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Petition Against 5% Increase in GO Transit Fares for 2010

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

From MiltonSearch.com:

GO Transit has announced that yet again during a recession, they plan to raise fares by 5% in 2010.

GO Transit has announced that yet again during a recession, they plan to raise fares by 5% in 2010.

As he was a year ago, Milton resident Andrew Salmons is all over GO Transit’s recent announcement that they will yet again raise fares by 5% for 2010.

I’d have to agree with Mr. Salmons on this one. During not only a recession, but a supposed environmental crisis — not to mention the traffic issues faced daily by GTA commuters — this is absolutely the wrong decision by GO.

I realize GO is continuing to make improvements and additions to their service, but it’s wrong to hit riders with this increase, especially with so many experiencing either wage freezes or taking pay cuts in the past year thanks to the state of the world economy.

In my mind, it would make sense for GO to keep costs down as much as possible so that taking transit becomes a ‘no-brainer’ for commuters. There would probably be an increase in ridership which would fund planned improvements and growth. And if funding falls a little short, well, the government seems to be more than willing to throw around stimulus money these days… Wouldn’t appeasing the huge number of GO commuters be seen as ‘low hanging fruit’ by the Provincial Government?

Are you a user of GO Transit? If so, we would encourage you to do your part by signing the online petition we received from Andrew Salmons via email.

Will this change anything? More than likely not, but I think it’s important for GO to see where it’s riders stand on this announcement and also read your comments and suggestions.

From Andrew Salmons:

GO Transit has done it again! They are increasing your monthly pass rate by 5% again this year, on top of the 5% increase last year. That is a 10% increase in just 2 years, while annual inflation is 1.2% as of December 2009, and was 1.3% as of March 2009.

To put the latest 5% increase in perspective:

A rider traveling from Milton to Union will now pay $272 per month from $260 in 2009, $250 in 2008, and $246 in 2007. 8.8% increase since March 2008.

A rider traveling from Oakville to Union will now pay $214.50 per month from $205 in 2009, and $195 in 2008. 10% increase since March 2008.

Add your name to petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to (1) reduce GO Transit fares to be inline with inflation since 2007, (2) conduct a complete review GO Transit’s operating expenses and contracts, and (3) develop and implement a strategy for economically sustainable and affordable transit in Ontario.

I ask you for your support and ask you add your name this year’s petition against the fare increase.

Please sign here

Feel free to forward this petition to your friends, co-workers, and family, and your Member of Provincial Parliament.

Thank you for your support!.

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Halton looking to protect 36% of its developable land

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

From MiltonSearch.com:

Burlington farmer James Fisher says a natural heritage designation will inevitably put agricultural interests behind environmental concerns.

Burlington farmer James Fisher says a natural heritage designation will inevitably put agricultural interests behind environmental concerns.

Kudos to Halton Region, which is finally looking to limit development after a huge amount of some of Ontario’s finest farmland has already been or is planned to be developed on.

This will be interesting to watch as the situation pits green politicians vs. rural politicians supporting farmers vs. farmers who want to sell their land to developers vs. farmers who want to preserve Halton’s rich farmland.

You may also want to read two other articles posted previously on MiltonSearch.com: Strawberry Fields (not) Forever and A Farewell to Farms.

Below is an overview of Halton Region and its land designations. Click the image for an enlarged, interactive version.

Here is this latest column in it’s entirety from the Toronto Star:

Where Homes Don’t Grow

Halton’s radical plan to limit development pits red-taped farmers against green politicians

Outspoken Oakville councillor Allan Elgar has a name for the practice of building a sprawling subdivision on prime farmland: He calls it “the final crop.”

That’s why the farmboy-turned-environmentalist is backing Halton Region’s groundbreaking proposal to set its own protections on an extensive natural heritage system. The plan would preserve a whopping 36 per cent of the region’s developable land, set up an integrated network of preserved areas, and drastically curtail where houses can be planted some day.

The land included is neither part of the protected greenbelt and Niagara Escarpment nor under consideration for development.

But the move is pitting green-minded politicians in Oakville and Burlington against those in Halton Hills and Milton, who are more responsive to concerns raised by farmers and development interests and have opposed it. A final vote is slated for Dec. 16.

Supporters make no bones about the fact the plan will thwart speculators who have bought, or arranged to buy, vast hectares of prime agricultural land in Halton, and the farmers who want to sell it.

Caught in the crossfire, however, are farmers who don’t want to sell but are deeply concerned that the new designation will add another layer of regulation that bodes ill for farming in the long run.

It is, contends James Fisher, all about how words are interpreted.

“The actual designation has negative impact,” said Fisher, one of several farmers who spoke to Halton regional council this week. “It’s not that we are against the natural heritage system. We want an alternative that respects agriculture.”

They fear that replacing the current agricultural zoning with the term “natural heritage” will inevitably put farming interests behind environmental concerns, despite repeated assurances that farming will always be allowed.

Farmers want, at a minimum, to see the natural heritage system designated as preserving both environmental features and agriculture.

Whatever the final wording, Elgar and most of the Halton councillors seem ready to approve the creation of a vast “systems-based” network of natural heritage corridors to connect environmentally sensitive areas such as river valleys, woodlots and wetlands.

It would end the old practice of protecting only isolated pockets, which tend to degrade over time if there are no corridors ensuring that wildlife can move freely.

The proposal may be more radical than the provincial greenbelt legislation because it bans golf courses anywhere on the system, whereas the province just blocks golf courses from prime agricultural land.

“If we get this, we will be the first region in the Greater Toronto Area with a systems-based approach on a regional basis,” said Elgar, describing the preservation plan as simply an extra layer of protection.

“It is a no-touch zone … There is concern that there is a lot of farming land bought by the development industry, with the hope in future of flipping it to plant houses.”

The plan would not only make protected areas off-limits but also make anything built within 120 metres of a natural heritage feature or corridor subject to an environmental impact assessment – a proposition feared both by developers and farmers who want to make improvements to their property.

While other GTA municipalities are also doing more long-range development planning now, Halton’s scheme is the most ambitious.

In the face of similar opposition, Peel Region politicians recently deferred a decision on their own plan, which targets mostly farmland in Brampton and Caledon. Peel’s plan is less stringent than Halton’s – it has been slammed by the Sierra Club for example, for allowing golf courses to be built in the valley lands of its waterways.

Halton politicians could take courage from an Ontario Municipal Board ruling last year that approved Oakville’s controversial decision to protect 900 hectares on its own initiative. The preservation area – won after a decade-long tussle with the development industry – represents more than one-third of the 3,400 hectares of undeveloped land north of Dundas St. W.

The OMB ruling was a major victory for the likes of Elgar, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and members of the environmental group Oakvillegreen, who had fought to preserve green space in north Oakville while making room for an eventual population of more than 50,000.

The ruling also emboldened them and other Halton Region politicians to go after developers for thousands of dollars in extra development charges on each home sold – significantly higher than other regions – under the mantra that “growth must pay for itself” and municipal government doesn’t exist to subsidize developer profits.

Halton Hills Councillor Clark Sommerville says the intention behind the natural heritage system proposal is good – and driven by urban councillors from Oakville and Burlington who are trying to make amends for the fact their communities were largely built out before such protections existed.

But he thinks it’s “overkill.”

No matter how well-intentioned, overregulation “will be the death knell of farming,” Somerville said – not development.

“The biggest thing we are trying to protect is the non-urban rural land from development, but the way it’s being written it almost appears that agriculture is the threat,” he said.

Still, environmentalists such as Liz Benneian of Oakvillegreen say the new rules will ensure protection for farmers. Her only concern is that a provision in the original plan – superimposing the natural heritage system on Greenbelt areas as a second layer of protection against a future change of heart by the province – has since been removed.

“We believe this is a forward-thinking plan from planners and politicians,” Benneian said. “A gift to our grandchildren.”

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The future of boys

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

The performance of boys in school has considerably declined over the years. Is the school system which seems to want them to act and learn like girls do, failing them?

The performance of boys in school has considerably declined over the years. Is the school system which seems to want them to act and learn like girls do, failing them?

Many have spent decades trying to address the barriers to women in education and in business. And in spite of the progress, there is more to be done.

At the same time, the gender gap cuts both ways.

Boys are less likely than girls to meet provincial standards in reading. Boys account for the majority of suspensions. And boys are more likely than girls to drop out of high school in Canada (12.2 per cent versus 7.2 per cent in 2004-05).

For a variety of reasons, boys are having a real struggle when it comes to education and learning, not the least of which may be the fact that instead of being treated as boys in our schools, they’re being looked at as ‘inadequate girls.’ Boys and girls for the most part, learn very differently. The ‘rules’ in today’s schools seem to work well for most female students, but it’s possible that they are not necessarily the right fit for many boys who seem to have a hard time conforming to the standard learning environment.

I see this every day as I have both a son and daughter — the differences between them and how to best communicate with them, are immense. Our daughter is very focused and listens well. Our son on the other hand, is easily distracted by many things and has a hard time sitting still for more than a few seconds at times.

Despite this lack of attention span, he is reading well beyond his current grade level, has an absolutely amazing memory for facts and details and has a strong hunger for information and to learn about many different topics like animals, science, space, the Earth and geography — and he has a strong comprehension of these concepts for his age.

Hence, I was happy to see that yesterday, the Toronto District School Board made an announcement that showed some real out-of-the-box thinking in regard to the issue of boys’ struggles in school.

From MetroNews.ca:

In a bold move announced this week, the Toronto District School Board’s new director Chris Spence announced a strategy that includes a “Male Leadership Academy” for boys as well as male-friendly demonstration classrooms aimed at boosting boys’ school performance.

Research by the Canadian Centre for Knowledge Mobilization in B.C. concluded that, overall, studies tend to show that single-sex schools serve girls better than boys. However, the majority of studies examine private schools dominated by students from wealthy well-educated families.

We also know there are too few male role models in the early grades.

“An excellent teacher can inspire any kid to love Shakespeare, but boys and girls do have different preferences. Same-sex classes in particular subjects allow gender specific content and teaching methods.”

Spence is drawing on his previous successes in the development of Boys 2 Men, Project G.O. (Girls Only) and the Read to Succeed Program, which motivates and teaches boys to read.

“While we should heed cautions against segregating and fragmenting our schools, and we need rigorous evaluation and accountability, we do need to try new approaches to adapt the curriculum, teaching methods and learning environment to the particular needs of boys and girls.”

I think this is a good start — again, we have to look at different ways in which we can help today’s boys succeed.

I first started thinking about this over a year ago, when Dr. Leonard Sax appeared on an episode of the overnight alternative radio program, Coast to Coast AM with host Ian Punnett, where he addressed this issue.

Dr. Sax’s unusual background — being both a family physician (M.D.), as well as a Ph.D. psychologist — has led him to recognize the importance of gender differences in how children learn, and to a belief that those gender differences are neglected or minimized in American public schools. Here’s one example cited on his bio page:

Consider the typical first or second-grade classroom. Imagine Justin, six years old, sitting at the back of the class. The teacher (a woman) is speaking in a tone of voice which seems normal to her. Justin, however, barely hears her. Instead, he’s staring out the window, or looking at a fly on the ceiling. The teacher recognizes that Justin isn’t paying attention. Justin is demonstrating a deficit of attention. The teacher may reasonably wonder whether Justin perhaps has attention deficit disorder.

That’s actually one avenue which led to my interest in this topic, about ten years ago. I saw this parade of 6 and 7 year-old boys being marched into my office, with Mom clutching a note from the school which read: “Please evaluate Justin for ADD. Would he benefit from medication?” After evaluating such a boy, I found in some cases that the problem was not so much with the boy, but with the school… specifically, with the school’s failure to recognize the differences in the auditory acuity of boys and girls, and the school’s failure to recognize the differences in the developmental timetables of boys and girls.

Dr. Sax was on the show to promote his book, Boys Adrift: A doctor’s plan to help our sons fulfill their potential. In the book, he talks about how a third of men ages 22–34 are still living at home with their parents — about a 100 percent increase in the past twenty years. Parents, teachers, and mental health professionals are worried about boys, but no one has come up with good reasons for their decline, or thought about any workable solutions to reverse this troubling trend.

In the book, Dr. Sax offers a wide range of possible remedies — including innovative ways parents can wean their sons away from video games, practical steps they can take to improve their sons’ schooling, and surprisingly simple life changes they can make to protect boys from the environmental estrogens that undermine boys’ motivation.

Environmental estrogrens you ask?

Dr. Sax also discussed fertility when he appeared on Coast to Coast AM in a three-hour interview, as well as the various factors contributing to the steady decline of performance, ambition and motivation in America’s boys and young men (Even though his research is U.S. based, I think it’s safe to draw parallels to boys here in Southern Ontario).

From Coast to Coast AM:

Sperm counts and testosterone levels of young men in the United States have declined substantially over the past 50 years, Sax reported. Environmental estrogens from clear plastic-bottled drinks may be partially to blame. According to Sax, consuming only two bottles of water provides about the same amount of estrogen as found in a birth control pill. The elevated estrogen intake may be lowering testosterone levels in men, causing them to lose motivation to do anything, Sax added.

To make matters worse, boys are no longer allowed to be boys at school, he said. ‘Violent’ masculine activities such as dodge ball and snowball fights are prohibited at many schools, Sax pointed out, noting that boys are encouraged to “be more like girls.” Typical male conduct at school is often altered with behavior medication, Sax said, which can also damage the motivational centers in boys’ brains.

Sax also thinks that accelerated early education programs/curriculum ignore important gender differences and end up creating academic environments that do not appeal to boys. Unmotivated to pursue academic excellence and other real-world goals, these boys find contentment in video games and online pornography. For them, what happens in the “virtual world is more important than the real world,” Sax said.

My interest in this stems from already noticing many of these learning challenges with our young son, just starting out on his journey through our education system here in Milton. I have not yet purchased or read Dr. Sax’s book, but he made some great points in his interview and we definitely want to arm ourselves with as many resources, ideas and strategies as possible to help our very intelligent (and very distracted) son succeed and excel in school.

I hope the sharing of this info is helpful to others with boys of all ages and I think this new strategy announced by the Toronto District School Board is worth watching closely.

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Did the store overcharge you? No need to fret

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

In many cases, that error is worth $10

Few consumers are aware of a national program that compensates those who have been charged the wrong price.

Few consumers are aware of a national program that compensates those who have been charged the wrong price.

Many shoppers simply aren’t aware that there is indeed something you can do if you are incorrectly charged for an item when its bar code is scanned.

The old Milton A&P grocery store at Ontario/Laurier (now a Food Basics, with the A&P now a Metro Store at Thompson/Kennedy Circle) always had a policy of giving you said item for free (up to a certain dollar amount) if you were mischarged for it — a policy I took advantage of several times over the last decade or so.

I haven’t thought too much about this in awhile, but a recent Toronto Star article highlighted the fact that there is actually a national program protecting consumers against overcharging by stores.

In general terms, participating retailers are required to give you items that you have been overcharged, for free if they’re under $10 — and $10 off items above that price.

So, next time you either see the wrong price come up at the checkout, or upon a closer look at your receipt at home, don’t be afraid to challenge it. You’re probably going to get some nasty looks from the employees at said store as I have over the years (I have no idea why — it’s not like it’s anything to do with them or their performance), but it could mean $10 in your pocket.

Below is the article which includes further details.

It used to steam me up: I’d get home after a big shopping trip, only to look at the receipt and realize I’d paid full price for those granola bars – or whatever – that had been advertised on sale. A matter of just a few dollars, mind you, but it still felt like a rip-off.

Little did I know, those granola bars didn’t have to cost me a thing.

You, too, could save – up to $10 on each item – if you are overcharged on your next trip to the store.

Or not, if you aren’t aware – as I wasn’t – of a national program that compensates customers who have been charged the wrong price by automatically giving them the item incorrectly scanned for free.

Yes, free.

Since 2002, stores that have signed on to a program called the Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code that will give you an incorrectly priced item free, if that item costs less than $10. If it costs more, you get $10 off the correct price.

If you buy a bunch of the same, incorrectly priced thing, only the first unit purchased qualifies.

There are more than 8,000 participating locations across Canada.

The $10 code was developed as a way to maintain consumers’ faith in the retail system, says communications director Mark Beazley of the industry group Retail Council of Canada, which, along with other groups representing grocery and drug stores, administers the code.

“Although retailers strive to be accurate in scanner pricing, errors can occur in the system,” Beazley says. Errors such as an item that has the wrong label or is scanned incorrectly at the checkout. The code is a simple and effective way for customers to have those errors corrected, Beazley says.

Except that customers we spoke to had never heard of the code, despite shopping at participating chains.

“I can tell you in my case, definitely, I wasn’t aware there was such a thing,” says Sonya Kladich who was checking over her bill in a west-end grocery store parking lot.

“I am the worst when it comes to (checking prices),” she says, adding that she has been burned in the past by one chain that does not subscribe to the code and now keeps an eye out when shopping there.

Fred Vella, 73, also didn’t know about the code.

“If they charge me too much, I go back to the store for an adjustment,” he says, pushing a Loblaw’s cart holding two bags of flour, canned soup and some yogurt that had been discounted for quick sale.

“It’s an inconvenience, eh? I have to drive back to the store from home.” (Customers can also call a toll-free complaint line set up by the Retail Council of Canada.)

Savvy shoppers on the deal-spotting site www.SmartCanucks.ca know about the code, but a recent discussion suggests a level of confusion over how it works. Some members thought it was universal among Canadian retailers.

Vella says he wouldn’t think to demand his money back, which is typical, says Mel Fruitman, vice-president of the advocacy group Consumers Association of Canada.

“It’s not in the Canadian psyche,” Fruitman says. “We don’t stand up for ourselves like we should.

Fruitman says the Retail Council doesn’t go far enough in making the public aware of the seven-year-old code – “It’s sort of just sitting there,” he says – and recommends more signage.

Beazley says a survey of 255 stores conducted for the Retail Council showed 87 per cent were well-versed in the code and 84 per cent had signs displayed at every checkout and entrance.

Customers with a complaint can call the store directly or call a complaint hotline at 1-866-499-4599.

“I don’t think you can jump to the conclusion this is showing an increase in the number of errors,” Beazley says. “It may just be that consumers are more aware of the actual program.”

All the complaints phoned in last year were resolved, Beazley says.

Fruitman says, with our reliance on technology, it may not occur to many customers to double-check their bill.

“Most consumers accept that we’re in an electronic world and don’t think too much about it anymore,” he says.

The Customer is Always Right

When errors occur, it is usually in the customer’s favour, according to an audit commissioned by retailers that participate in the Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code. Several objective audits of stores’ compliance with the code have been conducted by market researcher The Nielsen Company. In 2008, auditors visited 351 stores and tracked 35,100 scanned items, representing $284, 377 in retail sales.

The study found:
* About 59 per cent of errors favour the customer.
* The error rate is about 2.90 per cent.
* The value of the average error is $0.23 (+/-)
* 67 per cent of errors are owing to the shelf tag price being incorrect.
* 2 per cent of errors are owing to the barcode scanning incorrectly.

Source: Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code Associations’ Annual Report to the Competition Bureau (2008)

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Jim Kenzie’s Top 10 ways to fix the roads

Monday, September 21st, 2009

From Wheels.ca:

Wheels’ top correspondant Jim Kenzie, gives his top prescription for fixing the roadways

Heres a recipe for confusion: why are the exit roads listed next to the arrow going straight ahead, instead of on the right-hand side.

Here's a recipe for confusion: why are the exit roads listed next to the arrow going straight ahead, instead of on the right-hand side.

Why are our roads so bad?

We are constantly being told by our government that we have the best, safest roads anywhere.

So how come we are always whining about them?

Hard as it may be for you to believe, I have some opinions on how they could be improved.

And yes, somebody did ask.

So here are my Top 10 suggestions. (As always, your recommendations are welcome too.)

1. Fix the lane markings.

No prizes for guessing this would be my No.1.

The right lane is the driving lane, embedded in tradition, good manners, logic and the law.

So why does it keep disappearing?

You should be able to get into the right lane of Hwy.401 coming out of the customs booth in Windsor, drive to the Quebec border and never have to use your turn signal to change lanes.

Unless you want to, of course.

The right lane should NEVER merge into the middle or left lanes – on a municipal road or a highway. The right lane should NEVER become an off-ramp.

These designs scare people into staying in the middle or left lanes, where they impede the progress of other traffic.

They also confuse everyone, especially visitors who don’t know the local lay of the land. One should not require “local knowledge” to drive safely.

The sanctity of the right lane is an international standard; adhering to it makes our roads safer.

So why do our road designers violate this standard so regularly?

Grow lanes to the left, Shrink lanes from the left and add off-ramps to the right.

On-ramps should merge with the driving lane after a suitable distance to allow for acceleration.

Couldn’t be much simpler.

This is not only my No.1 beef, it would be dead-simple and dead-cheap to fix. A few weekends and a few hundred litres of line paint, and we’re done.

I don’t get it.

2. Tell people about this

Once the above has been accomplished (I’m not holding my breath…) then every overpass on the highway – every single one of them – should have a sign saying something to the effect: “Keep Right Except to Pass”; “All Traffic Keep Right” (not “Slower Traffic Keep Right”, because nobody wants to think of themselves as being “slower”); or, “Hey you in the blue Tempo – this means you!”

If it would be too expensive, get Coca-Cola or the Winter Olympics or somebody to sponsor the signage.

I’m sure you’d have no trouble selling the space – think of the eyeballs they could reach.

So, we’d have safer traffic, and balance the budget too.

Win-win, sez I.

3. Build more roundabouts

The benefits of roundabouts – improved traffic safety, improved efficiency, reduced pollution, reduced fuel consumption – are just so obvious, and proven everywhere they’ve been tried (yes, even right here in Canada, next door in Waterloo Region) that it boggles the mind that we don’t have them everywhere.

If we were to retrofit every intersection that should have one, this would be more complicated and more expensive than repainting the lane markings.

But with the pace of road building going on these days, all we need is a commitment that they are the future. Then every time an intersection needed to be rebuilt, we’d get another of the most effective traffic management devices ever invented.

How tough is this to understand?

4. Fewer stop signs

For the same reasons roundabouts are brilliant, stop signs are stupid.

The objective of stop signs is to avoid T-bone crashes at intersections.

But there is no reason whatsoever why you have to come to a complete stop in order to accomplish this important but easily attained objective.

The British manage quite well by treating virtually every intersection as a Yield, rather than a Stop.

Why can’t we?

5. Fix the construction zone markings

They’ve actually made some progress on this one, with the orange lane markings they are now using in some places on the interminable and omnipresent construction zones on the 401.

But the old ones were completely invisible at night, and in the rain, you couldn’t tell the construction markings from the old ones.

Scary.

6. Demand a warranty on road repairs

While on the subject of construction, does it not appear to you that the same chunks of road are constantly being rebuilt?

When they are newly finished, the surface is smooth, it looks great and it drives great.

But – and I appreciate this may largely be my imagination – it seems that a couple of years later (I almost wrote “a couple of years down the road,” but even I have some standards…) the same stretch of road is all being torn up again.

I imagine there must be some sort of expected life-span on newly built (or rebuilt) highways.

I also understand better roads cost more, and maybe the construction companies hog-tied by onerous contract limitations, or have to bid low to get the job.

I have read that concrete highways last longer than asphalt, but they aren’t as comfortable to drive on, at least not initially, due to the bump-thump caused by the expansion joints.

It must be a complex business.

But do road-building companies offer any kind of warranty on their work? Does anybody track how the road deteriorates? If it falls apart prematurely, shouldn’t they be forced to fix it at their expense?

7. Fix the highway exit signs

What genius came up with the exit signs on the 401?

Typically, they have a single arrow on the left, pointing straight ahead, and a double-headed arrow to the right, with one of the points going straight ahead, and the other aiming off to the right, presumably indicating the exit.

So, where do they put the name which identifies the street you’re exiting to?

Not beside the arrow pointing to the exit. That would make too much sense.

They put it beside the solitary arrow which points straight ahead.

Which is exactly the direction you DON’T want to go to take the exit.

Sure, we have become used to this idiocy. The human machine is remarkably forgiving of bad design.

But why should we have to adapt? Why can’t we have good design to begin with?

8. Build more rest stops

Research has long shown that driving performance drops off remarkably after about two hours behind the wheel.

Your eyes get tired, your vision drops, and you cannot centre the car properly in the lane. The car tends to slew off the road – the classic “two-wheel shoulder drop-off.”

This typically scares the whee out of the driver. Again typically, the reaction is over-reaction, a violent steering manoeuvre which often causes the car to rocket across the road, leading to a roll-over in the median or, worse still, a head-on crash with another vehicle heading the other way.

One answer – the one the Ontario government chose when this issue came up a number of years ago following a coroner’s inquest into a spate of fatal crashes on the 401 between Trenton and Cornwall – was to build a wall in the median strip, so the inevitable crashes would become ricochets into the same lane, rather than head-ons or roll-overs.

A step, you should pardon the expression, in the right direction.

But hardly the answer.

Which, of course, is more rest stops, preferably situated every two hours or so along major highways, along with appropriate signage encouraging their use.

Maybe even a few picnic tables…

9. More rumble strips

Again, we’ve had some progress here, with these being quite common on the shoulders of the 401 and other major highways.

They give you a remarkably strong audible and sensory warning that you are about to leave the road with extreme prejudice, which is almost always a bad idea.

The same concept is also used to indicate the end of a freeway, or stop signs where you might not expect them.

Good idea.

Let’s have more.

10. Chevrons? Are you kidding me?

What road salt and snow plows have failed to accomplish, let’s complete the job by removing what’s left of those dumb chevrons on the freeways which were supposed to indicate how many car lengths you should leave between cars.

True, tailgating is dumb and dangerous.

But encouraging people to look down on the road surface instead of keeping their eyes up is 200 per cent the wrong thing to do.

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Uproar in Milton over increased development charges passed on by Mattamy

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

The popular Hawthorne Villager forums are glowing red hot this week as many soon-to-be residents of brand new Mattamy-built homes received their much-anticipated letters from Mattamy announcing details of exactly how much they would have to pay in increased Halton Region development charges. Now that the posts are flying fast and furious, the magic number seems to be $7888.00 no matter the size or price of the home currently under construction.

The full, ongoing discussion can be found here.

The general feeling is that of rage at this point, and I really feel for the new homeowners who have been hit by this unexpected charge. Fortunately for some, they had lawyers with enough foresight or knowledge of the new homebuying process that they had their contracts amended to cap the amount at $1000 — but for most, it’s a huge extra cost out of the blue — money they either don’t have, or were planning to use for their downpayments, upgrades, new appliances or renovations after moving in.

Initially, I looked at Mattamy with my conspiracy theory hat on: they’re taking great pleasure in passing along this increased development charge to their customers — get everyone incensed enough to protest this increase, so maybe it goes away and possibly they increase their profits. Whatever the case, any charge the Region hits them with, you know they’re just passing it down to the customer. It’s what any business would do.

The Region of Halton has also posted a Q&A on their website here, which was an interesting read:

Information for Purchasers of New Mattamy Homes in Milton

Q: Mattamy says they are requiring me to pay about $8,000 before closing to cover a new tax / levy / development charge that has been imposed by Halton. Is that true?

  • No. This cost did not come about due to a new tax, development charge, or levy.
  • It did not come about due to an increase in an existing tax, development charge or levy.
  • The amount Mattamy Homes is referring to relates to a financial contribution that Mattamy agreed, in 2007 and 2008, to make to Halton Region in two installments to pay for key infrastructure to support growth.
  • The amount payable under the agreement is the responsibility of the Mattamy Homes, who now appears to be trying to pass these costs on to you.

Q: This came as a surprise to me. Why am I only hearing about this now?

  • Halton Region was not aware that Mattamy Homes did not communicate with you about the amount of the costs before now.
  • The industry and Halton began discussions about this subject in 2007.
  • The amount of the per unit payment that developers were going to have to make as a contribution was estimated and disclosed publicly in November 2008.
  • Mattamy Homes has known these costs would be payable since 2007, and have known the magnitude of how much it would be since October 2008.
  • There were over 22 meetings and a full consultative process.
  • Mattamy Homes participated fully in the process.

Q: Does Mattamy Homes have the right to pass these charges on to me?

  • Mattamy Homes agreed to pay for the costs of new infrastructure under the agreement that they made with Halton.
  • Whether or not they can now pass that cost on to you is a contractual matter between you and Mattamy Homes.
  • Given that the sum arises from a “payment under an agreement”, and not from a tax, levy or a development charge, you might ask your solicitor if this charge can be appropriately passed on to you under the terms of your agreement of purchase and sale and if the amount under the agreement was fully disclosed to you after November 2008 when the amount of the contribution was estimated and disclosed publicly.

Q: Why did Halton seek contributions from Mattamy Homes and other developers?

  • The contributions arise from the long-standing Council approved policy that existing Halton taxpayers should not pay for the costs of growth.
  • Halton’s Financial and Implementation Plan determines the actual costs of infrastructure, like roads, water and waste water services, and assigns those costs to each new unit.
  • This policy is essential to the long term financial sustainability of Halton.

Q: Can you simply drop the charge or lower it or not apply it to us?

  • No, we cannot do that. Halton’s Financial and Implementation Plan for the 2008/2009 Allocation Program is essential to the long term viability of the Region.
  • Without it, Halton would face a significant shortfall and burden present and future taxpayers.
  • The Plan applies to all new units being constructed in Halton, so there is no ability to make exceptions.

Q: But I can’t afford to pay it. What am I supposed to do?

  • The fee is payable by Mattamy Homes.
  • It appears they have tried to pass them on to you.
  • We recommend that you consult with your legal counsel as to your rights relative to your developer.

From the Region’s perspective, they’ve charged Mattamy and it sounds like they feel Mattamy shouldn’t pass this on. As stated above, what did they think Mattamy was going to do? Absorb this cost? At $8000 per home, you don’t need to be a math wiz to figure out that’s a big dollar figure we’re talking about. The Region sure sounds like they’re making Mattamy out to be the bad guy on this one….

Some think Mattamy should at least have let their customers know about this charge sooner — however, they themselves apparently only found out about what the exact charge would be in April 2009 according to the Region.

Apparently on September 30th, the Region of Halton will sit down and review a proposal from the builders which may or may not reduce or eliminate this fee.

Grab the popcorn, this one’s going to get interesting. 

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Posted in GTA, Halton, Hawthorne Village, Milton Development, Milton: The Bad, Politics, Real Estate | 2 Comments »

Tornado in Milton: Photos

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Emergency crews on the scene after a tornado touched down in the Pine St./Oak St. area of Milton near Wakefield Place. Photo courtesy of Andrea Pettigrew of Milton.

Emergency crews on the scene after a tornado touched down in the Pine St./Oak St. area of Milton near Wakefield Place. Photo courtesy of Andrea Pettigrew of Milton.

As we’re all well aware, a tornado touched down briefly in ‘Old’ Milton on the evening of Thursday, August 20th, 2009. It was the first reported tornado in Milton in over 150 years, which explains why it was such a big deal around these parts.

As I watched the violent sheets of rain and the wind bending over my trees and shrubs at the MiltonSearch.com offices, I remember thinking “somewhere there’s gotta be a tornado touching down.”

Little did I know that this was indeed the case, although it was a little closer than I expected.

We covered the incident on our site the day after and were the first local media outlet to post photos of the aftermath. This led to MiltonSearch.com’s most successful day (August 21, 2009) and week of traffic ever as we ranked #1 on Google for users searching for info and photos of the tornado.

We asked for visitors to send us their pictures and to submit their stories of the storm, the damage and of course, the cleanup efforts. Andrea Pettigrew of Oak St., who lives right beside Wakefield Place, was the first to respond.

Many of the photos she sent us that were taken during the storm, we didn’t post in our photo gallery, although they were very “artistic.” However, she also sent us a bunch of pictures of the damage to her house and the surrounding area, and also several of the various cleanup crews.

Andrea’s full gallery of photos can be found here. Below are excerpts of her account of the incident, which again, thankfully didn’t result in any serious injuries.

My name is Andrea and I live on Oak St. in Milton.  The tree that took out part of the roof off the dental office on Wakefield landed on my roof.  I can give you further details if you wish as I was taking photos the whole time.  Right now am rather tired from all the cleanup.  I just moved here on the first of the month and was still in the process of moving and getting settled in.

I wish to thank all of the police, firefighters, town and emergency workers who did such a wonderful job under stressful circumstances and long hours.  They were well prepared and very concerned for our safety.  They were simply amazing and very kind!

It is very reassuring to know that Milton is so well prepared for the unexpected and I am very grateful for these special people who just showed up and worked without complaint.

My regards to all of you!

Sincerely,

Andrea Pettigrew

Amen. Thanks Andrea! Sorry to hear about your roof and the damage to your home (especially after just moving in) and good luck with the cleanup.

If you would like to share your story and/or photos, feel free to drop us a line at: info@miltonsearch.com or register and create an account so you can upload your own gallery of photos to our Milton photo gallery.

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No-frills university urged in GTA

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

From The Toronto Star

Ontario should consider creating a new university in the GTA to handle the explosion of 25,000 extra students over the next 15 years, urges a report.

Ontario should consider creating a new university in the GTA to handle the explosion of 25,000 extra students over the next 15 years, urges a report.

Ontario should consider creating a new university in the GTA – undergraduates only, very little research – to handle the explosion of 25,000 extra students expected in bachelor programs over the next 15 years, urges a report by the province’s advisory body on higher learning.

The study, being released today by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, calls on Queen’s Park to consider launching a new undergraduate university somewhere in Greater Toronto – largely focused on arts and science – as well as an “open” online university, and suggests letting a handful of community colleges offer a wider range of degrees.

The surge of students is being fuelled by the boom of new Canadians in the GTA, plus a growing interest in post-secondary education.

But the 30-page report suggests steering clear of starting any more full-service universities, designing a new breed of “polytechnic” institutions for higher-level technical learning, or letting community colleges offer the first two years of four-year university programs, as is allowed in Western Canada.

“There’s no one solution for handling this crunch in enrolment, but in the United States some institutions strictly focused on undergraduate education have tremendous reputations,” said co-author Glen Jones, professor of higher education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He wrote the report with fellow OISE professor Michael Skolnik.

If the big push is for undergraduate courses, Jones said, you need a campus that’s light on research where professors can spend up to 90 per cent of their time teaching.

Toronto university officials hailed the idea.

“We welcome the proposal for a new undergraduate institution with laser-like focus on the liberal arts,” said David Naylor, president of the University of Toronto.

Naylor has joined the heads of Ryerson and York universities in warning they cannot handle the enrolment boom on their already crowded, largely landlocked campuses.

“Our Scarborough and Mississauga colleges are already chockablock, and in the best of all worlds it would be nice on our downtown campus to give students more space, more grace and a nicer pace,” he said. Ryerson president Sheldon Levy said his university has no room to take more undergraduates despite a 10 per cent jump in applicants this year. “So if we can’t meet the needs of students who want to study in the GTA, we must accept that others can.”

However, John Davies, president of Humber College, said he was disappointed the report suggests only “two or three” colleges be allowed to offer more bachelor’s degree programs to meet the demand that is expected in business, social sciences and humanities. Humber already offers 14 degree programs.

“It strikes me as a very university-centred view of the world, considering colleges provide a type of access to post-secondary programs that frankly is hard for others to offer,” he said.

An open university, the report says, would be more than just a school offering courses online – most universities do that already – but would be a virtual campus open to anyone regardless of academic qualifications. It would also give credit for life experience, take new students throughout the year and be more affordable.

The Alberta government runs a virtual campus – Athabasca University – which drew more than 10,000 undergrads in 2006-7 from Ontario, or more than one-third of its enrolment. Almost all Ontario community colleges let students finish certain degrees through this university, particularly in business, justice studies and science.

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