MAYOR MCMULLAN COMES TO THE COMMUNITY OF KIDS ZONE I was given the opportunity to walk our community with Mayor McMullan today. We had good conversation where he expressed his concerns that the children’s safety in the Grapeview/Mother Teresa school zones is paramount. He has asked for more Traffic Studies to be completed and applauds that we will have community meetings come September when school is back in. He, like Joe Cousins, of the Niagara Region, both agree that there is no rush for an interchange and it shouldn’t happen until all stakeholders are satisfied that the children’s and community’s safety issues are addressed. I also re-iterated, from a community standpoint, that doing nothing isn’t an option either. I shared that the modifications to the Grapeview parking lot should have been approved as part of the recent DSBN budget, and not as an add on benefit to a regional project. This can be construed as a conflict of interest since the DSBN is a significant stakeholder in these proceedings. I don’t believe that any stakeholder should gain or benefit over another. It also limits that stakeholder to take an opposing position, even when we hear teachers, on a personal level are not in favor of it and unable to voice. The parking modifications should be completed as a separate concern regardless if the interchange goes in or not. The community needs school traffic alleviation and modifications should be done now, versus at some future date pending the region’s traffic studies. Mayor McMullan was in general agreement that the backstop should be moved to the northwest corner to eliminate any possibility of someone rushing into the lot and striking someone in close proximity to the diamond where it currently is situated. This concept was also provided to Kumar to be implemented into his ESR. We had the opportunity to stand at First and Third and he assured that more studies were being completed by a well-respected consulting company. The fact is, we live in a community not to dissimilar to mice in cage. Should the interchange in its present ALT 9 form be completed, not only will the current residential traffic be zeroed in on the Grapeview/Mother Teresa schools, but will also attract the business/commercial traffic from the medical and commercial offices being developed near the hospital. All wishing that exit out .. the most logical hole from the cage. There is absolutely no question that the epicenter of this community is our two schools and they will be the hardest hit. What we all know is that when there is a fire in a theatre everyone runs for the open door. Mice. In speaking with a resident today, he suggested that he has not seen an increase in traffic since the hospital went in. So why encourage it now? It really makes no sense and many of us had asked way? Mayor McMullan advised that the region are reviewing all options to get this right from the get go and to ensure safety of the children is his first priority. However, until we review the computer generated traffic models, we have to trust the Mayor’s and region’s intent, not necessarily the information that has been provided, since it has never been made public and remains a project in progress. I will wait, but can’t imagine I or many will buy into a government purchased outcome. We also spent time walking to the Third Avenue bridge and we viewed the lands, mostly owned by the province he thought. Apparently, somewhere there are plans and diagrams of the province’s intent when they bought the lands. I personally haven’t seen them, and all references I could find on the Highway 406 expansion and needs dating back to the 80’s never mentioned Third Avenue. Though I proposed that the owners of the land, commonly known as the “driving range” would likely sell their property for development, as was determined within our petition canvass by one of the owners, he advised that he wasn’t necessarily in favor of it, and something like that (development), if approved, would take a number of years, though not defined. He did not immediately know when the Environment Assessment Review would be taking place for discussion of extending the Urban Boundary. This information I would like to know Mayor McMullan; can you provide me with same, as to a date (even the year) when the Assessment Review would be taking place? I also expressed my displeasure that Alt 4, 5 and 6, though potentially not acceptable by Region’s standards, were dismissed prior to a full due diligence of all options that were being considered. It was 2013 when Alt 9 was officially accepted, yet in 2007 the City of St. Catharines sold the lands on Videl Court to a developer who shortly thereafter built townhomes and his personal dwelling. Prior to the sale, there was significant land to complete ALT 4, 5, and 6 and today, some land remains where Alt 6 remains a viable option, based on land space alone. The City allowing this sale removed options before due course, thus forcing Alt 9 as the next viable location. Personally, i think this was dirty pool and unfair. Currently, there is land available behind Videl Court that would perhaps permit ALT 6, but there are other options where that neighborhood and school zones won’t be affected. Obviously, it is a done deal there but I do urge that no further development be made until all options are ruled out and looked at. Mayor McMullan advised that he would look into this sale of land. The other concern against doing nothing relates to the traffic on Third Street. I stressed that Third Street residents need relief soon from the commercial, residential and ambulance traffic and to maintain the integrity of their agriculture lands. Having a service road or exit from the 406 southbound, running under the bridge, to Fourth is more urgent than the overpass itself, especially when we are all in agreement that there is no rush to have the interchange completed and “to service the hospital” was the buzz phrase. Assuming that Kumar (Engineer for the Region) and others are correct and that the interchange is still some 10 years away, there seems to be a conflict with others that state once the ESR is complete, and one year to review designs and putting the tender out, that construction could actually begin between 2-4 years from now. Yep. 2 years. I stressed as well, our opposition has nothing to do with preventing growth of St. Catharines. It is conceivable that the Fourth Avenue corridor will be rich with employment opportunity, especially to the university students who can’t find adequate jobs in this city. We were told that the Third Avenue bridge/overpass is important to the region; it is worth 10-15M to save on the infrastructure costs of building a new span elsewhere. It was suggested that the province bought the surrounding lands for growth and even the MTO wrote to us that the interchange is for development reasons ~ initially thought to mean city and regional development on Fourth. The MTO inferred in no way that the interchange is needed for hospital access and Mayor McMullan’s claim that it needed (a northbound exit onto Third) was quickly refuted. There isn’t a chance that an ambulance would bypass the Fourth Avenue exit with traffic light changing capabilities to drive past the hospital and then up First. Without question, an exit southbound off the 406 is needed for a number of reasons, but southbound is non-sensical. There is no commercial interest here, unless the region/city or province has plans on the scrub land south of Third on the west side of the bridge, which then backs onto the “driving range” property. If that is the case, simply build a street off the service road, but be transparent to this community and advise your plans is what we ask. Moreover, the City of St. Catharines is landlocked by Lake Ontario to the north, Welland Canal to the east and the Greenbelt to the west. The only options are for the Mayor to build up, and he was congratulated on his efforts to put St. Catharines on the map given that our region and city have been hit with manufacturing jobs and population loss. It was also suggested by the Mayor that options are to the south in Thorald and I encouraged him to buy Thorald, versus agreeing to spend money to bring traffic into a residential and school community, where again, there is no commercial interest. Options to service the hospital and Fourth are plentiful without having to implement Alt 9 in its present form. So, this begs the question ..if the Greenbelt prevents growth to the immediate west of the 406 (at Third) and the growth potential for the city is building up or to the south by taking over Thorald and where the school zone borders are defined and there is a shrinking enrollment; why are we even talking about an exit here? The proposed exits and entrances to service commercial interests and the hospital are plentiful, so surely the MTO Minister (Murray) and MOE Minister (Bradley) can approve a plan that keeps everyone happy and the community safe. What is unfortunate, outside the Mayor’s comment of servicing the hospital with a northbound exit, which doesn’t make sense, I still don’t get why this is even in its planning stages with traffic drawn into the community. There seems to be another agenda, because I really don’t believe three levels of government can make such an irrational decision in an area where there is no need. There are no more housing projects to the north of Grapeview and only a spatter of land remains in the Videl Court area. Mayor McMullan did not know why the public land registry instrument, NR235572, for the unidentified APL (General) between the landowners (driving range across from Len Pennachetti’s property), the region and the city in 2010 was completely deleted and inaccessible from the land registry records. He agreed to review and provide the documents to us, and as he does so, another FOI application will be submitted for communication the region, landowners and the city might have had in 2010. It might simply be nothing, but a blocked document does raise concerns. Regarding land assessment and increased taxes and devalued homes, the Mayor suggested that he could not address this or make an opinion as there were no studies that he is aware of. I suggest our community initiate a study; however, I must side with the Mayor on this, as we know of no other 400 series highway interchange that exits onto a tertiary road some 300 feet from a school zone. It was a welcome to hear that should this interchange move forward that the south side of Third would have new sidewalks and that the trees on the north side would stay. The Mayor did not acknowledge either way if this would be a planned bus route. Mayor McMullan did say that Third would not be dead-end, even when we mentioned how close the northbound exit would be to the residential driveways. Essentially I offered an even trade ~ the bridge for safety. He is certain that no commercial traffic would be able to turn down Third, outside the obvious Leon’s and Brick type traffic. He added that prevention is an enforcement issue, but since residents haven’t seen a police officer working the street since the time I have lived here, the chances of enforcement will be negligible at best. NOTE: To residents of Grapeview. The Mayor is correct ~ most speeding to and from Grapeview school is likely committed by our very own community residents. For the sake of our kids on Third; slow down would huh? GPS lie! What is then missing is control of commercial vehicles coming up from Erion, or coming through and down Grapeview and First to Third. My God, I think we will need a police sub-station now too. Kumar and others, you will not stop commercial traffic since your roads point to and from a hospital and other commercial development, particularly Mr. Bufalino’s project across from Harvest Barn. Essentially everything runs through this school zone; and the general vehicle traffic flow will be no different. It is blatantly obvious and it is mind-blogging that some at the region, school boards, Provincial Ministries and city don’t see it. What I might ask is that John Bufalino of Sapphire Construction and Len Pennachetti of Cave Springs Cellars and John Passero of Silvergate Construction assist in our efforts to bring safety to our community; your future employees, tenants and their children, by recommending alternatives that satisfy your needs and the government needs. If three great entrepreneurs like you can’t figure it out and help Kumar come up with a better plan that protects us here, then who can? During our conversation it was again stated that there is no political agenda on behalf of the concerned parents. None whatsoever. We are thankful for some councilors who have guided us, regardless of everyone’s personal views ~ good and bad, as much as we value Mr. Kumar’s and other regional staff to listen and educate us, as much as I appreciated spending an hour with you, Mr. McMullan, to share our comments candidly, but respectfully. We are disheartened that paid councilors don’t speak up, even if it is non-support. We may disagree; all we are asking is why. I will never get it. Mayor McMullan was assured that I nor those who have signed our petition will agree on Alt 9 or any option wherein vehicles have inbound capabilities to our school zones, regardless of what computer generated studies suggest. My involvement is gazillion-fold; namely to protect the school kids/community, to have my neighbours feel a sense of peace to play basketball, hockey, even back out of their driveways or sell their houses without loss. Realistically, we should all be protectors, especially in a situation like this that has no rhyme or reason. I also care about any backlash and lawsuits the school boards and levels of government might endure should there be an injury or death based on their design or other factors that might be attributed to neglect or their duty of care to the community. This point to was expressed to the Mayor. Mayor McMullan, I thank you again for the time to come out and see me. I hope you save the people in Pagelsham. As suggested ~ Guy Named Porpoise google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=a+guy+named+porpoise&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftcm%2Fmediaroom%2Fvideo%2F250318%2FHeaven-Can-Wait-Movie-Clip-Guy-Named-Porpoise.html&ei=fKHPUdXvOvXl4AO3kIHQDw&usg=AFQjCNEZJXQUjOeXwpzDZqUyvs9oIZZljQ&bvm=bv.48572450%2Cd.dmg Martin
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 22:12:27 +0000
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