Mayor Linda Jeffrey headed to U.S. next month to talk business and infrastructure
Linda Jeffrey to visit New York and New Jersey in November

BramptonGuardian.com
Oct. 18, 2017
Peter Criscione

Mayor Linda Jeffrey will look to Hoboken, New Jersey for lessons on how to tackle flood mitigation in downtown Brampton.

City council on Wednesday approved the mayor’s trip to New York and New Jersey next month where she will join a delegation of government and business leaders working on boosting the region’s profile as part of a regional bid for tech giant Amazon.

Brampton is one of several municipal partners in Toronto Global, a regional economic development organization formed last year.

Jeffrey told council Wednesday her involvement in the day trip is twofold: “to talk about business in the Toronto region;” and to meet with planners in New Jersey to “get visuals” on the work that’s been done on urban flood mitigation.

“Maybe we can bring back some visuals to council on somebody that has had a successful outcome.”

The mayor will travel with two staffers. They depart Nov. 15.

During her trip, Jeffrey will travel to New Jersey for a glimpse of the investment Hoboken has made in flood mitigation.

Despite making substantial investments in the downtown, including a state-of-the-art theatre, a few condominiums and a city hall expansion, the revitalization of the Brampton core envisioned by local leaders decades ago has largely been stunted by an outdated piece of infrastructure.

Without an upgrade to the flood channel, built in 1952 following a major flood four years earlier that submerged the downtown under water, the city will be unable to accommodate the level of growth planned for the area.

During this term, council, despite being bogged down by disagreements over hugely important files like mass transit, committed to the establishment of Riverwalk, which would double up as a flood channel and pedestrian thoroughfare.

Although still in the initial planning stages, the project lacks several key pieces, namely the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for construction.

Last year, Brampton secured $262,500 from the provincial and federal governments toward an environmental assessment and strategic plan for the revitalization of Etobicoke Creek.

Beyond that, it is still unclear how city leaders plan to secure the bulk of the funding for such a crucial endeavour. The project cost has been estimated to be between $300 million and $500 million.

Jeffrey told councillors Wednesday that Hoboken, nearly swallowed by the Hudson River during Superstorm Sandy last year, “is a really good example of what we are trying to replicate” for Brampton with respect to flood mitigation and urban planning. Jeffrey said she got the idea to travel to New Jersey after speaking to an expert and panellist at a conference recently.

"We are exploring whether it would be possible to view the work done in Hoboken, New Jersey and see if there is anything we can learn from their experiences," Jeffrey told The Guardian.

Coun. Grant Gibson requested a written report from the mayor upon her return.

“Even if it’s just (in point form) on what went on,” Gibson said.

In a speech to business leaders earlier this year, Jeffrey listed Riverwalk as one of six important 'game-changers' for the city.

Securing a university and transforming the city into a health sciences hub are also on that list.