Funding sought for electric vehicle charging station

The Town of Erin is applying for funding to get a high speed charging station for electric vehicles at Centre 2000.

Wellington County already has plans to install a charging station at the new Hillsburgh Library, which is expected to open this spring.

Erin town council is hoping for 50 per cent funding from the federal government, and that the Upper Grand District School Board will cover half of the remaining cost, since the station would be a benefit to Erin District High School.

The fast charging (Level 3) stations cost about $85,000 each. If the federal and school board funding comes through, the town would pay the balance up to $25,000 out of the 2017 Nestlé voluntary levy. The water bottling company makes payments to the town based on the volume of water pumped at its Hillsburgh well.

Natural Resources Canada has a funding program designed to create a Canadian network of Level 3 stations. These can charge two electric vehicles (EVs) to 80 per cent of battery capacity in about 30 minutes, with a travel range of about 250 km per hour of charging.

These are expected to be common in public places and along major highways. Users would pay about 28 cents per Kw or $12 per hour pro-rated by the minute, with a $2.50 flat fee per session.

The non-profit group Plug’n Drive says less expensive Level 2 stations are expected to be installed by many employers and commercial building owners, taking four to six hours for an 80 per cent charge, with a range of about 30 km per hour of charging.

EVs can also be charged at Level 1 through a regular wall socket, providing only about 8 km of travel range per hour of charging.

Erin truck bypass would cost more than $11 million

An updated estimate on the cost of a possible bypass to divert trucks north of Erin village was discouraging news for members of town council – and now they want an estimate on a bypass to the south.

A report from County Engineer Don Kudo said a recent review of the 17 Sideroad – Trafalgar Road route projects the cost at $10.7 million – a huge increase from the initial estimate of $2.6 million when the initial study was done in 1999 by Dillon Consulting.

Truck traffic in downtown Erin has been a problem for decades.

Because Trafalgar near 17 SR is on an incline, a bypass would have to include climbing lanes, through lanes and turning lanes. A new intersection would be needed on County Road 124 at the north end of Erin village, along with reconstruction and widening of 17 Sideroad.

The $10.7 million estimate does not include property acquisition, utility relocations, culvert replacement, a new bridge or design/engineering costs.

 “It looks like this has been created, to be blunt, so that it’s a no-brainer to say No,” said Councillor Matt Sammut, at council’s Jan. 16 meeting.

“Trafalgar is an acceptable road. I do understand the corner would have to be adjusted, and I understand that the corner of 124 would have to be changed. But nearly 11 million dollars, plus HST? I shake my head when I read this. 17 Sideroad probably would require some work.”

Mayor Al Alls said it would be “major” work, and a “struggle” because of the disruption to residents of 17 Sideroad. He speculated that once a cross-walk is installed this spring, truckers might be looking for alternate routes.

Councillor Jeff Duncan said he heard one merchant say he would be willing to hire someone at minimum wage to press the cross-walk button all day long. “That’s a lot cheaper than $10 million,” he said.

Sammut said the lack of a truck bypass is causing serious harm to the town.

“It’s this council and future councils’ job to create the best environment for businesses to grow. My guess is that if I asked a lot of shoppers, they’d say they don’t like darting in front of trucks. It absolutely impacts tourism. It’s not an enjoyable experience to walk downtown and every third vehicle is a tractor-trailer.”

The estimate for the northern bypass includes alignment shifts due to property conflicts and disturbance of environmentally sensitive areas.

 “I don’t think the figures are exaggerated,” said Als, predicting a bridge on 17 Sideroad would also have to be reconstructed.

Als said if the bypass route became a county road, the Town of Erin would have to take responsibility (and pay the costs) for Road 124 (Main Street) through Erin village.

The original cost estimate for a northern bypass was revised to $3.9 million in 2000. After that, when it became clear that a bypass would not be built in the near future, the county proceeded with reconstruction of Main Street downtown.

Alls said it would be less expensive to have a bypass to the south of the village. Trucks travelling west on Road 124 could turn south on Winston Churchill, then use Road 52 (Bush Street) to reconnect with 124 at the south end of the village.

Council agreed to request a cost estimate from the county for that route. Sammut immediately voiced concern. He lives in that area, where many residents oppose the proposed expansion of a nearby gravel pit.

“That’s a key cog for commuter traffic, and how much truck traffic is there from the pits – a significant amount,” he said.

“And now we’re thinking of adding further truck traffic? You’ve got four streets coming into the main road. You would have to adjust totally Bush Street coming up Main Street, because cars are flying around that corner. There’s no way it could work without significant adjustment.

“You want an uprising? You are risking an uprising at the south end of town already.”

Ambitious plan studied for economic development

As published in The Erin Advocate

Erin’s new Economic Development Action Plan outlines a series of initiatives that will build some valuable momentum towards a stronger community, for the benefit of local businesses and residents.

Town council received the first draft of the plan, written by Economic Development Coordinator Bob Cheetham, on August 11. They hope to finalize it in September, as a guide for the next four years.

“It’s an aggressive plan – a roadmap to follow,” said Cheetham. “It’s a transparent process, and it’s always open to change. It will take the leadership of the municipal council to foster a proactive, collaborative presence and respond to the desire for change and managed growth within the Town of Erin.”

Written comments and suggestions from the public about the 68-page draft plan were requested by August 25 – a very brief opportunity, especially during the summer.

On the other hand, people have had many opportunities to comment on most of these issues in recent years, and can provide input to council and staff at any time.

The Action Plan draft can be downloaded from the Economic Development page, under Departments on the Town website, www.erin.ca.

Even if you don’t expect to offer suggestions, the document is a good read for anyone who cares about the community – an overview of what’s going on, or could soon be surfacing.

On September 3, the draft and the public comments will go for further discussion to the Erin Economic Development Committee, which along with four sector focus groups helped create the plan. The final version will be presented to Town Council for approval on September 15.

If councillors disagree with parts of the Action Plan, or feel that more public input is needed, they should seek agreement on amending it or deferring some sections. But they must avoid the trap of endless talk and no action. Some version of the plan should be approved soon, to move the process to specific measures in a “doing” phase.

The plan is not carved in stone, but is rather a framework in which “action” can actually take place. Council should choose some targets and get on with them.

While there are 51 initiatives in the plan, six are rated as “top priority”. One is to hire an Economic Development Officer – Cheetham has been on a one-year contract since last November, and expects to pass the torch to a permanent staff person.

Others include establishment of an overall Community Improvement Plan that would benefit targeted areas. There should be applications for funding for a feasibility study on a Riverside Trail / Boardwalk, and for developing Erin as an “Equine Hub”.

The Plan urges council to develop terms of reference for the Wastewater Environmental Assessment and to move forward with it, and to provide direction on which urban areas should get sewer servicing.

All of the suggested actions work towards achieving various goals: fostering a more positive business climate, building partnerships with business groups and government agencies, establishing Erin as a premier location for equine enthusiasts, promoting the town as a tourism destination and developing a sustainable economy.

Some actions relate to retaining existing business, supporting the development of under-used business properties, encouraging growth in sectors where Erin has an advantage and diversifying the economy to be more resilient.

Here is a sampling of just a few of the other action items:

• Develop a Community Profile (print and web-based);

• Work with the County for a Main Street Crosswalk in Erin village;

• Undertake a Trails Master Plan;

• Establish public washroom facilities in Erin village;

• Host a regular Business Showcase event;

• Undertake an “Open for Business” marketing campaign;

• Promote Bed and Breakfast businesses;

• Work with Headwaters Tourism on a Four-Seasons Attractions Strategy;

• Investigate a St. Patrick’s Day Festival in March;

• Investigate a winter skating environment on the Charles Street pond;

• Undertake a Transportation and Parking Plan for the urban centres of Hillsburgh and Erin village.

Signage strategies needed for both County and Town

As published in The Erin Advocate

The road signs that tell motorists where they are (and where they could go) do much more than provide information. They help create an image for a community, and can provide an identity boost that builds pride among residents and economic activity for local businesses.

It’s good to see that Wellington County is working on a signage strategy to promote its “brand” – something that other counties such as Huron and Perth seem to have done quite well. It’s harder for a large geographical area to define its unique character (compared to the attractions of a small town), but the tools are simple.

A colourful sign with a consistent, well-designed look should welcome drivers at every entry point to the county. The Town of Erin welcome signs on major roads are excellent. The County signs could be designed to go on the same posts, to make it clear that Erin is part of Wellington, or they could be separate.

Throughout the county, there should also be many more way-finding signs, again with a recognizable design instead of just a place name and an arrow on a blue background. Some of these could be promotional, directing visitors to natural attractions like the Elora Gorge or to commercial hubs like the shopping area of downtown Erin village.

If the County is ready to spend money on signs, Erin councillors and business operators need to speak up about what exactly they’d like to see on those signs. A Focus Group meeting at Centre 2000 on August 5 provided a good opportunity for that. A mid-summer survey had also solicited public opinions on signage, but unfortunately was no longer open when I went to the website after the meeting.

For more information on the Wellington Signage Plan, call the Economic Development Office at 519-831-2600 x 2611.

Good signs are expensive, but they can also produce a revenue stream – as the provincial government has utilized on the 400 series highways. The County also plans to have signs on which businesses can buy advertising space for their nearby establishments, whether they be restaurants, bed & breakfast homes or zip-line adventures. Conservation authorities could advertise recreation areas and the Towns could advertise its parks and trails networks, or even its industrial zones.

I would much rather see well-controlled advertising on public signs than purely commercial signs on public property (or right next to it).

The Town of Erin, as part of its new Economic Development effort, could have its own sign strategy – not to duplicate the County effort, but to give priority to local attractions, both commercial and non-profit. These would be functional, but also send a more subtle message – letting visitors know that we are confident and organized in promoting ourselves. Here are just a few sign ideas:

• Ban all private signs from the public lands surrounding selected major intersections. Reducing the clutter will give a much better impression to visitors.

• Formally request that the Ministry of Transportation have more directional signs naming Erin on area highways. For example, drivers on Highway 10 in Caledon could see a sign indicating that Erin is to the west, and not just Guelph.

• Have more signs directing drivers to the various hamlets within the Town of Erin – this would be educational even for existing residents.

• Have signs indicating the river or creek that is being crossed. This is an excellent orientation tool, which the province used to use on its highways. Maybe we could leverage some funding from Credit Valley Conservation for such a project.

• Let’s let everyone know that Erin village, Hillsburgh and Orton are stops on the Trans Canada Trail, an important route for hiking, cycling and snowmobiling. It should be a big deal.

Major expenditure needed to replace one-lane bridge

As published in The Erin Advocate

One-lane bridges need to become a thing of the past, especially when they carry substantial high speed traffic between communities – and sooner rather than later if they’re falling apart.

That’s the case with the bridge on Winston Churchill Blvd. just north of 27 Sideroad (Highpoint Sideroad on the Caledon side). It was built in 1920, rehabilitated in 1950, and now handles an average of 2,400 vehicles per day. A recent inspection report found it to be in “very poor condition” and recommended a new two-lane bridge “to improve public safety”.

People who use the road regularly to travel between Erin and Orangeville have learned how to judge the speed of oncoming traffic to see who will have to slow down and who will get to go first. But for those unfamiliar with the road or not paying attention, a one-lane bridge creates the need for an unexpected quick decision, which can be more difficult at night.

Winston Churchill is the boundary road for Caledon on the east (in Peel Region) and Erin on the west (in Wellington County). Further south, it is considered a Regional Road, with the Region and County sharing the costs, but this bridge, which crosses a tributary of Shaw’s Creek, is in a section where the local Towns are responsible.

There’s no detailed cost estimate yet, but Transportation Engineer Hilda Esedebe, of the consulting firm McIntosh Perry said a full replacement with two lanes could cost about $1.5 million.

At a recent Public Information Centre in Alton, as part of an Environmental Assessment (EA) now being conducted by the Town of Caledon, she said the reconstruction is planned for next summer and that the Town of Erin is expected to contribute 50% of the cost. The existing bridge has an estimated remaining service life of six years.

Erin Mayor Al Alls said that while it is normal to share costs for boundary roads, Erin has not been formally asked to participate. He expects to discuss the matter soon with Caledon Mayor Allan Thompson.

Erin has, however, included the project in its 5 Year Capital Plan for 2016, with an amount of $680,000. Like most of the 55 other items on the Roads list, the Winston Churchill bridge is “unfunded”, with no grants allocated and no reserve funds set aside. The draft plan provided to council last January showed $21.8 million in Roads infrastructure needs over five years, with $17.4 million unfunded.

The bridge will be discussed in the 2016 budget process, when council decides how much it is willing to borrow and which projects will make the cut.

Of course, the costs for Erin and Caledon could be greatly reduced if they were shared with all taxpayers in Wellington and Peel – but the bridge could collapse while waiting for such good news. Caledon has been lobbying Peel to take over this section of Winston Churchill (north of Beech Grove Sideroad) as a major arterial route, and similar discussions are ongoing at County Council. Erin will take any road uploading it can get. If upper tier municipalities take over a road, they are legally obliged to take over any debt payments related to its improvement.

The EA for the Winston Churchill bridge considered the lower-cost options of doing nothing, of closing the bridge permanently or of leaving it at one lane. Rehabilitation of the existing deck and foundations could last 20 years, and a new one-lane deck on rehabilitated existing foundations could last 50 years. The recommendation is an entire replacement with two lanes, expected to last 75 years.

The updated design would mean lower maintenance costs, a wider span that would improve river flow, and roadside barriers and railings that meet modern safety standards.

Hillsburgh could be left out in sewer plan

As published in The Erin Advocate

The Town of Erin will be restricted to 6,000 residents on sewers, after a review of data on the West Credit River’s ability to safely absorb the discharge from a sewage treatment plant.

The long-awaited number, set by Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), was announced at a public Town Council workshop last week. It could permanently limit total growth in Erin village and Hillsburgh to as few as 500 new homes.

Councillors are now being asked to narrow down their choices about which options should get detailed financial study in the last phase of the Servicing and Settlement Master Plan (SSMP) – including the possibility that Erin village will get servicing and Hillsburgh will not.

The option of servicing existing homes in both villages is also likely to be studied, but council is also being asked to decide very soon whether both villages will get a share of future housing growth. 

The option of giving most of the sewage allocation to developers, while leaving all existing homes on private septic systems, has been strongly discouraged by SSMP Consultant Matt Pearson of BM Ross.

The options for investigation could be chosen at the April 1 council meeting next week, as part of a schedule to complete the SSMP before this fall’s municipal election. Mayor Lou Maieron suggested there too many unknown factors to make any choices among options.

“Where do we get the basis of information to make an intelligent decision?” he asked.

Analysis of specific options by Watson & Associates will lay out the detailed costs for urban homeowners, which would become part of a combined water and sewer bill when they actually get service. In addition to a monthly fee, the bill will include the costs of construction, individual hook-up and debt interest, possibly spread over 30 years. Rural residents will not get service, and will not have to pay a share of the construction and interest charges. 

The 6,000 number is low compared to earlier estimates ranging from 6,500 to 13,500, and could dramatically restrict new housing development. CVC Deputy CAO John Kinkead warned council last May that the number would be near the low end. It was set after additional study of the river, with low flow measurements reduced an extra 10% to allow for the harmful effects of climate change and land use changes.

The number of existing urban residents has been set at 4,500 (1,400 in Hillsburgh and 3,100 in Erin village), leaving only 1,500 for new residents. At the accepted ratio of 2.83 residents per household, that would mean only 530 new homes, total for Hiillsburgh and Erin village – but only if all existing residents also get sewer service. The number could range from 500 to 600 based on housing styles.

The population cap is intended to be permanent, since the Assimilative Capacity (AC) of the river is not expected to rise, but it only applies to sewered homes. If it was decided that Hillsburgh would never get sewers, not only would the village get virtually no development, but the sewage allocation of the 1,400 Hillsburgh residents could then be given to developers to build about 500 additional homes in Erin village.

That would mean a total of 1,030 new homes, almost the number being requested now by Solmar Developments, though the number is meant to include infilling, the process of adding small numbers of new homes or apartments in existing neighbourhoods.

Dale Murray of Triton Engineering told council last week that they should be considering whether they want to reserve sewage capacity for future use, if there are no plans to use it in the early stages of the process. Pearson said, “You can’t sit on 4,500 capacity forever.”

BM Ross has also outlined other options such as piping the sewage to another municipality, which is considered very expensive. There is also the possibility of servicing Hillsburgh, but not Erin village, which is considered unlikely.

Gary Cousins, Director of Planning and Development at Wellington County, told councillors that no large-scale housing developments will be approved using septic systems.

Roy Val of Transition Erin recently organized a workshop on alternative sewer methods, including Small Bore Systems (SBS), which use septic tanks at individual homes. The effluent is sent to a smaller treatment plant through narrow pipes that do not require the road to be dug up. 

He believes both Erin village and Hillsburgh are entitled to service, and contends that SBS is not just a technology issue to be studied later, but a concept that should be cost-analyzed now, since it could change the feasibility of the entire venture.

Kinkead said new technologies would have little impact on the 6,000 limit, and that the MOE is unlikely to approve any technology that does not have a proven track record in Ontario.

If all existing residents (4,500) kept their septic systems, and all the sewage allocation was given to developers (6,000), that would add up to an urban population of 10,500. Combined with the rural population of about 7,000, that would put the entire Town of Erin at 17,500 in 20-30 years.

If not for the restrictions imposed by the river, existing lands in the two villages could support an extra 24,000 people.

Pearson also favours servicing both existing communities. He said leaving a community unserviced would cause it to decline, with businesses and community services drawn away from the core, restricted ability to redevelop vacant buildings, and no resolution to problems such as aging septic beds and holding tanks, and lack of housing for young couples and seniors.

“Servicing one community creates inequalities,” he said. “Investment in properties will decline.”

Councillor Barb Tocher said, “You’ll get two classes of people.”

Pearson has suggested the best route for a pipe to move sewage from Hillsburgh to Erin village is the Elora Cataract Trailway, estimating it could cost $2 million.

There has been discussion of a possible treatment plant at Tenth Line and Wellington Road 52 (Bush Street). CVC said last year that the ideal discharge point is further downstream near Winston Churchill Boulevard, where the river has greater capacity.

The review of costs is scheduled for a public Town Council workshop in May, followed by a choice of one of the options. Council would review a draft SSMP report that would be presented at a public meeting in July. After final revisions, council could vote on August 5 to approve the SSMP, clearing the way for environmental studies of which technologies could be used for a sewer system.

“It’s an expensive proposition no matter what gets built,” said Pearson, who believes Erin has a good chance of getting senior government grants to offset costs. He said if there is substantial housing growth, there could be extra costs for a water tower in Hillsburgh, and a second one in Erin.

He reminded council that if residents had to replace all their aging septic systems, it would cost millions of dollars without any government grants or the option to spread costs over 30 years. He said the cost of a high-end septic system required for small properties is now about $40,000.

Active Transportation Plan needs active support

As published in The Erin Advocate

If you could ride on a network of wide, safe bike lanes, where would you like to travel? Would you be looking for regional destinations, like Rockwood, Fergus, Orangeville, Belfountain or Acton, or just loops close to or inside the Town's urban areas?

We already have the Trans-Canada Trail linking Cataract, Erin village, Hillsburgh, Orton, Belwood, Fergus and Elora, but the Wellington Active Transportation Plan is about creating a broader network, combining roadside lanes and off-road trails.

Not every road will get a bike lane, so it is important to find out where there is public demand. Should we have more paved trails, natural hiking trails, mountain bike trails, horse trails, or all of the above? Or do we prefer motorized trail travel, on various snowmobile routes and the unofficial dirt bike and ATV trails?

Convenient access to trails and bike lanes means opportunities for physical activity, saving people money, reducing our local greenhouse gas emissions and making our communities safer, more cohesive and attractive. Trails also protect natural areas, while making them accessible to more people.

The process started in June, including a meeting in Erin involving local politicians and residents. Existing trails have been mapped and there is an ongoing internet survey (search Wellington Active Transportation).

Preliminary results were reported at an open house held recently at Centre 2000, showing that active recreation was the main factor motivating trail users, as opposed to travel for work or shopping. Walking (or running) was the top activity, followed by cycling, hiking, cross-country skiing (or snowshoeing), horseback riding and in-line skating.

MMM Group of Mississauga, the consulting firm hired to develop the plan, will now be doing field investigations, developing design guidelines and devising strategies for implementation, funding, tourism and getting more people onto the routes.

Project Manager Jay Cranstone hopes to have a draft network by February, with recommendations going to County Council in the spring. The County could adopt the Active Transportation Plan, then incorporate key elements into its Official Plan. Lower-tier municipalities such as Erin will likely be asked to follow a similar process.

County Planner Sarah Wilhelm said that actual improvements will still be dependent on available funding, but that it is important to have an official framework.
"You need a plan in place for grant applications," she said.

Taxpayers generally don't know or care whether a road is controlled by the County or the Town, but they do expect them to work together to deliver the most practical improvements.

In its Official Plan, the Town of Erin has objectives that include promotion of compact, people-oriented downtowns by establishing a safe and pleasant pedestrian environment, encouraging movement by foot and bicycle rather than by automobile.

Vehicle and pedestrian movement is to be facilitated through improvements to roads, parking areas and pedestrian paths, including linkages along the rivers.

Just because something is in an Official Plan, however, does not mean it is going to happen. If people actually care about such "objectives", they need to prod the Town and County into aggressively pursuing them.

One priority should a bypass route to divert truck traffic from downtown Erin village, along with at least one more traffic light and some official crosswalks. These ideas have been discussed in the past and not done, but that does not mean they should not be done. Often a need will exist for a long time before action is taken – for example, the creation of a village fire brigade in 1946 after decades of disastrous fires.

Erin's Official Plan also requires that new developments provide links with pedestrian and cycle routes "on their perimeter". Perhaps that idea could be expanded so that a new subdivision would have a trail winding through it, separate from roads and sidewalks.

Some would prefer that no new subdivisions ever be built in Erin, but that is probably unrealistic. They will not be built any time soon, however, since the Servicing and Settlement Master Plan (SSMP) study process, which has frozen most development since 2007, is proceeding very slowly. The study was originally to have been done by now, but we're still in the middle of it, waiting for a report on sewer and water options, with several stages still to go.

Making Erin more resilient in a harsher climate

As published in The Erin Advocate

An enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Legion hall last week, looking for ideas on how Erin can prepare for climate changes that are expected to alter our foliage and wear down our infrastructure in the coming decades.

The "Making Erin Greener Than Our Shamrock" event was co-sponsored by the Environmental Advisory Group of Erin (a Town committee) and the Climate Change Action Group of Erin (activists known for film nights and other awareness-raising events).

The guest of honour was farmer Don MacIver, the mayor of Amaranth Township (between Orangeville and Shelburne) and a senior climate change scientist with Environment Canada. As part of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he and other federal scientists shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

Mayor Lou Maieron welcomed MacIver, noting the seriousness of the challenge faced by our species: "If we don't adapt, we may become extinct," he said. "It's the generation coming behind us that we have to educate."

MacIver no longer speaks of stopping climate change – that battle was lost many years ago. He also leaves to others the on-going battle to mitigate the changes by reducing greenhouse gases to slow global warming – the current goal is a 17 per cent reduction below 2006 levels by 2021.

He focuses on the urgency of improving our defences against inevitably more severe weather, caused by the unforgiving mechanics of the atmosphere. Mean temperatures at Toronto (Pearson) are up about 2.7°C since the late 1800s, with minimum temperatures up about 4°C, though the pace of change varies by region. Compared to the 1961-1990 period, temperatures are expected rise another 2.6-4.0°C by 2050, with 6-15% more precipitation.

"Have you noticed there's less frost over the last few decades? You can grow more crops in the spring," he said. "You need to understand how your community has changed in terms of its warming profile, its precipitation profile, especially if you are going to grow trees. And remember the take-home message here, 1°C is significant for biological growth – 2 and 3 and 4 degrees warming, that's a complete disaster when it comes to native tree species."

While there may be less snow, the area in the lee of the Great Lakes is getting more precipitation overall. The weather variations are also more severe, with more dry spells and intense storms with flooding and high winds. Buildings, bridges, roads and dams will not last as long and will have to be built to higher standards.

"We are in tornado alley, they are expected to get more severe," he said, noting that as of 2015 the National Building Code will require more resilient construction. "It's not a question of whether you're going to get one, it's a question of when."

Disaster planning is becoming more important, including reserve funds for repairs, and a registry of vulnerable people who need to be checked on during ice storms or heat waves.

He said conservation authorities need to not only defend native species, but to engage in "planned adaptation", to support biodiversity while encouraging growth of desirable new species from the northern US that can flourish in our altered climate.

Environment Canada has two websites to help municipalities gather data on local atmospheric hazards (hazards.ca) and to develop local climate change scenarios (cccsn.ca). The federal government is planning to shut them down, however, and MacIver urges anyone concerned about this to write to Environment Minister Peter Kent (Minister@ec.gc.ca). MacIver is also concerned that many federal climate change scientists in contract positions have been notified that they could be laid off.

Making "green" changes at the local level is difficult, especially when we already have a hard time finding money to maintain or upgrade roads and infrastructure. Are we willing to pay higher taxes or accept fewer services in a harsher climate? Erin would love to have a greener reputation, as long as it could be done cheaply, or better yet, with money from other levels of government.

These are issues that we cannot leave entirely to scientists and politicians. They need to be directed. As organizer Heather Gentles said: "The purpose of tonight's meeting is to begin the process of re-imagining Erin in a more sustainable and resilient way. It's up to us, the residents of Erin, to begin planning."

Sarah Peckford, Environment Progress Officer for Caledon ("Greenest Town in Ontario") was a guest at last week's meeting, explaining their climate change planning process. Also speaking was Linda Sword, who described efforts by Eden Mills residents to make their community carbon neutral. Both of these projects will be the topics of future columns.

Active Transportation Plan will get assets moving

As published in The Erin Advocate

Gill Penalosa cut to the heart of the matter last week, in a discussion of Erin's future transportation needs: How do we really want to live? Are we content with a car-dominated culture, or are we prepared to demand an infrastructure that values walking, cycling and other modes of human-powered locomotion?

"It's not about the money, it's about having the vision," said Penalosa, an internationally renowned liveable city advisor, speaking at a series of workshops throughout Wellington County. An audience that included business people, environmentalists, trails enthusiasts and town councillors attended the session at Centre 2000, part of an initiative to develop a Wellington Active Transportation Plan.

"It's time to build alliances, to get everybody working together – it might not be easy," said Penalosa. "We've got to develop a sense of urgency. We have to make the best quality of life – the general interest must prevail. We need to make walking and cycling a normal part of life."

Penalosa is the Executive Director of 8-80cities, a Toronto-based non-profit group that promotes healthy, people-oriented communities. Their name is based on the strategy of designing public areas that are not only safe and comfortable for able-bodied adults, but also for eight-year-olds and 80-year-olds. Check out www.8-80cities.org.

An Active Transportation Plan (a process that is already well-advanced in nearby regions) provides a guide for future development that could, for example, require adequate bike lanes when roads come up for reconstruction. It a joint initiative of the County, local municipalities and the Health Unit, which is concerned about rates of obesity, heart disease and other consequences of inadequate levels of physical activity.

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health already sponsors the "WDG in motion" initiative, with a mandate to “create a culture of physical activity” in the region, according to their website, www.wdginmotion.ca. If you have ideas for the Active Transportation Plan, you can write to Karen Armstrong, In Motion Coordinator at the Health Unit: karen.armstrong@wdghu.org. A consultant will be hired next year to work on the project.

It will be on a broad scaler than other related efforts, such as a Trails Master Plan for Erin, which is also being discussed. As with all such plans, they should not be used as an excuse for doing nothing until the plan is complete. If there is a consensus on the need for a certain project, it should proceed. The bias needs to be in favour of action.

Here are some of the ideas being floated to create a better environment for pedestrians and cyclists. The fact that some have been floating about for decades, but never achieved, does not make them less worthy of consideration.

• A bypass to take traffic, especially trucks, away from the downtown core of Erin village. This was mentioned by many participants at the workshop as a major factor in improving safety and quality of life in the village.

• Cross-walks or traffic lights to improve safety and discourage vehicle traffic.

• Improved off-street parking and elimination of some on-street parking to create a bike lane, with a concrete curb or barrier between the cars and the bikes.

• Improved trails, including a bridge over the river to link McMillan Park with the Woollen Mills Trail, a loop route on the water tower hill, a link from Stanley Park to Elora-Cataract rail trail, a loop including the rail trail in Hillsburgh and improved access to Barbour Field.

• Pedestrian-based areas of retail stores, restaurants and offices close to the downtown cores. Any significant redevelopment would require a sewage system.

• Bike lanes on selected rural roads to create a network among various destinations. Increased construction costs would be offset by the fact that wider roads last longer.

• A boardwalk along downtown sections of the river. The fact that some of this land is now privately owned would make such a project more complicated, but not impossible.

• Better bicycle parking areas in public places and at schools.

• Bus service to neighbouring municipalities.

• More parks and renewal of existing parks to make them more appealing to the public.

• More closures of downtown streets to vehicle traffic for special events on weekends.

• More local employment to reduce the rate of long-distance commuting.

Of course, in a town where the majority of residents live outside the urban areas and work elsewhere, cars and trucks will remain a necessity for many people. But we can still give higher priority to "active" transportation, and enjoy a better quality of life as a result.