I want to support what Ken Newman has said and add to it. 

Downtown Terrace loses out on a significant amount of business because it is so difficult to get there without a car. 

I have walked from the Southside to downtown twice and it is not something I will repeat.

The footpaths were slippery, the roads were dangerous to cross, buttons on crossings were frozen and people were driving so fast I felt unsafe. In fact, the second time I witnessed a logging truck come off the road and almost into the Skeena mall, thank goodness I was not a few feet ahead.

On many streets, the only way to walk is to walk on the road, against every single instruction we ever give to our kids.

I feel deeply for people with prams or mobility scooters it must be incredibly frustrating, particularly considering it is going on weeks now that the footpaths (where they exist) are impassible.

You would be hard-pressed to find any current conversations around sustainable urban planning that does not take walkability into account. Here in Terrace, we have whole areas of the city with no sidewalk.

Below is a TED talk outlining the benefits of a walkable city something I think has to be right at the top of any discussion about improving access to the downtown.  https://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_speck_the_walkable_city/transcript

It is actually possible to calculate how much money will be saved/generated by improving walkability scores for your City. see  http://www.stateofplace.co/howitworks