An attractive option for Grand Forks as it looks at becoming an even more livable place may be found in Citta Slow (slow city), a community-managed system that focuses on improving the quality of life of all residents and visitors, and celebrates the diversity of the local culture. When they qualify, such towns get to post the Citta Slow logo, a snail, at their entrances.

The Citta Slow movement began in Italy in 1999 when Carlo Petrini became upset with the appearance of the first McDonald’s in Rome. Thirteen years earlier in 1986 the slow food movement began in Italy. Petrini was determined to save regional foods and smaller producers from extinction. He also wanted to revive and celebrate food tastes and smells.      

If Grand Forks chose to become a member of Citta Slow International, it wouldn't be the first to do so in B.C. because that honour goes to Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island. Naramata is the second town to do so, and Gibsons may be the third.

Cowichan Bay is a village of less than 3,000 people located on a bay. There are small and large-scale agricultural operations surrounding it and wineries, a waterfront centre, lots of green space. The village has the distinction of having no fast food outlets or big-box stores.

To become a Citta Slow member, a town must get high marks within six potential areas of excellence: environmental protection, infrastructure, urban fabric, local produce and products, community and hospitality, and communicating awareness and understanding of Citta Slow.

Grand Forks has been making changes in the past few years that lend themselves to the slow town concept, but those initiatives appear to have been taken without the benefit of a master plan. The questions on people's minds is where is the city council taking us and at what cost?   

If the city made a decision to seek Citta Slow certification a lot of work would have to be done. On the list are: the adoption of the use of alternative sources of energy; the elimination of aesthetically displeasing billboard advertising; the development of a traffic management plan that focuses on the needs of pedestrians and people who depend upon alternative forms of moving in and around the city; the promotion of eco-friendly architecture; the celebration and promotion of local produce and locally made products; the promotion of organic farming and quality certification for farm products; the promotion of well-marked tourist routes and trails; and the promotion of healthy living to all age groups and all sections of the community.  

There must be a focus on making improvements to a city centre that is languishing for lack of attention. Though it can be argued that pursuing Citta Slow would create problems, there is no convincing evidence available to support such a position.  

Initiatives that are worthy of consideration are: the closure of Market Avenue for the summer months to enable the operation of the Boundary’s only outdoor market; the provision of incentives such as tax reductions for merchants who make improvements to building facades in the commercial area; ongoing improvements to existing greenways and trails; the implementation of a program to clean up the lanes and back yards of down town business establishments; the preservation of all remaining natural environmental features within the city such as the wetlands and the sponsorship of a food festival at harvest time in the fall.

People now residing in Grand Forks who were young adults in the 1960s may remember the advice of Simon and Garfunkel in their popular 49th Street Bridge Song: "Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last." It's advice worth heeding.