Municipal decisions have consequences stretching decades into the future — which is why the service network must be developed with long-term thinking, not just as a reaction to individual controversies. Kirkkonummi’s service network survey has generated a great deal of discussion since its publication. After it was reported in Kirkkonummen Sanomat , particular attention has been paid to the mention of Laajakallio School. A petition to preserve the school has also been launched and is gathering signatures at a good pace.
Why is long-term planning important?
Conducting such a survey in the first place is an excellent thing. When decisions are made in the municipality about zoning different areas or acquiring and renovating properties, those decisions affect the municipality’s operations for decades. Without assessing the impact of decisions, it is impossible to know whether they are taking the municipality in the desired direction. The municipality can, however, through its own actions, influence both how many people live in an area and what kinds of services — and how many of them — are available to residents.
What kind of Kirkkonummi do we want to build?
The proposed measures in the survey are based on various alternative future scenarios. For example, converting Laajakallio School into a larger kindergarten is based on scenarios that appear reasonable, in which the number of children in the Centre area grows over the next 20 years. It would appear that the proposed measures are based on the assumption that kindergarten capacity will run out while schools would have sufficient capacity without Laajakallio School. Of course, families with children often also look at local services — such as schools and kindergartens — when choosing where to live, meaning that closing a school could disrupt good population growth.
Now is an excellent opportunity for the municipality’s decision-makers to show whether we want to build a Kirkkonummi where everything is large and centralised, or whether we want more villages like Laajakallio and Sundsberg. For my part, I have always seen the village character as one of our strengths.
I have written more about the municipality’s long-term development: the need for a vibrant centre for a growing municipality , the possibilities offered by Lyyra, the House of Culture and why education is the municipality’s most important task .
Published in Kirkkonummen Sanomat on 24 September 2023.
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