The Planning and Engineering Department with the City of Morden is envisioning what the community could look like in 30 years to prepare for the expansion of the roads and foot paths.

"We want to make sure that new development comes in at a planned and strategic way," said director of Planning and Engineering, Dave Haines.

Haines' goal is to be prepared for new developments, preparing in advance so there aren't traffic headaches in the future. This means, roads, water treatment, distribution, fire protection, waste-water treatment, storm water management, etc. all has to be thought of.

"At the end of the day, it's all about sustainability," said Haines.

If all residential roads are thoroughfares, prices and taxes go up for home owners and repairs happen more often. However, if Haines and his team can appropriately plan to keep the main arteries the same as they are now and most residential areas quieter, through establishing cul de sacs, or limiting stop signs for example, then taxes and repair costs can be kept lower.

"So, you try to identify where are the significant routes and destinations, where people are trying to get to from a particular area of town," Haines explained.

The end of this analysis is figuring where traffic needs to slow down and flowing where it needs to flow.

Active transportation, walking and biking paths, fits into the planning as an equal partner with vehicle traffic according to Haines. The routes need to be convenient to connect where people live to where they they want to go.