Minutes of Meeting 6 June 2011

Attendees:

Clean up of Owl Park by Dog Walkers
Jerry Beausoleil: Dave Bernier led a group of dog walkers in the clean up of Owl Park. He is here tonight to tell his story.

Dave Bernier: He has lived in the neighbourhood for 20 years, his children went to Holy Family School and he is grateful to have Owl Park. He contacted Councillor Maria McRae with the idea of a clean-up of Owl Park. Greg Killough from Maria's office was very helpful. On the day, 40 people showed up to help and they worked for a couple of hours to clean up all of Owl Park including the properties owned by Bayview and Holy Family Schools. His group cleaned up plastic garbage and broken beer bottles. They are committed to keeping the Park clean.

Peter Brimacombe: His daughter complained to the City about dogs in the Park, last year. The worst offenses were two dog owners who allowed their dogs to run through the play structures and then mocked the mothers who complained.
Dave Bernier: He saw dogs running through the play structures and told their owners to get their dogs out of the play structures.
Issie Berish: His daughter goes to Bayview Public School. He would like to thank Dave Bernier and his group for cleaning up the Park. He noticed graffiti on the Club House.
John Sankey: Dave Bernier could ask the City for a kit to remove graffiti.
Dave Bernier: Last year, some of the dog walkers identified some vandals who had caused major damage to Holy Family School. They were arrested by the Police.

Motion: To recognize and thank Dave Bernier and his group of dog walkers for their clean-up of Owl Park. Moved by Peter Brimacombe, seconded by Issie Berish, carried.

Approval of Minutes of May 2011 meeting

Motion: To approve the May, 2011 minutes. Moved by Jerry Beausoleil, seconded by Peter Foulger, carried.

Maria McRae: Presented the Councillor's Report.

Clean up Issues in Hunt Club

John Sankey: The City put garbage bins along McCarthy Road but then removed one of them.
Maria McRae: It was because people were filling it with dog pooh. This constitutes untreated sewage which is a health hazard. People with dogs can put small amounts of dog pooh in their household garbage or flush it down the toilet. Cat pooh can be put in the household garbage if it is mixed with kitty litter.

John Sankey: Liz Russell reported that the firemen at the McCarthy Fire Station are in favour of adopting Paul Landry Park. This is encouraging but is there going to be a formal announcement?

Use of Owl Park By Dog Owners

Dave Bernier: On Sunday morning and Tuesday afternoon, bylaw officers in Owl Park asked dog owners to leash their dogs despite the fact that Owl Park is an off-leash park.
Maria McRae: Dogs are not allowed near the play structures. Owl Park consists of three properties: the City's , the Public School Board's and the Catholic School Board's. Without knowing all the details of who complained and why, it's hard to comment.

Traffic Issues on Hunt Club Road

Maria McRae: John Smith is the City's key person to study and recommend changes to Hunt Club Road. He cannot devote any time to traffic issues on Hunt Club Road because he is completely tied up with the legal challenge to the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park. She could not say when he might be available to meet with representatives of the HCCO to address the written questions and areas of interest submitted to her office. She noted that her office had not received one phone call complaining about excessive traffic on Hunt Club.
Gord Graham: Can the City restrict trucks to the right hand lane on Hunt Club Road? He had experienced a situation recently where two trucks were blocking the traffic for many blocks.
John Sankey: Provincial policy may not allow the City to restrict trucks to certain lanes.
Maria McRae: The failure of the North South Rail Line makes the traffic on Hunt Club worse. She will see if the City can restrict the lanes in which trucks can drive and let us know.
Gord Graham: CFRA (the radio station) announces back-ups on Hunt Club Road and advises drivers to take Uplands Drive to by-pass the problem.
John Sankey: He made inquiries on how well emergency vehicles can move along Hunt Club Road. The report is that they can move fairly well because the lanes are wide which allows the cars to squeeze over and make a lane for them.
Jerry Beausoleil: In May we sent a written request to Maria's office setting out our concerns with Hunt Club Road. e.g. how bad is the traffic situation, how it affects our community, what initiatives are under consideration to address our concerns. We need to meet with city staff to understand their perspective. We are not looking for answers to all the questions at this stage but we would like to know what city staff is thinking. The traffic situation is very serious and getting worse. He has searched the city web site and has not been able to find documents describing the seriousness of the traffic situation and the initiatives planned to address it. He looks forward to working with our councillor and city staff.
Maria McRae: (Addressing Jerry Beausoleil's request for more information on traffic flow on Hunt Club Road and a meeting with city staff) What are you looking for?
Jerry Beausoleil: The HCCO wants to understand the issues, what is possible, what are the possible remedies, and what are the costs.
John Sankey: There are improvements that can be made to Hunt Club Road without big costs. Liz Russell was talking to J.P. Trottier who works for the City's Emergency Services. He asked "why were traffic lights installed at T & T?"

John Sankey: He polled members on meeting during the summer. The consensus was no unless the agenda warranted a meeting.

Next meeting: Monday September 12 at 19:30