Successful Commercial Motor vehicle blitz By Staff
May 4, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Over the course of a two day period a joint commercial motor vehicle blitz was conducted in partnership with the Halton Regional Police Service (20 and 30 Division District Response Team), Peel Regional Police Service, Guelph Police Service and the Ministry of Transportation Ontario.
Police officer doing a safety check on a truck.
The May 2nd and 3rd blitz received an overwhelming success, 91 trucks were inspected resulting in 187 charges being issued with 53 commercial vehicles being removed from the roadway for unsafe violations. 2 drivers were suspended and 5 licence plates were removed. In one circumstance officers prevented a possible critical situation when they identified one commercial vehicle that had all its lug nuts loose permitting its tire to come unfastened.
These are astounding numbers – more than half the trucks inspected were taken off the road – one had wheels that were close to falling off!
As describe by Sergeant Bistas of the Oakville DRT Team, “taking these trucks with major defects off the road makes our community a safer place to drive”.
Tougher decisions and higher fines are in order here. We share the roads with those trucks.
If any citizen would like to report a traffic concern in Burlington or Oakville they can do so by calling (905) 878 5511 or visiting our website and submitting an online traffic complaint at https://www.haltonpolice.ca/services/reporting/trafficcomplaints.php
Hoosgow: a correctionalinstitutionused to detainpersonswhoare in thelawfulcustody of thegovernment
There are a number of organizations offering a Mother’s Day Tea on the weekend.
For many – the parents live in Burlington and their adult children live elsewhere.
Doesn’t get much better than this does it?
With the warmer weather coming (it feels as if it is here) there are opportunities to get out.
The restaurants will be packed that weekend and besides – you get out to restaurants often enough.
Here are the events we have been told about.
Ireland House
May 8 2016, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Mother’s Day Tea Party – Au Chocolat
This year, we will be celebrating Mother’s Day with a chocolate themed tea party at Ireland House at Oakridge Farm. The day will feature presentations by local chocolatier Bernhard Mueller and a guided tour of the Museum.
The Mother’s Day Tea will serve premium tea from 3Teas and traditional tea refreshments such as sandwiches, scones, sweets and chocolate specialties. Tea times will run at 1 hour and 15 minute intervals, at 11am,
12:45pm, 2:30pm and 4:15pm.
The cost is $40 per person and must be purchased in advance, as seating is limited – Call 905-332-9888. Please request group seating if needed, at time of booking. Not recommended for children under the age of 10.
For more information visit www.museumsofburlington.com or call: 905 332- 9888.
Making the time for them -they made the time for you.
Gallery 2 in the west end of the city is also offering a tea.
Cheryl Golding and her colleagues at the Gallery 2 on Spring Garden Road are hosting a Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea on Saturday, May 7, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
They will be serving: tea/coffee, scones with cream, and a variety of sweet treats.
Cost: $30.00 per person.
St Stephens Mothers Day tea is a ticketed event, tickets will not be sold at the door. Give Linda Draddy a call at 289-337-4403 or email her at: pdraddy@cogeco.ca
I think most of the people who attended John Taylor’s constituency meeting at the Conservation Authority office on Britannia Road Monday evening expected to get a really clear explanation as to why the city decided not to go forward with the Mt Nemo study that started back in 2013.
There was an explanation – sort of. A combination of the things the study didn’t have going for it and the amount of money it was going to require (that is more speculation than fact – no one was able to say during the meeting just how much had been spent).
Director of Planning Mary Lou Tanner – joined the city six months ago.
The explanations – three city staff people took a crack at it – was that they were going to go back to all the feedback that came from the Rural Summit in 2013. That event certainly produced a lot of comment – what disturbs is that neither the current planner nor senior policy planner Don Campbell were in place at city hall when that meeting was held.
Staff would have collected a lot of notes and there were probably a number of briefing papers prepared but there is nothing like being in the room to get a sense of what really happened.
It sounded as if the planning people – with a lot of input from the city manager – had decided that everything should come under the Strategic Plan umbrella. The Mt Nemo study didn’t appear to do that – so it got the hook.
Rural Burlington residents look over a large aerial photograph of their part of the city and wonder how ling it is going to remain the way it is.
The Official Plan Review – that is now on again – is to comply with the Strategic Plan. A significant statement in that Strategic Plan is to manage and protect our rural environment. Manage it for who and protect it from what was a question residents asked on several occasions.
The city set out what had been done when the Heritage Character of the Mt Nemo Plateau was being studied.
1. Preliminary Study of the Heritage Character of the Mount Nemo Plateau
2. Heritage Conservation District Study
Assessed character and heritage.
Identified options for the long-term conservation and enhancement of the character and heritage.
Recommended further study.
Key Finding
‘…a distinct historical community represented by a range of heritage features and elements…bounded in such a clear physical manner…the study area can be identified as an organically evolved, continuous Cultural Heritage Landscape’
What is a Cultural Heritage Landscape? A collection of related built form, landscape, vegetation, archaeological resources and other elements that have heritage value.
What is a Heritage Conservation District? What would it do for people within the district. Most felt that all it really was – was another layer of regulation.
Geographically defined area Protects from unsympathetic alterations Applies to a collection of historic buildings, streetscapes, landscapes Areas are referred to as “designated” Tool to manage change in accordance with a set of Guidelines (Heritage Conservation District Plan) Plans are unique and is developed with the community
Chronology:
June 2013 Council direction to undertake preliminary research January 2014 Preliminary assessment presented to Committee January 2014 Council direction to consult with public February 2014 Public consultation event shared findings of the preliminary assessment April2014 Public consultation event to discuss the preliminary study, proposed next steps in starting a Heritage Conservation District Study May 2014 Council Decision: To proceed with the Heritage Conservation District Study October 2014 MMM Group retained to complete the HCD study February 2015 Public meeting to present research and field work completed by MMM Group to date February 2015 Council direction: Place Official Plan Review reports and Mount Nemo on hold pending start of the new city manager and Strategic Plan. January 2016 Official Plan Review restarted.
Between February of 2015 and January of 2016 city council was working its way from what started out as a four year Strategic Plan to a document that covers the next forty years.
Rural Burlington residents wanted to know what the benefit was for them from this new approach. The comment was that while downtown grows “up” – the result of intensification, the rest of Burlington would grow outwards which would have more people using the rural part of the city.
The early draft of a vision got put on a huge board and for the most part the community liked the look of what they had said to each other.
Most residents resented the layers of regulation they had to deal with: Conservation Halton, Niagara Escarpment Commission, the Region and then the city. It was too much.
Once the planners had determined what the pros and cons were – the decision was pretty easy to make.
The planning department had two new staffers: a new director and a senior policy advisor – they reviewed everything they had and came to the conclusion that a Conservation Heritage District wasn’t needed, didn’t fit in all that well with the Strategic plan and certainly wasn’t’ what the residents wanted. Their graphic setting out the pros and the cons was enough to convince the politicians.
Staff saw the killing of the Heritage Conservation Districts as an opportunity to refocus; build on community feedback received to date and find the local vision that they believed came out of the Rural Summit in 2013.
We all love food, so why are we throwing nearly half of it in the trash?
The Burlington Green people invite you to watch food lovers Jen & Grant take on quite a challenge.
This couple vowed to quit grocery shopping and to survive solely on foods that would otherwise be thrown away fir six months.
The film takes a glimpse into our standards for food production, and where this system is failing, leaving millions of pounds of food in the landfill, and half the world malnourished.
When: May 5, 2016, 7:00 – 9:00 pm ( doors open at 6:30 pm) Where: Burlington Public Library (Central Branch), 2331 New Street Admission: $5/person *Complimentary refreshments courtesy of Goodness Me!
This event is part of the 2016 Eco-Film Festival presented by BurlingtonGreen, the Burlington Public Library and Halton Green Screens.
Future films on the program:
This Changes Everything June 2, 2016 (join us for our AGM beforehand!)
Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond.
Interwoven with these stories of struggle is Klein’s narration, connecting the carbon in the air with the economic system that put it there. Throughout the film, Klein builds to her most controversial and exciting idea: that we can seize the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.
Flight of the butterflies September 22, 2016
This film is about the remarkable Monarch butterfly migration, the most incredible migration on Earth, and the determined scientist who spent 40 years trying to discover exactly where the butterflies mysteriously disappeared when they flew south for winter.
The True Cost November 24, 2016
This eye-opening documentary examines how the developed world’s desire for cheap, stylish clothes has led to the widespread abuse of the Third World sweatshop labourers who make them, the degradation of local environments, the waste produced, and what the fashion industry can do to change the situation.
Burlington has thousands of people who volunteer – and it could use an additional thousand tomorrow – there is no reason to be at home doing nothing in this city. Volunteers make the place work.
The Art Gallery of Burlington has 300 + volunteers and they wanted to find a way to thank them in a very special way.
They found a way – they are sponsoring a PRIVATE performance of the Hayley Marie Remple concert at the Performing Arts Centre.
Volunteers only –
The performance – named “An Evening in Paris” is a combination of superb flute playing by Hayley Marie interspersed by short gossipy videos of the men who composed the music she will be playing.
Remple has certainly done her research – she tells all kinds of little known facts about some of the greatest composers the world has ever heard.
While Beethoven is not one of the composers she will be playing – the video on him is a delight– Remple calls them Two minute Talks.
There is an opportunity for you to travel to Paris – basically free.
Yes there is a catch – you have to attend the one night only Hayley Marie Remple performance at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre and buy at least one of the $2 raffle tickets.
The Eiffel Tower
Should your ticket be drawn – and you must be in the theatre when it is drawn at the end of the performance – you will have won a trip to Paris put together by DH Tours.
Hayley Marie Remple will be at the Performing Arts Centre May 12th
The idea came out of one of those late in the day conversations – Mary Mazur, Executive Assistant to the AGB CEO Robert Steven were going over details of the Evening in Paris event that is scheduled for mid May when Robert asked: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could raffle off a trip to Paris the night of the concert.”
They approached DH Tour who said they would be happy to support the AGB with a trip. And what a trip it is going to be.
Return flights from Toronto to Paris Return transfers from Charles de Gaulle airport to/from hotel 6 nights, central, 3 star hotel in Paris with daily continental breakfasts Hop-on/Hop-off city sightseeing tour, 48 hour pass 3 day Metro Pass 2 day Musee Pass All hotel taxes and service charges All Air taxes Paris maps and information package.
The concert is part of a month long five province tour Hayley Marie is doing. She has performed in southern California, Germany and France
Dan Noonan of Argosy Securities took a bold step to strengthen and support a healthy community through a $100,000 contribution to the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) that has established a new Mental Wellness Endowment Fund.
Colleen Mulholland, President and CEO, Burlington Community Foundation said: “As part of our mental wellness leadership work, we are thrilled to establish this new fund so we can focus on mental wellness through our granting program, now and in the future”. She added that Dan has demonstrated his commitment to the health of our community in numerous ways and this latest gift will provide an on-going legacy for many years to come.”
Dan Noonan,third from the left, an Investment Advisor, Argosy Securities is joined by Burlington Community Foundation board members Catherine Brady, Phil Reddon; President and CEO Colleen Mulholland; Leighan Basadur, John Rockx.
BCF is committed to supporting the community and focusing efforts on areas that are most in need. Data from BCF’s Vital Signs Reports over the last few years confirm that mental health issues are growing. And to add to BCF’s findings, recent research by CivicAction estimates that over 1.5 million people in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area’s (GTHA) labour force have experienced a mental health issue. That’s 1 in 2 people. Further, over the next 10 years, current mental health issues in the GTHA labour force could result in almost $17 billion in lost productivity.
Noonan said: “I believe that by supporting the strategic mental wellness efforts of BCF, our community will be strengthened for many years to come.” He added that the team at BCF is doing important work and hope this gift inspires others to get involved.”
The purpose of the Mental Wellness Endowment Fund is to improve mental health and wellness in our communities by supporting valuable mental health programs and services. With only 1 in 3 Ontario adults getting access to much needed programs and services, and sadly, only 1 in 6 of our children and youth getting access, BCF believes this fund will enable vitally needed support at the local level.
“We know that access to much needed mental health services can be a life-threatening issue facing many family members, children, neighbours and colleagues,” says Mulholland. “This generous gift to start a legacy of supporting mental wellness in our community is much needed and appreciated.”
The Burlington Community Foundation was established in 1999 as a centre for philanthropy. The Community Foundation collaborates with donors to build endowments, give grants and connect leadership to address our community’s most pressing needs. The Foundation is a 360 degree grantor, with over 78 endowment funds and $10 million in endowed assets. It has distributed $3.2 million in grants since its inception.
What does it mean to be “sustainable” – why does it matter and if it matters that much – why isn’t every one doing it?
This was a question the Gazette put to Jim Feilders, a committed environmentalist and an engineer with a private practice. Here is what Feilders had to say:
By Jim Feilders
May 1, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
A general definition of sustainability is the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely. This can apply to everything from keeping your body alive to the survival of the universe. But most of us think about it in terms of maintaining our lifestyles in the environment in which we live.
The three most common aspects of sustainability are environmental, economic and social. Some like to include culture as a separate item but it generally is included under the social umbrella.
There was a point when the cod fishery in Newfoundland was a massive industry until the Grand Banks were fished out – it took years to get back the balance that was once in place.
For the environment to be sustainable, the planet has to be able to respond to the human use of resources and pollution created. An example of this gone wrong is over-fishing of the Grand Banks off Newfoundland that resulted in depletion of cod. Wildlife species are becoming extinct by direct killing of animals and destruction of habitat. When the balance of nature is upset, significant changes occur.
We want to know that the planet will be around for future generations. If we don’t maintain a balance between what we do to harm the planet and the capacity of the earth to recover from it, we will find ourselves living on a dying planet. Evidence exists that we are on that path and a global initiative is underway to try to do something about it. Sending too much carbon into the air and oceans is causing global climate change with disastrous impacts. Information is available on the major countries of the world in terms of their biocapacity versus their environmental footprint. It’s just a fancy way of describing whether the environment can absorb all the pollution being produced. Not surprisingly, the US and China are in the red while Canada still has room left over after sucking up all we spew out.
Each of us has an ecological footprint – how big might yours be?
Economic sustainability deals with the ability to support a defined level of economic production indefinitely. The most common expression of this is balanced budgets where countries do not spend more than they bring in. As we are all aware, balanced budgets are not common and the devastating effects on the human population are obvious.
Socially, we can be sustainable when the country functions at a defined level of social well being indefinitely. This includes health care, recreational amenities, schools, good transportation, religious buildings and other institutions in a manner that creates a sense of community.
Most of us agree something should be done to keep us sustainable but how we can contribute on an individual basis is perplexing. Governments, particularly local municipal ones, have the greatest role to play through passing legislation to control services, development and pollution. This makes it easier for people to do their part as they are forced into it. Garbage recycling is a good example. Providing a balanced transportation system is another. But government can only push so hard. We live in a free country and have to let our citizens decide on what kind of place in which to live.
Why we don’t do more as individuals has been a topic of discussion for decades. Recently, a Canadian entrepreneur and author, Tom Rand, with degrees in both engineering and philosophy, discusses environmental sustainability in his book “Waking the Frog”. In essence, we are reluctant to change. With our busy lifestyles, we give little thought to what we can do. It is probably not a mass conspiracy of the oil companies. The affluent especially, see no benefit because maintaining their lifestyle is usually just a matter of spending more money when pollution penalties arise.
The earth needs green fields like this – we need them if we are to survive as human beings on this planet. At this point in time we are losing this battle.
To make our planet sustainable, we can start right within our own communities. We can become involved by exercising age old philosophies of democratic voting, donating financially to worthy causes and directly helping others. When we work together and support each other, the job goes faster and easier. Many forums exist that offer something for everyone to use their specific talents. When stories are heard about dramatic changes such as housing of homeless people in Medicine Hat, Alberta, we are spurred on to do our bit. Burlington is at the tipping point of real change in terms of a sustainable community with the completion of its strategic Plan.
With climate change being such a pressing issue, there are two simple things that we can do right now. Many of us think saving the planet means sacrifices such as taking the bus, turning down the heat and wearing sweaters or yelling at the kids to turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms. But modern technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles and electric heat pumps for heating and cooling our homes are available now that do not require sacrifices.
Despite the apparent higher cost of electricity compared to natural gas and gasoline, these more efficient solutions are actually cheaper on a monthly basis to own and operate.
So get involved where your talents are best put to use and encourage others to do the same. To coin the phrase of BurlingtonGreen: “Together we can make a difference.”
There are a number of events planned by various organizations for Mother’s Day.
Teresa Seaton is currently hosting an exhibit of Michelle Van Maurik’s work at the Gallery until the end of May.
While the original of her “White Peonies” is not part of the exhibit there are now copies of a limited edition print available at Teresa Seaton Studio and Gallery on May 7th.
White Peonies was exhibited by invitation at the SNBA Canadian Delegation, Louvre, Paris.
Sizes will include:
Giclee Canvas Print
Size: 24″ X 30″ (same size as the original painting) Limited edition size 100
Size: 16″ X 20″ Limited edition of 200
Giclee Museum grade watercolour paper
Size: 16″ X 20″ Limited edition size: 200
Size: 11″ X 14″ Limited edition size: 200
Michele will be at the Gallery on Saturday May7th from 2 pm – 4pm for signing.
One of our intrepid readers pointed us to the fact sheet on the ADI web site where they state occupancy will be in November, 2018 – but just 170 suites.
And had they said subject to approval from the OMB the statements would have been completely correct.
The Adi Development Group appears to be doing everything they can to get another construction crane into the Burlington sky line. This one, one of the smartest looking construction cranes we have seen in some time is up at the Linx project in north Burlington.
The Adi development Group appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board to have their application to build a 26 storey condominium on the property at the corner of Lakeshore Road and Martha.
Susan Schiller, the OMB member hearing the arguments has given both ADI and Burlington planners some time to look at the ideas Adi had when they added a significant chunk to the size of the land assembly.
One would think Adi would make this information public so that buyers could make an informed decision.
The piece we published yesterday where Adi announces their aggressive pricing schedule leaves the sense of a bit of a hustle here.
An architectural rendering of the early 26 storey plans for Martha and Lakeshore Road.
Adi had originally said there would be 226 suites; that got reduced to 192 suites for the OMB hearing. That number is now at 170. It isn’t fully clear yet how they managed to do this – we will dig a bit more.
It was suggested that reduced parking and a larger lot with more setbacks may have brought the planners around. We will have to wait until they are all back before the OMB in June for a full reveal.
A young musician who got hooked on history from her music teacher in high school is going to take to the stage of the Performing Arts Centre May 12th and put on a performance that is a combination of her playing her flute and film clips about the composers who wrote the music she plays.
The film clips are not going to be dry or dusty history explains Hayley Marie. The music during the period of time she is focused on – 1870 – 1910 was boisterous, ribald and vibrant and has been with us for more than 100 years. Titled “An Evening in Paris” the performance entertains and informs – you will see classical music a lot differently when you walk out of The Centre.
The classical music we know today came out of that period when Debussy, Ravel, Saint Saens,Faure, Wido rand Satie were both writing and performing.
France had taken a terrible beating during the Franco Prusian War during which there was a 135 siege of Paris forcing people to eat horsemeat. France was prostrate on the world stage.
It was out of that terrible defeat that France rose politically, economically but most importantly culturally.
The world saw the first of the Impressionists –Renoir and Monet were painting during this period. And the music just flowed.
Hayley Marie ties together both the music and the story behind the men who wrote the music. It is fascinating – gossip at its very best. She has a fierce interest in preserving the human side of classical music fired by a desire to show how these musical giants interacted with the society they were a part of – it wasn’t’ always a pretty picture.
Hayley Marie Remple
Concert goers in the Paris that Hayley Marie Remple talks about was not polite society. Applause was loud, displeasure resulted in booing and throwing fruit at a performer. Patrons were known to jump up on their seats and shout. Fisticuffs were not unusual – Passions of people who were fully informed about the music they were listening to rose quickly – and everyone had an opinion.
The composers were real people with real problems, some had significant addictions and some had personal lives that would rival anything you read about Mick Jagger or Elvis Presley.
Hayley Marie, a Governor General Award winner and three time performer at Carnegie Hall walks on to a stage to present a performance that is part of a month long five province tour.
Remple has performed in southern California, Connecticut, Montreal and Winnipeg. In 2009, she completed her first concert tour of Germany and France.
A century after the deaths of these towering composers scholars are still studying their work and music The France she is going to reflect built the Eiffel Tower and created the statue of Liberty that was given as a gift to Americans.
It’s bold – its brassy and all part of the sales pitch.
Developers like to be able to say – xx% sold – and the closer that xx is to 70 – the better.
$310,000 + will get you a splendid view of the Escarpment.
Development projects have to be sold – and this latest move by Adi Development Group is certainly a sales pitch that catches the eye.
Days before their application to the Ontario Municipal Board AdI Development announced that they had acquired the lot shown as 380 Martha – which changed significantly the size of the property they wanted to build on. Adi is currently in talks with the city’s planning department.
In Burlington the objective is to get in on a property as early as you can – and this pitch makes it a little easier. They are offering units on the north side of their proposed 26 storey tower at the corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road.
The following is an electronic message forwarded to us by a regular reader:
New prices just announced for escarpment facing suites at Nautique Lakefront Residences Downtown Burlington!
Prices start as low as $309,990 (1 parking space included). The suites at Nautique Lakefront Residences have been designed by award-winning Cecconi Simone and feature open-concept layouts to maximize living space. Contemporary European custom-designed kitchen featuring corian countertop and backsplash with five-piece euro-style appliance package along with in-suite white stacked washer and dryer. Spacious lakeview terraces & balconies.
The building features two floors of amenities space with a 6th floor outdoor terrace and 18th floor sky lounge overlooking the lake. Outdoor swimming pool, whirlpool, bbq’s, party room, dining room, library, private lounge, fitness centre, indoor/outdoor yoga studio & more.
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to invest! Inventory won’t last long!
SPECIAL EXTENDED DEPOSIT STRUCTURE $5,000 on Signing Balance of 5% in 30 Days 5% in 120 Days 5% in 370 Days 5% in 540 Days
PARKING: 1 Parking Spot Included In The Purchase Price OCCUPANCY: November 2018
Give Noman Khan, Broker, Loyalty Real Estate, Brokerage 905.330.4077 – vipcondosales@gmail.com
Some questions arise out of this announcement. Does the 18th floor sky lounge overlooking the lake suggest that the building will top off at 18 stories?
Adi is aggressively marketing the condominiums on the north (Escarpment side) of the building.
Adi is currently in talks with the Burlington Planning department to see if they can come to terms on a site configuration that will get them past one of the tougher OMB Board members who has given then some time to see what the city thinks of the addition of an additional piece of land that adds significantly to the size of the footprint they have to work with.
The city’s planners never say a word about how development talks are going – it will be Adi that does all the talking – and this most recent release, which they sent out to selected people, suggests they have run something by the planners and think they might have some buy in.
A portion of the property that Adi Development group wants to put a 26 storey condominium on – he size of the foot print they want to build on has been revised
After the decision the OMB handed down on the appeal Councillor Jack Dennison made to the Board to reverse the decision made by the Burlington Committee of Adjustment that opposed his request to sever his Lakeshore Road property. Many in Burlington shuddered at that decision and wonder what the city’s chances are going to be with the Adi situation is that before them.
We know nothing about the OMB member who heard the Dennison appeal – but we can tell you that Susan Schiller who is hearing the Adi application is not going to be an easy one for anyone.
Susan Schiller heard the application Nelson Quarry made for a permit to expand the quarry they were mining in rural Burlington. The application was denied.
Watch this one carefully. Asking for a different OMB member to hear the ADI application is something that can be expected: such an application would be about a “perceived bias” on the part of the member.
Business is business and you do what you have to do.
The moment I walked onto the Paradigm construction site – it was evident that things were moving forward the way they were expected to.
It was now a much tidier looking construction site. Previously there was a lot of steel stored on the property – but with the crash wall at the rear of the site basically completed there is a lot more room for equipment to get around. There is a sense of openness to the place
Rodger Park, a construction site boss with the title of project manager juggles a cell phone that he would really prefer not to have to use and a keyboard that is now his main working tool. “I never thought: he said “that this thing would be where I spent most of my time on.”
The western part of the site has the two levels of parking completed, the ground floor and the second floor poured with forms being put in place to support the third floor. The Burlington GO station can be seen in the background.
Rodger is a construction worker – who now pushes paper and ensures that jobs get done when they are supposed to be done and that the construction site is a safe place.
“I’ve never had a serious accident on any site I’ve been responsible for”, a comment he makes on the day Toronto is holding a ceremony to remember the close to 1000 Italians who lost their lives working construction.
There are a lot more rules and the focus is on making sure people don’t get hurt – it wasn’t always like that he commented.
The crash wall on the north side of the site – next to the GO railway lines is there to protect the building should something go wrong on the railway side of things. It is more than five feet think with steel rods throughout to give it strength. Nothing is coming through that wall.
The Paradigm project will, when completed, consist of five towers. The first three are on the north side and are attached to each other up until the 9th floor.
The swimming pool is at that level explains Rodger – people will be able to walk from whichever building they live in to easily get to the pool.
From the 9th floor up to the 19 floors the towers become individual units.
Rodger knows them as Tower A, Tower B and Tower C – the marketing people will eventually give then fancier names.
A form into which concrete will be poured is moved into position with a construction worker making sure it is exactly where it is supposed to be.
Tower A on the west side has the two parking levels completed plus the ground floor and the second floor with forms going in place for the third floor. Park expect to be at the 9th floor level late summer – assuming the weather cooperates.
Concrete gets poured, forms get put in place while an excavator prepares for the next task on a different part of the site.
On the east side of the site there is still some work to be done on the parking levels.
With two cranes moving material around the site and carrying concrete from the cement mixers into the buckets and up into the air the two riggers on the site are kept busy.
There is a rigger on the ground who is in constant communication with the crane operator who has a clear view of the site but doesn’t rely on hand signals. It is all voice.
Tonnes of concrete delivered to the site and hoisted into position. A site supervisor is in constant contact letting the concrete mixing pant know when to send the next truck – there is never a break in the flow of concrete.
There are four and sometimes up to six cement trucks on the site – moving in, positioning themselves, offloading the concrete and pulling out to make room for the next truck.
There is never an open spot – the crews putting up the forms and readying them for the concrete are never kept waiting.
The weather on this Thursday morning was close to perfect. A little on the brisk side which is fine because these men are moving every minute – it was surprising to see a rigger dashing across the construction site to bull a piece of equipment into place.
Construction site supervisors will pop into the construction office with plans in their hands to ask Rodger a question – while it is very much a full team effort – each supervisor knows what he is expected to accomplish and gets it done.
At times it looks like half a dozen teams working individually on a task and then, like ants, moving along to the next task.
Site supervisors check in with Project manager Rodger Park – getting clarification on what the plans call for – this question was about where the electrical chargers are going to be place – the Paradigm residents are expected to be big users of electrically powered cars.
There isn’t a lot of noise – the consistent sound of those backing up beepers on the trucks is something that is always present.
The sales and presentation centre isn’t opened this early in the day – hey are afternoon, evening and weekend people.
Five towers will make up the Molinaro Paradigm project on Fairview south of the GO Station. The first three are now under construction.
Tower A is sold out, there was no one around to tell us where sales were with Towers B and C. The project is decently priced, in a great location for people who want to be close to the GO station. Having a Walmart the length of a football field away makes it a compelling location. A mall a couple of blocks to the east and a decent stroll to the waterfront explain much of the attraction.
When all five units are completed and housing people there will be a community of 2000 – sitting at the top of Brant street.
It will have a huge impact on the way the downtown core works – expect to experience a different Burlington when the project is completed in 2018.
Less than two weeks to use these guys. You might want to do a selfie with on of them
There will be 77 of them on the streets and another 25 located in city parking lots – they are there to collect parking money from you.
There will be two at Spencer’s waterfront (one for the east lot and one for the west lot) and another at the municipal garage located on Locust St.
Here is a map of the parking lots throughout the city.
The meters will be spaced out on the streets – requiring a short short walk to the meter.
They are being installed around the city now and will be operational on May 12th, when the city is going to do a formal launch.
This is the face of the machine that will collect your parking fee. It doesn’t talk to you – but it does tell the enforcement officers that you are in a parking spot. Powered by a solar cell on the top.
The parking meters, manufactured in France are part of a contract the city has with Precise ParkLink, a leader in the Canadian parking industry; they’ve been around for twenty-five years.
Burlington will be working with Precise ParkLink in updating the city’s parking system to include Pay by License Plate and Cell Phone Parking technology.
There are four rate zones throughout the city. You will use the zone number clearly marked on the meter when you use your cell phone to pay for parking.
Here is how the two technologies involved work:
Instructions to register are printed on the front of the machine – probably better to register on-line. You can to that today.
Pay by Cell is a convenient way to pay for parking but a person has to sign up and create an account using a valid credit card
Precise ParkLink is a PCI Level One credit card processor (means they can be trusted) so your credit card and license plate information is secure. Here is a link to understand how secure payments work.
The contract with Precise ParkLink is for five years – to date the city has invested approximately $500,000 in new pay stations.
It’s really easy to register for Pay by Cell.
People can go on line and register their license plate and provide their credit card data at www.telepark.ca today if they want. You won’t be able to actually pay for parking until the launch on May 12th.
The best part of Pay by Cell is that once the account is set up a parker starts their parking session by entering the zone they are parking in – in order to stop the charges to your credit card you have to use your cell phone to tell the service that you are no longer in the parking spot – you can’t just drive away.
To register your TelePark cell phone parking account please visit (www.telepark.ca/en/).
To pay by license plate all you do is walk up to the parking meter, enter the license plate and pay. The digital screen on the parking meter will prompt the parker through the process.
Pretty simple. That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be any complaints.
There are also written instructions on the parking meter. Helpful hint: Remember your license plate – you need it to use the service. – WE SUGGEST YOU USE YOUR CELL & TAKE & STORE A PICTURE OF THE LICENSE PLATES REGISTERED!
The City’s Parking Enforcement unit will receive REAL TIME information about your parking session. They will see that you have paid for your parking and they will know that parking for the vehicle with the license plate keyed in has paid for the parking. They will also know when the parking is going to expire.
They aren’t quite as tall as they appear – and it will take a little bit to get used to them. 77 of them are going up – replacing 300 of the older meters.
Enforcement officers will still patrol – all they have to do is enter the licence plate number into their hand held unit which gives instant responses to validate parking payment and/or permit.
The city has a three hour maximum parking by law on city streets with parking meters, so you will have to move you Garage, surface lots, On Street spaces, and Waterfront (Spencer Smith) lots vehicle to another zone after three hours.
The four zones are the garage on Locust, surface lots, On Street spaces, and the Waterfront (Spencer Smith) lots. Each parking meter has its zone clearly marked. It is going to take a little getting used to – wait for the complaints to come in.
Rob Missen is inviting people to an afternoon of music from the land of purple heather. It will be a pleasant afternoon of time well spent – but more importantly – the event I being held to raise funds for the second annual Lowville Festival that will take place in the summer. And that is significant. What Missen and his team are doing is creating events that are out of the downtown core – in countryside. Check the link at the bottom of this piece – to see what you missed last year.
Come ye from the hills, from the mills, from the glens, and from the fens! The Lowville Festival – “a festival of all the arts for the artist in all of us”- and Lowville United Church are presenting a special benefit concert at Lowville United Church on Sunday May 1st at 3:00 pm.
THE HEATHER IN THE HILLS is a salute to the words and music of Scotland. The concert will feature the songs and poems of the immortal Robbie Burns, as well as selections from the musical Brigadoon and other popular Scots songs.
The featured performers include Festival Co-Director Robert Missen; Carol Ann Thomson, the new Music Director at Lowville United; Wayne Strongman, former Conductor of Hamilton’s Bach-Elgar Choir and Conductor of the new Lowville Festival Choir; Stuart Laughton, Founding Member of the Canadian Brass and leader of the new band Radio Dial; Peter Skoggard, notable Burns scholar and reciter; Michael Mulrooney, Music Director of Tansley United Church and well-known musical theatre conductor and pianist; and three recent graduates of the Sheridan College Musical Theatre Program, Kate Madden, Andrew MacNaughton and Gregory Solomon.
Special Guests for the afternoon are the 78th Fraser Highland Pipe and Drum Corps, which has recently taken up residence at Lowville United.
All of the artists are donating their services. There will be reception following the concert which will feature tea and Eileen Missen’s legendary shortbread. All proceeds will go towards helping to defray the costs of the 2017 Festival and the outreach programmes of Lowville United Church.
On May 1st, the Lowville Festival will announce its programme for the 2016 festival, to be held between July 22-24 in various locations in and around the historic hamlet of Lowville in beautiful North Burlington.
“The mists of May are in the gloamin’ and all the clouds are holding still”. Come celebrate spring in the majestic highlands of north Burlington!
THE HEATHER IN THE HILLS: THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF SCOTLAND
SUNDAY MAY 1ST AT 3:00 PM
LOWVILLE UNITED CHURCH
GUELPH LINE AND BRITANNIA ROAD
TICKETS $25
AVAILABLE AT THE CHURCH (905-335-0911), DIFFERENT DRUMMER BOOKS & AT THE DOOR
Our waterfront is used by thousands of people – on really nice weather days there are close to people traffic jams.
The city makes great use of the space for festivals – these are organized events that are for the most part free but they don’t reflect much of the colour or culture of the city.
Great audience – but a passive audience.
The Sound of Music draws thousand who are passive attendees – they listen to the music. Those on the stage are, for the most part people from out of town who are here to advance their music profile and provide what is basically free entertainment.
Rib Fest draws thousands who sit and eat and listen some music.
The sand castle competition was popular but the city cut the program – it won’t be held this year.
The Children’s Festival has events that children take part in but there isn’t any animating of the space by the children.
Surely there is room for events that are small in nature that give groups or collectives an opportunity to express their creativity.
A pop up play, a scavenger hunt for kids; wouldn’t it be something to see the gymnasts doing their routines in Spencer Smith Park?
There was a time when the eastern end of the Beachway was home to Joseph Brant – what must that part of the city been like in Brant’s time?
How would one express that dramatically? Great opportunity for the Museum people to do something at Brant’s house; they already do wonderful work at Ireland House where some of the most creative small community events take place.
Something to think about.
Toronto has created an Animating Our Waterfront, which is a pilot program that will provide funding to individuals, organizations, collectives and groups to support free arts and cultural programming in selected parks and public spaces developed by Waterfront Toronto over the last decade.
The Cirque – one of the No Vacancy programs that took place in the Village square knew how to animate their event. All it takes is some imagination and and a little Chutzpah
The objective of this program is to host arts and cultural programming that celebrate these new public spaces and invite Torontonians and visitors to enjoy them. For the purposes of this program, “arts and cultural programming” includes the presentation of dance, music, theatre, visual arts, performance, literary and media arts, community- engaged artwork, cultural celebration, and any combination of the above. They are looking for projects that include themes like place-making, civic engagement, education, health and wellness, and environmental issues are encouraged.
Why couldn’t Burlington do something like this?
The Love My Hood funding might be one of the ways to help pay for things like this.
Ward 3 is a mix of suburban and rural – everything south of Dundas is easy to serve – it is the rural parts of the ward that are both demanding and hard to serve.
By Pepper Parr
April 26th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Way back in 2010 two of the people who now sit on city council got themselves involved in the Shape Burlington committee, a group appointed by then mayor Cam Jackson to prepare a report on how well city hall was engaging the citizens of the city.
There was a lot of chatter at that time about city hall’s inability to hear what citizens were saying.
Two of the people on that committee, Paul Sharman and Blair Lancaster went on to throw their hats into the municipal election ring and got themselves elected – then they apparently forgot much of what the Shape Burlington report was all about.
At the same time Marianne Meed Ward was delegating consistently on the problems with the way the city was developing the waterfront area. She was instrumental in creating Save our Waterfront which sort of evolved into her campaign team and she too went on to get herself elected to Council.
While Meed Ward wasn’t part of the Shape Burlington group she was the one who remembered what the report was all about and created a constituency organization that spoke for the citizens in her ward and anyone else in the city who asked for help. And for the most part Meed Ward delivers.
All this is passed along as background on how people in this city get themselves elected to city council.
Burlington currently has two members of Council who have both been on the public payroll for more than 20 ears and are showing the wear and tear of public life. In their early years what they got in the way of remuneration wasn’t all that much to talk about.
John Taylor, Ward 3, has seldom had anyone worth more than the votes they get from family and friends run against him – other than Cory Judson, Taylor has never had to fight off a real candidate.
There appears to be an individual in ward 3 laying the ground work for a run at that seat.
When you cover municipal politics long enough you can see the potential candidates from some distance. They become active in the community and begin to groom themselves for the opportunity to run.
We saw that with both Lancaster, Sharman and Meed Ward in 2010.
In the 2014 election there were not the same calibre of candidate presenting themselves. In ward 6 there were ten people who ran for office – most were very inappropriate as candidates; they were not known and had done next to nothing in their communities. Vanessa Warren and Jennifer Hlusko were the exceptions.
In ward 3 – in 2014 – there were two candidates running against John Taylor who had little hope of gaining public office.
It looks as if it is going to be very different in 2018 – there is a gentleman who serves on a major Advisory Committee who appears to be grooming himself for that seat.
John Taylor is reported to have said to some people that he will not run again but that he will join BurlingtonGreen and become part of that committee.
Many thought ward 3 stood little chance of getting a decent member of Council when Taylor hangs up his boxing gloves.
On Saturday, April 16th, 2016 Halton Police, in partnership with the Halton Partners for Car Seat Safety (HPCSS), held a spot check car seat clinic in Burlington at Holy Rosary School.
A total of 113 child seats (booster seats and car seats) were inspected to see if five key safety and legal requirements were being met. Of the 74 car seats checked, 56 did not pass this ‘quick check’ inspection resulting in a 76% fail rate.
The picture is for illustration purposes only – it is not meant to suggest that the seat is being recommended.
The goal of these spot check clinics is education. Eighteen certified car seat technicians were on hand to educate and assist parents/caregivers in correcting errors once they were identified.
Research tells us that proper use of a child seat can reduce the likelihood of a child being killed or seriously injured in a crash by up to 75%. The most common errors seen at the clinic in Burlington were:
1. Child not in the proper seat for their age and/or stage 2. No tether strap attached for forward-facing car seats 3. Harness not positioned correctly over child’s shoulders and/or too loose and 4. Car seat not attached tightly to the vehicle using the Universal Anchorage System (UAS) or seat belt.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to take the time to read and follow their child seat and vehicle instructions when installing their child seats. For further information on car seat safety dial 311 to speak with a public health nurse or visit www.haltonparents.ca or www.hpcss.ca.
Aldershot Arena is closed due to unforeseen maintenance issues.
Burlington layer and one time candidate for city council will no be using the Aldershot arena for at least a week – unforeseen circumstances have shut it down.
The Arena is expected to re-open Tuesday May 3rd at 4:00pm.
The original announcement on April 22nd said the arena was expected to re-open Tuesday April 26th at 4pm.
What was unexpected appears to have become major. The city doesn’t make any mention of what the problem is – we will look into that for you.
The sides of the new parking meters will be a bight green and have a zone number on them. This is a side view of a meter being readied for installation. The parking meters were manufactured in France.
After years of delays that involved the issuing of Requests for Proposals (RFP) and then the withdrawing of the documents; after reviewing proposals and failing to make a decision Burlington is going to get parking meters that are significantly different.
The transportation department has marked out the street location for the new parking meters and will begin installing in the very near future.
Meters will be installed on streets and in the city owned parking lots.
The new meters are going to take a little getting used to – there are a lot of buttons to push.
In the days ahead the Gazette will tell you more about these devices and the difference they are going to make to how you park
There will not be a parking meter for every spot; each meter will cover about eight parking spots and accept cash, credit cards and you will be able to interact with the device from your cell phone.
Merchants will be able to pay for your parking – that will be nice.
For today – here are photographs of what we have and what we are getting.
These parking meters are being replaced in some locations by more modern meters.
This is a look at the front of the parking meter. It will take some getting used to – the sides of the meters being installed in Burlington will be green.
By Staff
Gallery 2 in the west end of the city is also offering a tea.
Staff saw the killing of the Heritage Conservation Districts as an opportunity to refocus; build on community feedback received to date and find the local vision that they believed came out of the Rural Summit in 2013.
This couple vowed to quit grocery shopping and to survive solely on foods that would otherwise be thrown away fir six months.
They approached DH Tour who said they would be happy to support the AGB with a trip. And what a trip it is going to be.
Sizes will include:
The classical music we know today came out of that period when Debussy, Ravel, Saint Saens,Faure, Wido rand Satie were both writing and performing.
The featured performers include Festival Co-Director Robert Missen; Carol Ann Thomson, the new Music Director at Lowville United; Wayne Strongman, former Conductor of Hamilton’s Bach-Elgar Choir and Conductor of the new Lowville Festival Choir; Stuart Laughton, Founding Member of the Canadian Brass and leader of the new band Radio Dial; Peter Skoggard, notable Burns scholar and reciter; Michael Mulrooney, Music Director of Tansley United Church and well-known musical theatre conductor and pianist; and three recent graduates of the Sheridan College Musical Theatre Program, Kate Madden, Andrew MacNaughton and Gregory Solomon.
John Taylor, Ward 3, has seldom had anyone worth more than the votes they get from family and friends run against him – other than Cory Judson, Taylor has never had to fight off a real candidate.
