Wildwood Rail Trail

These two pictures are taken from the same spot on Wildwood Road. The top picture shows the much loved Wildwood to John Street Rail Trail. Every time the issue of trails is raised the same question always pops up: why does the trail not connect to the wonderful Terra Cotta Trail?
When the council of the day decided to not acquire the rail lands from Wildwood road to Terra Cotta, they did so primarily because they didn't want the liability. Also the adjoining neighbours protested as they felt their properties would be vandalized and they would lose their privacy. Clearly not enough people came out on the other side of the argument, although many did.
As soon as the decision was made to sell off the rail lands to adjacent landowners, those owners took steps to stake their claim. As you can see in the lower picture, this property owner brought in fill to even out the grade in his back yard and then planted many trees that now completely disguise the route.

Another owner, on the 10th line has used the former railbed as his entrance laneway and has recently added stone gates. It looks lovely but also very permanent.

For those of us who appreciate trails for the wonderful recreational opportunities they provide, the decision of Town Council was one of the worst yet best remembered of all time. However, it would be very difficult to go back and change history. It would require either a series of easements to be negotiated or expropriation. Although some property owners may have had a change of heart, I expect the majority will still see a trail as an intrusion and threat.

My own experience has been that wooded areas with no formal public trails attract bush parties and destructive behaviour such, setting fires, vandalism and littering. Once trails are added to these same areas the problems decrease or disappear altogether. Furthermore, once trails are established in a neighbourhood, the trail is often advertised as a selling feature by realtors. It is really a classic case of fear of the unknown or simply fear of change.
I can't help wondering how much value would have been added to the house in the lower photo if there was a trail leading all the way from Georgetown to Terra Cotta, Inglewood, and over the awesome highway 10 pedestrian bridge to Palgrave. How much might the neighbourhood families have enjoyed such a tremendous recreational opportunity literally outside their doors?
This opportunity was lost but other opportunities exist. Fortunately the Hungry Hollow Trail is being developed and it is phenomenal. Check out the Trail Guide on the Town's website for other trails throughout Halton Hills.
As a member of the Town Trails Advisory Committee I am always interested in the public's opinion on our recent trail developments and encourage you to send a comment.

Habitat For Humanity Gets Town Support

At the August 23rd Town Council meeting there was a request from Habitat For Humanity seeking relief from planning fees that they paid to the Town for a new house built at 238 Peel Street in Acton. The planning fees amount to about $3000.

Council unanimously supported reimbursing the fees. I believe that this great way to support low cost housing in a very responsible and effective manner.

Habitat has been operating in Halton for about 10 years. They build houses and sell them to low-income families on a no-profit, not interest basis. Families in turn provide sweat equity by volunteering their own services to help build other houses. Many volunteer hours and donated materials result in an extremely low cost solution to assist families in need.

The 3 Habitat houses pictured above are located on John Street in Georgetown.

Armouries officially transferred to Globe Productions

On Monday night Council officially transferred the ownership of the historic Armoury building to Georgetown Globe Musical Productions. This is a wonderful win- win for the Town and for the theatre group.

The Armoury building was given to the Town when it was replaced with the new Col. John R. Barber Armoury on Todd Road. Since that time it has been used by community groups particularly by the Georgetown Agricultural Society for display space at their annual fall fair.

Almost 2 years ago staff recommended to Council that the building was is need of major repairs and since it was not in use for Town purposes that it should be disposed of. The recommendation was to have it demolished since the space under it could be utilized as part of the Fairgrounds Park.

Council was not comfortable with this recommendation and thought that an effort should be made to find a local group that could take over the building. Although the building is not particularly attractive it has a long and storied history for the military dating back to the war of 1812 and many people were justifiably upset at the thought of losing another piece of our heritage. With that in mind staff was directed to put a tarp on the roof and hold off on the demolition.

Fortunately, Globe Productions had been saving up their money in the hopes of one day having a permanent home and found that the old armoury building would be a terrific opportunity to make their dream a reality. Under the leadership of Lois Fraser a proposal was put together and presented to the town. The proposal was accepted in principle and Globe was immediately at work to secure the roof. They hired a heritage architect and invested in an entirely new roof that sits above the old one. It is well insulated and is clad in a lovely green metal pictured above.

The building is now the responsibility of Globe Productions. Their plan is to use it for rehearsal space and storage. In addition they will permit further community use as is practical.

This is a wonderful outcome for the whole community. Many thanks to Globe for seeing the potential and showing the leadership to make it happen.

Rail Road Trestle Bridge Update

This is a picture taken yesterday from Armstrong Avenue showing the work in progress on our historic trestle bridge over the Credit River. You can see the gigantic crane at work.

This is an extremely important project for Halton Hills but one that few people are aware of. It is hidden from view and is far from any residential areas. However, work is steadily progressing.

The project will allow for the doubling of the railroad tracks. This single bridge has been the major blockage in providing improved passenger rail service in the Toronto/Guelph/Kitchener corridor. Ample service can be provided as far as the Mount Pleasant Go Station but after that service is greatly restricted.

Once the bridge is completed then the dream of all day rail service to Toronto can become a possibility. However, the provision of the service itself is another story.

Business is Picking Up!

Pictured here is a new business located on Todd Road in Georgetown in the former BASF building.

Yesterday I, along with Mayor Bonnette and our Economic Development Officer, Doug Penrice, met with the owners of Turris. This was part of our regular program of visits to businesses that is intended to increase our understanding of what business needs to be successful in Halton Hills.

Turris recently relocated to Georgetown from the airport area as it needed to expand and it needed outdoor storage.

The partners are John Wahba and Rick Sullivan, both engineers with decades of experience in the field of steel fabrication and communication towers.

It was interesting to learn that they are concentrating on communication towers where the tower is owned by them, as a neutral 3rd party, and communication companies can rent space from them. In this way more than one company can be located on a tower thus reducing significantly the number of towers required. This addresses an issue that municipalities everywhere are facing - where to put more and more towers. There are now 6 national communication companies are wanting to create a grid of towers. You have only to look at the top of our few highrise buildings to see that these convenient spaces are now filled to capacity.

Another innovation is that their towers have been improved to the point where they often don't look like communication towers. In some cases they are disguised as church spires or flag poles.

In the future we will undoubtedly be working with Turris in our own municipality as we try to keep up with the demand for wireless communications while trying to reduce the visual impact on our Town.

Picture A Parking Lot This Pretty

Downtown Georgetown is poised to get a badly needed new parking lot. Most people will be surprised to learn where this can possibly be happening. It will be located off of Mill Street at the end of Edith Street. Several years ago the Town purchased this property that, at the time, had a small cottage hidden at the back of it.
Parking is regularly mentioned as a problem in downtown Georgetown and is seen as an impediment to further business development. This new parking lot is intended to provide parking for the expanded library and additional employee parking for the downtown businesses.
The paving stone pictured here is a Unilock product produced in Georgetown and was chosen both for its beauty and for its permeability. This is a very environmentally sensitive approach to handling stormwater. Typically storm water management is handled through the installation of storm drains and pipes. Although some drainage will still be required, the permeable stones will allow most of the water to seep into the ground, thus reducing the flow off of the site. Savings from the engineering budget have been used to pay for the upgraded stones. The additional benefit is obvious. These stones are much more attractive than the traditional asphalt. You will be interested to know that a discounted price was also negotiated with Unilock for these stones.
Construction will begin the week of August 23rd and the funding is primarily through the Federal Infrastructure program. You will also see some further upgrades to existing parking lots downtown. In particular the lot on Draper Street will be paved, but unfortunately, not with these lovely paving stones.
I am very happy with the investments that have been made in downtown Georgetown to help it remain a vibrant part of our community. I feel it is very important to retain our heritage and identity through the maintenance and support of our 2 downtown areas. Similar investments are occuring in Acton and I am equally happy to support Acton in this regard.
I would be interested in knowing how you feel about these investments and any other suggestions you might have.