Hamilton Tiger Cats owner Bob Young is threatening to move the CFL club out of Hamilton. Ward 6 candidate Mike Cluett believes Milton could be a viable alternative.

After months of debate, Hamilton City Councillors finally decided earlier this week on a location for the proposed stadium for the upcoming Toronto Pan Am Games – a stadium that will be funded by all three levels of government. Much to the dismay of current Tiger Cats owner Bob Young, it wasn’t the location he preferred, which has put the club’s long term future in Hamilton in some serious peril.

The City of Hamilton has decided on the West Harbour location, which seems to make sense as the city looks to revitalize the downtrodden core of this once thriving industrial hub. Young, who was prepared to cough up roughly $15 million of his own dough, was pushing for a location on the East Mountain, close to highways and the more affluent outlying, newer areas of the city.

A day before the official decision was made however, Young fired off an angry letter to Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger and City Council pulling out of his involvement with the stadium, stating his regret that the Tiger Cats would be without a home after next season’s lease runs out at 80-year old Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Immediately sports prognosticators everywhere began to wonder just what will become of the historic franchise. Would next door neighbour Burlington build a stadium to house the team? Would Young look to move the club to the growing football hotbed of Quebec City or to the Maritimes in either Moncton or Halifax?

Well, Ward 6 candidate Mike Cluett thinks that Milton could be an option. Yes, Milton.

According to his Twitter account, Cluett met with Milton Mayor Gord Krantz about the possibility yesterday morning, and Krantz has apparently directed the appropriate Town staff to put together a proposal.

From Mike’s blog:

I talked directly with Milton Mayor Gord Krantz early this morning, he will be directing town staff and the economic development department to work on getting a preliminary proposal prepared for review and possibly present to the Pan Am officials and the Tiger Cats franchise.  The Town of Milton is no stranger to the Pan Am committee as just recently they were involved with other municipalities to look at Milton being an option to have locations for the Pan Am games in 2015.

He also explained how the idea of moving the CFL franchise to Milton might not be as far-fetched as you think.

The Town of Milton has the available land to house such a facility available for Pan Am officials and the Tiger Cats to consider. There are many benefits for all parties involved to consider Milton as a viable location for the Pan Am games AND becoming the new home for the Tiger Cats Franchise. The potential location would be on the west side of the 401 Industrial Park in Milton.

By having it there the games and the franchise have easy highway access to Toronto (45 minutes) downtown Kitchener / Waterloo / Cambridge (30 minutes) and residents of Hamilton as well (30 minutes)

Here’s how it can work.

Why Milton as a Pan Am Games partner?

• Willing host
• Proposed site could be easily rezoned for stadium purpose
• Located 20 to 40 minutes from all other Pan Am Games venues
• Located on west side of Greater Toronto Area
• Located 20 minutes from Pearson International Airport
• Proposed stadium site is located on with easy access to Highway 401, North America’s busiest superhighway
• Proposed site alongside Highway 401 would make it highest visibility Pan Am venue in Canada
• Located 20 minutes from Q.E.W. and 10 minutes from Highway 407
• Located in an area with more than six million Ontarians
• Well supported by local hotels, restaurants, general goods merchants and service industry; high-quality municipal services, well-trained workforce
• Easy media access

Why Milton as a Hamilton Tiger-Cats partner?

• Willing host
• Most Milton CFL fans are Hamilton Tiger-Cat supporters
• Proposed site could be easily rezoned for stadium purpose
• Proposed site still reasonably close for many current seasons’ ticket holders to commute to
• Proposed site alongside Highway 401 would make it highest visibility CFL stadium in Canada
• Located 20 minutes from Pearson International Airport
• Located on and easy access to Highway 401, North America’s busiest superhighway
• Located 20 minutes from Q.E.W. and 10 minutes from Highway 407
• Located in an area with more than six million Ontarians
• Well supported by local hotels, restaurants, general goods merchants and service industry; high-quality municipal services, well-trained workforce
• Easy media access

Why west side of 401 Industrial Park?

• Proposed site could be easily rezoned for stadium purpose
• Located 20 minutes from Pearson International Airport
• Located on and easy access to Highway 401, North America’s busiest superhighway
• Located 20 minutes from Q.E.W. and 10 minutes from Highway 407
• Located in an area with more than six million Ontarians
• Well supported by local hotels, restaurants, general goods merchants and service industry; high-quality municipal services, well-trained workforce

So what do you think? If the Tiger Cats were to leave Hamilton, would Milton be a viable option?

From my point of view, it may be worthwhile looking into — although a professional sports franchise situated in a city of 80,000 seems to be a bit of a stretch, even considering Milton’s current and future growth. The team and the Town of Milton would need to look at a few not-so-insignificant issues.

Where would the ‘new’ Tiger Cat fan base would come from and how they would get to Milton? Sure, there is land for a stadium and ample parking (revenues from which Mr. Young would like to pocket) which is a must given Milton’s location in terms of highway access. However, public transit targeted towards fans outside of the current Town is non-existent and the team would badly need to draw from Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton as well as Kitchener-Waterloo to make the franchise viable.

And by drawing fans from places like Oakville and Mississauga, is that starting to chip away at the existing Toronto Argonaut fan base, which is hardly consistent?

What about taxes? Milton residents have become accustomed to one of the lowest Municipal tax rates in the GTA (lower than only the City of Toronto we believe). What if taxes at the Municipal level were increased to fund the construction and ongoing maintenance of a brand new stadium which would essentially sit empty for the majority of the calendar year? It’s hard to think Milton’s relatively small tax base could take on such a burden without adjusting property taxes substantially upward, which is why I’m not sure operating a pro sports franchise in a small city is a wise thing. There is a reason only cities in the hundreds of thousands in population at minimum are considered as viable destinations for professional sports, other than simply stadium attendance.

Again, these are important things to consider and I assume no stone would be left unturned by the league, Bob Young and our faithful Town Councillors. However, that is the problem: this is the Town of Milton and the Canadian Football League we’re talking about here, which strangely makes me a little less confident in all of this.

One thing I want to make clear: I absolutely do not want to rain on Mr. Cluett’s parade — his enthusiasm for the Town of Milton, the Ti-Cats, the CFL and his efforts so far into investigating the possibilities here should be commended and applauded. I know Mike personally and he has no shortage of common sense. However, I think we all know how this one will play out.

This is pro sports — you know the formula: Rich owner needs a new stadium which will generate the increased revenues needed to make his franchise viable in the marketplace; rich owner solicits all levels of government to pay for said stadium and based on the outcome, decides how much (or how little) he/she will need to invest; if any hiccups are experienced, rich owner holds the current city/market hostage, threatens to move the franchise to a new, more viable city/market; said ultimatum tugs at the heart strings of residents/politicians; the city/market caves to appease rich owner and voila, everyone ends up happy as the [insert storied franchise here] stays in town to play in their brand new publically-funded stadium and rich owner lives happily ever after.

Essentially what worries me is that Milton residents will get all excited about the possibility of actually having their very own CFL franchise and spend a lot of time and money in figuring out how to make it work, only to realize down the road that acquiring the Tiger Cats was never realistic and that Milton was nothing more than a bargaining chip for the league and Mr. Young.

In the meantime, we will watch with much interest to see what the Town will come up with and where the City of Hamilton goes from here — could they possibly bow down to Mr. Young and reverse their decision and opt to build the new stadium out on the East Mountain after all?

My message to Mr. Young would be this: If you pay for the stadium, guess what? You get to decide where to build it. Stop holding Hamilton, Milton (and whomever else wants to get involved) hostage.

Stay tuned. And pass the popcorn.

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On the Campaign Trail is a regular feature on MiltonSearch.com’s Milton Blog, focused on connecting Milton residents to the candidates for Town Council and their platforms. The Municipal election is October 25th, 2010.

Fake Lake Parody
The buzz this past week was all about Jennifer Smith’s ‘Fake Lake’ parody. The multi-talented candidate for Ward 2 wrote a song poking fun at the mounting cost of the upcoming G20 Summit in Toronto to the tune of “If I Had a Million Dollars” by the Barenaked Ladies. A friend assisted with vocals and her son played guitar and the song was featured on the front page of the Toronto Star website.

It was nice to see Jennifer receive a fair bit of publicity for her efforts. She was also interviewed by several TV stations who aired the interviews and her video on the evening news. Granted, attacking the Harper government over G8/G20 Summit spending is low-hanging fruit so to speak, but nonetheless, well-played Jennifer.

Are your kids street-proofed?
In Ward 6, candidate Mike Cluett is out door-knocking (he recently stopped by the offices of MiltonSearch.com whilst making the rounds) and posting regularly on his blog as usual.

As a member of the Milton Community Policing Committee, Mike informs us of their efforts in connecting with principals of local schools in an attempt to raise awareness among students and their families.

Where is Milton’s traffic calming policy?
When Ward 2 candidate Jennifer Smith isn’t producing music videos, she’s also writing. Last week she questioned Milton’s traffic calming policy — specifically the lack thereof. Other mid-size Ontario communities like Caledon have this type of policy in place and she feels a similar one in Milton would give Town staff some options for traffic calming other than more stop signs.

Pedestrian crosswalk needed on Thompson at Metro Plaza
Ward 6 candidate Mike Cluett has already discussed the need for a traffic light or crosswalk around the Metro Plaza (Thompson/Louis St. Laurent) ad nauseum and now Ward 7 candidate Rick DiLorenzo is also championing this cause.

The issue here is that families living close to the Metro Plaza, or the park on the west side of Thompson with soccer fields, a playground and a splash pad are reluctant to walk to either destination if they have to cross Thompson Road. Cars soar along that stretch of Thompson, usually over 80 km/hour, traveling northbound from the rural countryside or speeding up as they leave town traveling south, making the intersection extremely dangerous for pedestrians.

Milton Transit Open House
Rick DiLorenzo also attended Milton Transit’s Open House this past Sunday and has posted several video clips of the event.

An example of an 'urban village' proposed by Ward 8 candidate, Zeeshan Hamid.

The Urban Village
Zeeshan Hamid, candidate for Milton Ward 8 recently posted his vision for Milton from an urban design standpoint: the urban village. Zeeshan is concerned about Milton’s urban sprawl and its lack of sustainability. The urban village concept instead focuses on bringing back traditional neighbourhoods where there is a mix of employment and residential activities enabling people to work closer to where they live (imagine that!). Such a plan is also contingent on a more aggressive effort to bring more jobs to town.

MiltonSearch.com wholeheartedly agrees with Mr. Hamid on most of his urban planning ideas — Milton needs to start working towards becoming an enviable ‘urban village’ or an ‘escarpment community’ as he phrased it earlier. Nice job, Zeeshan.

See where Milton spends your money
In the ‘better him than us’ category, Andrew Salmons, candidate in Ward 1, must have spent quite a bit of time compiling an amazing, interactive, year-over-year comparison of how and where the Town of Milton spends your tax dollars. Andrew states that the Town should publish expenses online in a similar, accessible manor in the name of transparent, efficient and open government.

Yup, that sounds about right to us.

All of the candidates featured in this edition of ‘On the Campaign Trail’ should be commended for the effort they have put into their websites, blogs and to communicate with not only voters but residents throughout Milton. We encourage you to bookmark their sites and those of the other candidates and current councillors in an attempt to stay informed ahead of this Fall’s municipal election.

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The intersection of Derry and Trudeau in Hawthorne Village, Milton. Beautification? Check.

Recently, local blogger and candidate for Milton Town Council in Ward 8, Zeeshan Hamid has strung together a series of posts discussing the ‘beautification’ or lack thereof, in Milton.

Hamid makes the case that Milton should position itself as an ‘Escarpment Community’ and that it’s future development and infill projects should take this into consideration. He’s essentially saying that Milton, from an urban planning and design standpoint, needs to separate itself from the rest of the urban sprawl west of Toronto.

Yes, this means you, Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville (north of the QEW, at least).

He’s correct. Oakville has Lake Ontario and by extension it’s signature Lakeshore Boulevard strip with its quaint shopping, restaurants, parks, etc. Mississauga has the lake as well and in addition, has more of a ‘big city’ downtown in the vicinity of Square One. Not all that great to some, but the city has become a major Canadian business centre because of it. Brampton has, well, um, not much. Sorry.

Moving west, the intersection of Derry and Holly has hanging pots of flowers.

Milton? Well, we’ve got a lot going for us.

We’re a small but growing town nestled in at the foot of the scenic Niagara Escarpment. The town’s amenities have increased ten-fold in the past decade and yet the downtown core — albeit not to be confused with Lakeshore Boulevard in Oakville — is quaint, somewhat scenic and is home to events such as this weekend’s Downtown Street Festival and the weekly Farmer’s Market. Milton is also a hop, step and a jump away from any number of conservation areas and farms with recreational opportunities abound, unlike Mississauga and Oakville.

Milton truly is a place where city meets country — and that’s a unique and strong selling point, especially in the GTA. With controlled growth and a little extra attention to detail, Milton was in a position years ago to truly become the jewel of the GTA. Seriously.

And how are we doing?

So far, not great.

Okay, Milton’s expansion hasn’t gone horribly mind you (we’ll talk traffic at another time), but things could have been better.

In Milton's newest development, Hawthorne Village on the Escarpment, things are looking a little bland.

Zeeshan is right — situated against Ontario’s most prominent geographical feature, the Niagara Escarpment, Milton should absolutely be positioning itself as a special place to be — an ‘Escarpment Community’ as he has coined it. A community where, from a design point of view at least, a little bit of that rural touch is brought in to soften the hard visuals of wider roads and new subdivisions.

The new housing developments themselves aren’t too bad. Hawthorne Village in the town’s southeast corner, is a decent-looking community with a nice mix of different sized houses and some nice designs. Well-done Mattamy. If you drive around in the older areas of Hawthorne Village where the trees have had 7+ years to grow, the streets actually have quite a nice character to them.

HV’s signature intersection of Derry and Trudeau was also well-executed from an ‘Escarpment Community’ standpoint as Zeeshan pointed out, with a good-looking median lined with trees and flowers. Is it a coincidence that Mattamy has their main Milton office situated on this corner? Probably not.

At any rate, most of Hawthorne Village, from a housing standpoint, was decently thought out. As you head west however, it’s a different story, and again, the Z-man nailed it with his recent assessment that the urban design is indeed regressing as you head toward the escarpment.

The Derry/Holly intersection has a concrete median with hanging flower pots. Trees and planted flowers would have been better, yes, but there was at least some attempt at beautification. However, moving into Milton’s newest area of development, Hawthorne Village on the Escarpment, it leaves us not only wanting more, but also disappointed.

I remember when Mattamy and other new home builders announced their plans to develop the land to the west of the existing town — I assumed these new developments would be pricey and exclusive and of the highest standard of both design and quality, given their proximity to the escarpment.

I was wrong.

The Hawthorne Village on the Escarpment area south of Derry and west of the CN Rail tracks is simply sub-par given it’s proximity to and sightlines of the escarpment and even in comparison to Mattamy’s earlier work in the east of town.

I don’t mean to dump on Mattamy or HVE residents here — I don’t know design-wise how much of this is in the hands of the builders or whether it’s the town needing to simply demand more from land developers. At any rate, there are a ton of large, exclusive homes in this area, but they are simply ridiculously sandwiched together on narrow, congested streets — even by today’s development standards — that the overall ‘look’ is simply not up to snuff.

And comparing the major intersections — Scott and Derry for example, leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to Holly/Derry and Trudeau/Derry. Overall, the development looks rushed and not well thought out — very ‘anti-Escarpment Community’ — not good considering it’s unfortunately ironic placement.

You also need to look at the new shopping plazas in town. Not a pleasant sight for the most part. Very wide open, lots of concrete and again, you get the feeling there was zero thought put into the design here. The Metro Plaza at Thompson and Louis St. Laurent has ‘urban sprawl’ written all over it. The Superstore plaza beside the GO Station? Well, that’s simply too much of a disaster to go into at this point, as is the whole intersection of Thompson and Main Streets — let’s save that one for another day.

So what types of things does Milton need to consider — from an urban design point of view — moving forward?

I believe Milton needs to position itself right now as the ‘Escarpment Community’ where urban and rural living collide.

In future new development and infill projects, some care absolutely needs to be taken to try to beautify the town where possible and begin to try to set it apart from neighbouring cities.

Newly built major roads and intersections, especially those leading in and out of town absolutely should have medians that allow for trees, plants and flowers. Let’s not forget about pine trees or cedars as well which maintain their look throughout our long winters.

Speaking of major roads, let’s do our best to keep homes from facing onto major arteries like Derry Road, and where homes do face onto major roads, let’s allow for trees as a buffer. Forget about fences — an ‘Escarpment Community’ needs to incorporate nature and natural elements as much as possible.

And speaking of ‘buffer zones’, let’s work on our shopping plazas and business centers. If parking lots need to face out to roads, can trees be planted to hide the sea of concrete from view? What about trying to get some storefronts facing out towards the road instead of toward the inner parking lot? Wouldn’t it look so much better to drive along roads like Derry or Bronte and see storefronts, trees, sidewalks and benches instead of bland back entrances, garbage bins or parking lots? Can we not try to avoid unmitigated disasters like the townhomes on Kennedy Circle that have the arse-end of the Metro Plaza stores staring back at them in their living rooms? Of course we can.

Infill is critical as well. Here’s hoping this type of care and consideration is also taken when the design and planning of future projects in ‘Old Milton’ takes place in areas such as Main Street east of downtown. I think we can all agree that most of that area of Main St. — lined with industrial plazas — is hardly befitting of an ‘Escarpment Community.’ Ditto for most of Ontario St. and Steeles Ave. — both major arteries for visitors or passersby through Milton. If your impression of our town was based on the beautification or lack thereof along these routes, you probably wouldn’t be too anxious to move to Milton.

Granted, these areas aren’t likely to be transformed easily if at all, but any infill projects planned here in the future should take this into consideration. Even much of the industrial area along Steeles could be softened if trees could be added to the sides of the road.

Honestly, I think the formula is pretty simple. Urban sprawl such as what Milton has experienced over the past decade, seems to be synonymous with open, bland spaces and lots of concrete. If nothing else, the thought process from now on should be: when in doubt — trees, trees and more trees. Oh, and plants and flowers too.

You get the point. Milton has a lot to be proud of — it’s geographical location included. I think it’s time that the town seriously considers trying to capture a sense of that as it continues to grow. This isn’t about property values, it’s about pride. It’s about making Milton a special place to be. Milton should (and still could) be the jewel of the GTA.

The disturbing thing for me, is the fact that the town was essentially a blank canvas a decade ago. As Zeeshan has pointed out, no one bothered to look at the mistakes made by other Municipalities like Mississauga, Oakville or Brampton in their years of aggressive development — or even the successes for that matter (speaking specifically of Mississauga’s policy of infrastructure before population growth). And now, here we sit feeling the brunt of some of the decisions made years ago with little thought given to any sort of vision for Milton’s future.

Who’s to blame? I’m sure you could come up with a laundry list of people, politicians and organizations, but at this point I think it’s best to look to the future.

Milton’s rapid expansion has still only barely begun and there is still plenty of time to right some of the previous wrongs with regard to urban planning and design — as well as continue to improve older areas via sensible infill strategies.

I’ve been saying it for years: this is a pivotal time in the history of this town. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinions, concerns and support for the candidates you think can help achieve the vision you have for Milton.

That’s right, this is yet another call for voter turnout in this Fall’s Municipal election. It’s time for us to get actively involved in shaping Milton.

Should Milton be satisfied with simply becoming another generic GTA suburb, or do we take steps to make our town a special, desirable place that is unique and stands out?

I knew you’d agree with me. The time is now.

—

Milton Urban Planning Fails is a regular feature on MiltonSearch.com.

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MiltonSearch.com would like to extend thanks to one of our readers for alerting us to this minor Milton news story — but an interesting one nonetheless.

Between 6 – 6:15am yesterday morning (May 27), one of our readers noticed a car stopped with its hazard lights on in the northbound left lane on Thompson Rd. at Nipissing just south of the overpass on the way to the Milton GO Station.

Upon driving by in the right lane, our reader noticed a deer of all things, lying on the road directly in front of the stopped car. We have to assume that the deer was in fact unfortunately hit by this motorist or another.

This of course happens all the time on rural roads and highways, but it is a little surprising to hear that deer would be trying to cross a wide, busy stretch of road in this developed area of town.

Or is it?

We’re all accustomed to rabbits, mice, voles, raccoons and the like creeping around our streets as they’re pushed out of their habitat by Milton’s aggressive development into Halton’s rural areas. There are also deer in these parts and apparently they’re living closer than we think.

The lesson in all of this: Milton’s expansion isn’t slowing down, but as drivers we can. Take a little extra care on Milton’s major routes early in the morning and late at night. Granted, deer are quick and unpredictable, making them almost unavoidable when driving — but be alert nonetheless.

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As of this past week, there is now another candidate for Milton Ward 7 — local resident Paul Virdo.

Here is the announcement from Paul’s website:

Local businessperson Paul Virdo has now declared his candidacy for Ward 7 Town Councillor in the upcoming 2010 municipal election.

“Residents deserve real local representation and, as a Ward 7 resident, I am delighted to place myself forward to serve my community,” said Virdo, a 32 year-old insurance advisor with over 7 years experience in the broader public sector. “Ward 7 will benefit from an experienced voice that lives and breathes in the community they serve,” added Virdo, who hopes to bring his knowledge of public sector issues to Milton Town Hall.

“As a fast-growing town, Milton can learn from the challenges other built-up communities have had when it comes to planning and infrastructure,” said Virdo. “By having an honest continuous conversation with residents, we can ensure that our town grows in line with our community’s needs.”

Paul Virdo will be conducting a listening tour and is encouraging his neighbours to participate in developing a Ward 7 community platform. “I am committed to ensure my neighbours are engaged in discussing the issues that will define our community in the years to come,” added Virdo, who believes in the core principle of keeping taxes low by having growth pay for itself, by attracting business investment to increase the employer tax base and bring jobs to Milton, and by ensuring senior levels of government contribute a fair share of service and infrastructure funding.

“I look forward to a healthy and positive debate with the other candidates about the issues that matter most to our community.”

MiltonSearch.com congratulates Paul on his decision to run for council and would like to wish him all the best on his campaign. As we’ve said before, it’s going to be an intriguing 7 months and it’s great to see so many people passionate about the future of our growing town and looking to get involved in helping to shape it.

For more information, visit Paul Virdo’s official website.

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The atrium of the recently opened addition to Milton Town Hall. The expansion gets an A+ in Christopher Hume's opinion. (Photo Courtsey of Ventin Associates)

In today’s Toronto Star, Urban Issues and Architecture writer Christopher Hume wrote a piece on Milton’s new Town Hall expansion.

And get this: shockingly, there was nary a mention of the famous (or now infamous) million dollar glass wall.

It was a glowing review of the new expansion, actually.  Hume focuses on the positive, quoting architect Carlos Ventin on the materials used and inspiration of the design.

Yes, the glass wall has had it’s share of criticisms — most of them quite valid, but you have to admit the expansion overall is stunning. The best part is that it doesn’t look out of place in the surrounding neighbourhood with it’s old ‘castle-like’ exterior meshing with the modern, Escarpment-inspired extension. It’s full of character — Hume points out the fact that it’s made up of a series of smaller spaces avoiding that ‘cavernous’ feel — unlike many of the boring and bland civic buildings you see in other communities.

I’m sure the design will stand the test of time. It’s good to see Milton get some cultural kudos on this one — not only for those involved in the project, but also for the rest of us living in Canada’s fastest-growing town, often criticized for it’s out-of-control urban sprawl.

Here is Mr. Hume’s article:

1800s castle-like jail and courthouse transformed into hub of suburban community

If it’s true a community reveals itself in its city hall, Milton must be one of the most enlightened corners of the GTA.

Given that this town of 80,000, like so many others across southern Ontario, has been buried alive in sprawl, the facts of its civic precinct are all the more remarkable. Combining old and new, heritage and modernity, Milton Town Hall presents an ideal architectural image of the successful small city. It is a complex that imparts a clear sense of its origins, acknowledges the past and anticipates the future, no mean feat at a time when drive-through culture has all but obliterated any attachment people feel to place. In the endless homogeneity of suburbia, this stands out.

The story goes back to the early 1980s when Milton bought a mid-19th-century courthouse from Halton Region for $1. The building was abandoned and falling apart, but eminently worth saving. With its battlements and thick limestone walls, it resembled a castle more than anything. Considering its role as a seat of justice, that obviously seemed the right way to go. Today, courthouses are little more than judicial warehouses with waiting rooms attached, but in the 1850s, the local courthouse was a potent symbol that the Canadian promise of “peace, order and good government” had been delivered.

Milton would eventually hire restoration architect Carlos Ventin to renovate and adapt the building to its new use. His intervention was sympathetic and respectful, yet sensible, practical and appropriate. Council meets in converted second-floor courtroom, and office space was carved out of the rest of the building.

“The building was a mess,” Ventin explains. “I didn’t think Milton Council would have the fortitude to go ahead with this project. Everyone running against the restoration of this building was defeated in the election that year. From then on, it was pretty easy. I had full backing of council. The building was in such terrible shape, we had to do it in two stages. First, we had to stabilize the building and prepare it for restoration.

“I always try to incorporate exterior of building with interior. For example, I created an atrium that joined the new and the old. It’s a conversation between old and new. The building wants to be the heart of the community. Milton needed something flexible. From the day I started I asked myself how would I like to spend eight hours a day in this building. The biggest compliment is when people tell me they love to work in the building. I always tell my client you can’t recreate yesterday’s stage for today’s play.”

Ventin even managed to incorporate the jail and the prison yard that were added to the courthouse in the 1870s. Indeed, the latter serves as an exquisite walled garden whose environs are well protected from the world beyond.

But in the decades since the original building was refurbished, Milton’s population has nearly tripled and the restored town hall was no longer big enough. The town decided to expand to the south, on the site of what had been a parking lot.

In an unusual move, the design for the addition was also given to Ventin’s firm. Though his practice isn’t known for doing new architecture, it handled the job with amazing grace. The structure begins where the old one left off, literally and aesthetically. In other words, the addition continues the material palette of the courthouse but brings it into the 21st century. Though the language is thoroughly modern, the new wing feels right at home next to its aged neighbour. The big difference between the two may be the amount of glass, which means a degree of light and transparency not expected from either a courthouse or prison.

“The three natural elements we wanted to incorporate,” says Ventin’s colleague, architect Paul Sapounzi, “were the Niagara Escarpment, Sixteen Mile Creek and the woods.”

The first comes in the form of the limestone, quarried from the escarpment. The creek is represented by a water feature that runs through the site and into the building. The woods can be seen in the finishes.

As the public face of the civic complex, the expansion is where residents conduct their business and where city staff of 200 has its offices. Arranged around a large light-filled atrium, the interior space flows easily and effortlessly.

The smartest move, perhaps, was to design the addition as a series of smaller elements, rather than one enormous structure. Keep in mind that the town hall is located in a residential neighbourhood, historic and low-rise. Sitting across the road from Victoria Park, the building takes on the appearance of a pavilion, light, airy and decorative,

The town hall is an important reminder that the future of Ontario’s small towns does not require the destruction of the past. Indeed, history gives so many of these communities their appeal as well as their identity. When everything looks and feels the same, it makes no difference where you are. But as Milton reminds us, not all towns are born equal. And not all die equal.

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Milton commuters: would you be more inclined to pay road tolls if the funds went toward improvements to GO Transit rather than the TTC?

Jim Tovey’s article today in the Toronto Star’s Your City My City section had an interesting take on the concept of toll roads in Toronto.

I’ve always had a hunch that highways such as the Gardiner Expressway and 401 would ultimately end up as toll roads — at least for those in Toronto’s suburbs, better known as “the 905.” With so much traffic on Toronto’s highways coming from commuters not contributing taxes towards Canada’s largest city, it makes sense for the City of Toronto to want to try to claim a proverbial ‘pound of flesh’ from those who reside outside the fair city but are more than happy to make a living there.

We all know how supposedly underfunded the TTC is, and it’s always been assumed the funds from such tolls would go straight to the City of Toronto’s own transit system. I’m sure they do need the funding, but what do you think the odds are of the TTC expanding into the 905 anytime soon?

The answer: don’t hold your breath.

Mr. Tovey makes the case that it would be much easier for Toronto’s suburbanite commuters to accept road tolls if the proceeds went to Metrolinx, in an effort to make improvements (and maybe reduce costs, right Mr. Salmons?) to GO Transit — the other option for traveling into the city for 905 commuters.

What do you think? If the 401 and Gardiner were toll roads, would you continue driving into Toronto on those roads, would you start taking GO Transit if you aren’t already (assuming that’s a viable option) and does it matter into which coffers the toll road profits end up?

Here is Mr. Tovey’s post:

Would those of us in the 905 ante up $5 for the privilege of sitting on the Gardiner Expressway two hours a day? Particularly if the five bucks was going to expand the Toronto subway system? The short answer, if the poll was strictly 905, is absolutely not!

If the question was slightly different the answer may be the reverse.

I avoid driving into Toronto. The last time I was forced into daily trips for work was five winters ago while restoring a house in Rosedale. Toronto is not particularly truck friendly, parking is restricted and the Green Hornets seem to stake out residential construction sites.

The trip, from home in south east Mississauga was 1 to 1 ½ hours each way, gas was about $120 a week, parking tickets $25 to $50 weekly. Any fiscally responsible contractor has to build this cost into the contract, so in this situation the extra $10 daily would be born by a Toronto resident.

Therefore, if the funding from tolls goes to the Toronto Transit Commission, that’s fine. Personally, I chose to work closer to home. Most people who make this daily pilgrimage do not have the luxury of a choice.

As chair of the Legacy Foundation, I often go to Toronto for meetings and I always take the GO train.

Herein lies the problem for a 905er with the funding going to subway expansions.

The Long Branch GO station is a mile and a half from my house at Cawthra and Lakeshore. The GO parking lot is continually full and street parking is impossible, which leaves Mississauga Transit the only option.

Here is how the trip plays out. I dutifully wait for Mississauga Transit, until I get bored, which takes five minutes, and then I walk east towards Long Branch. The Mississauga Transit bus usually passes me when I am within 200 metres of the GO station. Clearly an improved subway system in Toronto is not going to alleviate the challenge of getting people in the 905 out of cars and into transit. Toll fees directed to that end will not engender buy-in from anyone outside of Toronto.

From a 905 perspective, if the funding were going to Metrolinx to harmonize public transportation on a regional basis, I believe there would be wide support for tolls.

Transit in the GTA has traditionally taken a fortress mentality, there have been pitched battles in the past over the use of bus stops, and municipal schedules rarely connect. The problem is not so much public transit in Toronto; the problem for us is getting to it. Metrolinx was established to solve this dilemma and they have an expansive plan, “The Big Move”, to resolve this disparity.

Use the toll money for regionally improved, frequent service and I might occasionally take the car downtown just so I can contribute my $5.

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Wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh, shown at the school on Yates Dr. that will bear his name, is a philanthropist who was named to Milton’s Hall of Fame.

Well, Halton District School Board Trustees voted yesterday to name Milton’s newest elementary school after a former WWE wrestler.

That wrestler just happens to be one of Milton’s most famous citizens and recent addition to Milton’s Walk of Fame, long-time resident Tiger Jeet Singh.

The new school is located at 640 Yates Dr. in the Coates Crossing neighbourhood and it’s official name will be “Tiger Jeet Singh Elementary School.”

I have to admit that I was a little surprised to hear that was the name the Trustees decided upon. I know about Tiger Jeet Singh and am somewhat versed as to his charitable contributions to the community over the years, but I thought it was a little strange to have an elementary school named after a former WWE wrestler, especially because the official name of the school is his ’stage’ or ‘character’ name.

This announcement touched off a firestorm of a debate over on the ever-lively Hawthorne Villager discussion forums with user ‘thepowells’ starting a thread called ‘Milton #4 school gets a name – and we need to change it now!‘ as well as a Facebook group dedicated to having the named changed to Coates Crossing Public School or one of the other two options: Robert McCaw (Retired Halton Principal and renowned photographer) Public School or John Deacon (former teacher, Halton school inspector (1885-1912). Elected twice as Mayor of Milton) Public School.

Anyways, my initial instinct was to dismiss the name as inappropriate, however, now that I’ve had a chance to digest this a little bit, and read some of the comments from both sides of the argument, I’m completely fine with it. It honours a famous, high-profile Miltonian, someone who is a visible minority and a generous person who still lives in the community. And you know what? It’s a unique and memorable name for a school.

I’ll post a couple of polls shortly to try and gauge what you think of this decision. It seems as though the majority are alright with the decision to name it after Tiger Jeet Singh, however others raised good points such as possibly using his real name instead of a wrestling name as well as the thought that honouring the former wrestler may have been more suitable for a sports facility or secondary school.

A few interesting quotes:

thepowells:

I have nothing against professional wrestlers, but it’s hardly appropriate, in my opinion.

my2boyz:

With respect to the merits of Mr. Singh and with no disrespect to the Hans family, I still think it is a poor choice for an elementery school. Many parents, myself included do not even allow their children to watch pro wrestling until a certain age. My son just stated watching it this year (grade 4) because I felt he could now understand the theatrics behind it and see it as entertainment and understand that alot of it is staged. I still think the board could have kept this name under consideration when naming the new high school.

BackToMilton:

OMG! They’ve finally cracked. The HDSB has named a school after a Professional WRESTLER? That is a total joke. I’ve heard that he lives in a big house in Milton, around Peru Rd., but as far as I know that’s it. If anyone has any info that shows that he deserves to have a school named after him please post. If there isn’t any, then I nominate “Stone Cold” Steve Autsin as a school name….And that’s the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so!!!

From Halton District School Board Trustee, Donna Danielli:

The name was chosen by trustees last night for a number of reasons: Tiger Jeet Singh was named and has served as “MIlton’s Goodwill Ambassador” by the Mayor’s office since the 1980s. He was recently honoured as one of the inaugural members of Milton’s Walk of Fame.

In his delegation to us, John Challinor summed it up, saying that “On a community level, he is a role model for humanity around the world, a humble man from humble beginnings who worked hard, achieved success and now advocates to thousands of parents and their children about drug and alcohol awareness, the importance of staying in school and the need to be physically fit.”

In his letter of support Mayor Krantz stated “Mr Singh, along with his son, are very postive goodwill youth ambassadors and models for our youth community.” The list of his philanthropic and humanitarian works is an incredibly long one.

From my own perspective, I supported this name for other reasons as well. Milton is a rapidly growing and diverse population. We are no longer the small rural community we once were. Visible minorities in our town have risen over 780% in the past few years.

All the data shows that students are more engaged in their learning when they see themselves reflected in the culture and community of their school. This means seeing people similiar to themselves within the school community, textbooks, events and more. Students who are engaged achieve better learning.

Mr Singh has committeed to involvement within the school, to mentor students and to promote that message of education and anti drug/gang use.

I believe that he will make a difference to the lives of the children within this school and community. And really, that’s what’s at the heart of any decision I make at that board table – the student.

I understand and respect that this may not have been the decision that everyone would have made. I hope this explanation helps you understand a little more.

I thought Mike Cluett summed things up nicely:

I have absolutley no problem with the name chosen for the school. All of the contenders, so to speak, were highly qualified to have their name adorne the school walls.

Both Tiger Jeet and Tiger Ali Singh were named as inaugural members of Milton’s Walk of Fame…an honour highly deserved.

The Tigers (Hans family) have grown up in Milton over the course of many many years. They were residents of this town long before many of us were called Miltonians. During this time, they have given back to our community. One of the Hans’ sons is a member of the Halton police force, serving and protecting our community. Many stories in the past of what they had to endure from “rabid wrestling fans” and others alike who made life for that family almost unbearable. Too many stories that this family is too proud to talk about. Lets just say life wasnt made easy for them. Yet they stuck it out.

Tiger Jeet Singh is a world renowned wrestler and a classy gentleman who doesnt hesitate to offer his help whenever its needed (Troys Diner and other charities) I remember during the Canada Day Celebrations of Milton’s 150th anniversary talking with him and listening to his acceptance speech was moving. More moving still was his son’s speech (Tiger Ali) and the pride that both of them felt for their home town. They felt the honour they received by being inducted to the Milton Walk of Fame was the highlites of their lives…and given the careers both individuals had, thats saying something.

I had the privilage of being the soccer coach of their grandson and despite hectic schedules and travelling all over the world where they are still in demand, he made it to most of his grandsons soccer games.

Through all of this they call Milton their home and they burst with pride when they do so.

There are a number (way to many too count) of Miltonians who have lived here and currently live here that deserve the honour of having a school named after them and Tiger Jeet Singh IS one of those people.

What do you think? Feel free to submit your comments below.

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