Acton Quarry Part 2

This is a story of 2 quarries. The top picture is of  the Dufferin Quarry on the 22nd Side Road south of Acton Ontario. The second picture is of a rehabilitated quarry on Vancouver Island. You may recognize it as Butchard Gardens, one of the top tourist attractions in British Columbia. It was one woman's vision and hard work that made this transformation possible.

This is a follow up to my blog from last week. The Town needs to decide if it would like to own the worked out Acton quarry or we would like to give it a pass. To me it is question of vision.

The current rehabilitation plan has a lake on the north side of 22nd side road and a dry bowl on the south side. Dufferin has submitted a plan for expanding the quarry as the existing licensed area will be worked out in 6 or 7 years. If granted, the new expansion areas will ultimately lead to further rehabilitation options.

There are 2 scenarios at play. In scenario 1, Dufferin does not proceed with the expansion and the existing worked out quarry is available to the Town. In this case the Town would take over the lands presumably on the basis that Dufferin has provided funding to cover the cost of the continuous pumping required to keep the dry bowl from flooding, or there has been an agreement with the province that would allow the dry bowl to flood, thus creating 2 additional lakes. The Town would then be on its own to create whatever recreational or environmental situation that it wanted.

In Scenario 2, Dufferin proceeds with its expansion. Dufferin would then be in a position to work in partnership with the Town to develop both the existing and the expanded sites into a much more substantial environmental and recreational preserve.

The land  in scenario 2 encompasses over 1400 acres and is 1.5 times the size of Kelso. This would entail a long term plan whereby the ultimate rehabilitation would happen in the extension areas only after they have been mined out. This could be 40 years into the future. The decision we are making today will potentially have a tremendous impact for future generations.

It is my opinion that this is truly a great opportunity for the Town of Halton Hills. We are a municipalitiy that is three quarters Green Belt. We need to be thinking about what we are going to do with it to turn it to our advantage. This quarry opportunity is one that would allow us to provide an environmental preserve that could easily have trails for different types of trail users including hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. It could have a BMX course in the old quarry. The lake could host a rowing club. The cliffs could provide a rock climbing venue. It could be hub for Bruce Trail users and the many cycling clubs that ride through Halton Hills. And yes, it could even be home to a spectacular garden.

In addition it would provide very important water security for our Town. The lakes would in fact be reservoirs that would be available for use should we suffer through a period of drought.

The job of our Town staff is to examine the issue thoroughly and provide council with the pros and cons of such an undertaking. There are always risks. However, I have only to think back to the last time our Town had the opportunity to acquire a piece of property for a dollar. It was the abandoned rail line from Georgetown to Palgrave. The Council of the day thought that it would be a headache. There would be liability issues that they were not prepared to accept. So now the wonderful rail trail goes from Palgrave to Terra Cotta where it abruptly stops.

I haven't seen the staff report yet so I have not seen the list of reasons why we shouldn't acquire the quarry but clearly I am leaning towards acquisiton.

What do you think? What uses would you like to see in the quarry and what uses would you really not like to see?

Delrex Bike Lane and Parking

The recent addition of what appears to be bike lanes on Delrex has led some to believe that parking has been impacted. The picture of the cyclist was taken on Delrex near Maple Ave. In fact there has been no change to the parking permitted on Delrex as a result of the painted lines.

Although the lines effectively move the traffic to the centre of the road and provide a safe refuge for cyclists, these are not official bike lanes. You will not see any signage indicating that it is an official bike lane.

Prior to the lines being installed, all of the residents of Delrex Blvd. were sent a letter by the Town explaining the role and function of the lane markings.

Parking is still permitted in the lane and cyclists will have to go around parked cars. However, the reality is that there are very few cars parked along Delrex and so the lanes do function as if they were official lanes most of the time.

The result is that it is much safer for cyclists and as a bonus, the traffic tends to go slower with the narrower lane for cars.

On Danby Road in Georgetown South there was more room in the road allowance and staff were able to paint both a bike lane and a parking area. This is illustrated in the photo taken on Danby Road with a car parked next to the curb and a bike lane beside the car.

These are the first 'on road' bike lanes to be added to Georgetown streets and represent the first steps in implementing the Halton Hills Cycling Master Plan. The rest of the draft plan can be viewed at http://www.haltonhills.ca/cycling/index.php