NEARP!

Or NEAR Plan if you prefer. This is the Northeast Avalon Regional Plan referred to in today's press release from the Department of Municipal Affairs found here.

Regional planning is a huge step in the right direction for the province and that's especially so for the "capital area" where the cities and towns are so interconnected in terms of traffic flows and infrastructure. It's also good to see the province putting half the cash into this project at $250,000. If we could get this type of initiative moving in other areas of the province it could go a long way toward addressing both the serious lack of planing capacity and the dire need for more integrated land use planning pretty much everywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lets hope this is just the first of many regional planing initiatives funded by the province.