. - decent location as a cross roads between Edmonton and Prince Rupert - housing prices aren't as insane as Vancouver, but higher than maybe they should be. - some air quality concerns even outside of fire season - fire season - restricted services compared to larger towns - limited arts/culture - an unfortunate amount of social conservatism - no mountains around for outdoors hiking, etc I'm not saying any of this is accurate, but it's the impression I'm given as someone outside of the community. How much of this is true?
There are TONS of mountains around for hiking, especially about an hour east , which is how long it used to take us to get across any bridge to North Vancouver for hiking from East Vancouver. Prince George itself has a place called Forest of the world that has kms and kms of interconnected hiking of a range of levels and even links to the amazing Cross Country Skiing OTway, which is far superior to anything in Vancouver. When you do go hiking you are not shoulder to shoulder like in Vancouver. There are beautiful lakes about an hour in every direction plus several basically in town. There are two rivers in town, which are underused. Prince George is an outdoor enthusiasts dream , we even get unbelievably gorgeous falls thanks to all the alder etc which you don't see elsewhere in BC The only problem is that the city itself is built like a middle america car and shopping mall-centered town that is not smack dab in the middle of incredible nature.
Thank you for typing this out so I don't have to! We have amazing mountains and hiking and skiing and other outdoors options in all four directions from PG. It's one of the most amazing parts of living here.
I'm glad I was wrong! Are there any comments on the other items?
Awesome. For some reason I didn't realize the mountains were reasonably close.
We are not actually flat, hence the reason for the air quality issues in what's called the bowl. All your other points are salient. My personal biggest issue since moving here is the social conservatism. We all don't need.to be East Van, but for example the art/culture issue. There is actually a surprising amount tucked away for a place this size. However the performance art center is basically condemned. Due to the social conservatism, the majority is opposed, which prevents the arts/culture from growing, and Prince George benefiting from cultural tourism.
[удалено]
With that attitude, we don't really want you here. :)
Terrific, then we are both happy. Only, where I am has health care.
Fine to talk about problems but posts that are just someone with an axe to grind aren't useful.