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‘Do we have to wait for someone to die?’ Clearview traffic study aims to tackle ‘significant’ speeding issues

Oct 7, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Clearview Township has embarked on a traffic study in hopes of tackling a major issue across the municipality.

Speeding.

Petra Currie lives on 36/37 Side Road East off County Road 124. The speed limit on the first portion of the road is 50 km/h before it turns into an 80-km/h zone. 

She said the higher limit may have been appropriate decades ago, but, with more homes, she believes 50 km/h is appropriate.

“Even at 80, people are doing at least 100,” she said. “Sometimes I couldn’t tell you the colour of the car that just blew past.”

She said a group of neighbours petitioned the township to get the limit reduced.

“I have children and they are not safe to walk the dog or ride their bikes,” she said. “Do we have to wait for someone to die before it’s addressed?”

Henry Centen of Burnside and Associates made a presentation to council Nov. 9 outlining the scope of the study. It will look at 44 locations around Clearview, and will include data collected in June.

“(The) data that’s been collected would indicate you have a significant volume of speeders,” he said.

Heather McEachern lives on Sunnidale Concession 9, near Stayner, and said the road near her house turns into a “racetrack” on weekends.

“Definitely concerning for young children playing,” she said, adding a few of her chickens have been hit. “Quite a few times, I have witnessed dangerous driving racing past farm equipment.”

Mayor Doug Measures said council has heard the concerns from residents.

“I’m very hopeful we will have some changes to mitigate some of the excessive speeding around our community,” he said. 

The study plans to review and recommend posted speeds, and identify and recommend preferred traffic-calming methods.

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‘We believe we’re in good shape’: Has COVID-19 affected Barrie’s more than $300M debt?

Sep 29, 2021 , , , , by shlf

COVID-19 hasn’t added to the City of Barrie’s debt.

But the amount the municipality owes to lenders for major infrastructure projects will continue to hover above the $300-million mark for the foreseeable future, Barrie finance director Craig Millar said.

“We haven’t stopped anything on capital (projects) because of COVID-19,” he told Simcoe.com recently. “We’re still on plan to do what we forecasted. The COVID impact is really being viewed as an operational hit for this year and into next year. But long-term, we’re not seeing it impacting the debt levels we are currently carrying. If a year from now the situation turns for the worse, we’ll look at and potentially modify the capital plan. We believe we’re in good shape.”

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The municipality projects a $2.3-million deficit this year due to revenue drop-off and other effects of the virus, though that number does not take into account nearly $9.2 million in funding received through the federal and provincial Safe Restart emergency program.

Barrie had $326 million in debt in late 2019. That number should dip to about $317 million by the end of 2020, before rising to $329 million — mostly due to money borrowed for Harvie Road bridge construction — next year.

That balance is costly. The city will pay $32.6 million toward debt servicing this year, with nearly $18.9 million coming from development-charge revenue. In total, only 62 per cent of the city’s annual debt payment goes toward the principal balance; the remainder covers interest.

Millar said 74 per cent of the debt is attributed to three projects — the city’s water treatment ($130 million) and wastewater pollution control ($55 million) plants and the Barrie-Simcoe Emergency Services Campus ($50 million).

“There are more needs on the capital side than we have money to fund,” he said. “We prudently manage debt so we don’t get ourselves into financial trouble.”

Mike Slinger, who once ran the Barrie Taxpayers Association, says the city’s debt means other key infrastructure projects — like road reconstruction or the building of new recreation centres — risk delay.

“In my 16 years in Barrie, community property owner associations have neglected to unify as ‘one voice’ to challenge past and present councils,” he said. “We property tax payers only have ourselves to blame for not monitoring and challenging councils that have created the unreasonable debt that is bogging down the city today.”

But Standard & Poor’s recently maintained the city’s ‘AA’ credit rating and noted the financial outlook for the municipality is “stable” over the next two years.

Standard credits the city’s cost-containment efforts, a diverse and healthy economy, growing workforce and strong operating balance for the rating.

“Although COVID-19 will be a temporary shock to Barrie, the city will proceed with its healthy growth rates and plans to diversify its economy once the effects of the pandemic subside,” Standard credit analyst Hamzah Saeed said.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Simcoe.com wanted to see whether a loss in revenue for the city due to COVID-19 would affect its debt.

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‘I was stunned to find out how expensive you are’: Planning consultant lays out options for Collingwood official plan

Aug 30, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Collingwood’s next official plan should focus residential and commercial development to its existing retail corridors.

That includes, notably, Collingwood’s historic downtown, which should receive further protections and recognition of its importance to the community, recommends the town’s planning consultant, Ron Palmer of The Planning Partnership.

Palmer presented councillors with recommendations to consider as part of the town’s updated official plan, including that it reflect a planning horizon into the mid-2040s so that it is consistent with provincial and county planning policies.

The next steps in the official plan will be a series of public workshops in the next week, followed by a presentation of the draft plan to council in early 2021.

Palmer said the official plan should focus around a series of values for Collingwood, including walkability, inclusivity, healthy lifestyles, sustainability, and quality urban design.

It should also focus intensification efforts to community centres and corridors to reduce the need to intensify in existing neighbourhoods.

The approach to protecting the downtown in the past — such as restricting certain commercial uses, including banks, to the core — has worked, he said, but he also wanted to see broader permissions for commercial uses throughout the community.

That includes allowing for residential within the commercial corridors, “and talk about new development in the terms of compatible development.”

There are also recommendations on how to encourage — and measure the success of — sustainable development such as ‘green’ building technologies, with the potential of the town offering some kind of incentives.

One of the key elements of the plan will be to find ways to ensure Collingwood is affordable for a broad demographic. Palmer said the issue of housing was one he heard the most about during the public input process.

“I was stunned to find out how expensive you are relative to other municipalities in southern Ontario,” Palmer said, referring to his research into local real estate prices. “You have a significant dependence on low-intensity, single-attached and very expensive housing.”

Palmer told councillors that tools could be put in the official plan compelling developers to build a range and mix of housing as part of their projects — including affordable housing. However, he added, that still relied on the province to approve the mechanics of how that’s implemented, and whether Collingwood would be permitted to use that tool.

Other elements the council can consider in the official plan would be to “up the bar” when it comes to urban design, and how the architectural control process can be expanded through the town’s comprehensive zoning bylaw.

A heritage conservation section could also be added to the urban design manual, and new development could be integrated into the heritage character of areas such as the downtown.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it has to mimic historic built forms, but it means it has to be compatible, and understand what makes Collingwood historically important,” he said.