Hello WHRA Members
As we approach December we want to wish you a safe and happy Holiday season, even though it might be totally different for you this year.
Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, your Executive Committee has not been meeting as often as we would like and we weren’t able to hold any of our usual social events or the Annual General Meeting. For that reason and because we have not spent any of our funds, we won’t be collecting the annual membership dues. We would like to suggest that you donate your membership dues to one of our local charities, e.g. Kerr Street Mission, Salvation Army, Fair Share (food bank) or any other that is dear to your heart. Our local retailers and restaurants are suffering during the pandemic and we know you will support them in person and online whenever you can.
Our Ward 2 Councillors have been hard at work in different ways and the Mayor has been sending out a daily newsletter to keep us all aware of what is going on with Covid-19 and the Town of Oakville, the Region of Halton and the Province of Ontario. We would strongly encourage you to sign up for the Mayor’s newsletter via this link.
https://www.oakville.ca/mayor/index.html (scroll down to add your name and address)
There are several new developments in process. The ground has been broken for 22 townhouses at the corner of Brookfield Road and Lakeshore. There is a condominium development proposed for the site at Maurice Drive and Lakeshore. The building occupied by the Dog Guides at the corner of Rebecca and Kerr Street will be re-developed as a multi storey retirement home/apartment building. An application has been made for a retirement home on Lakeshore Road between Maurice Drive and Garden Drive. We are ever hopeful that the vacant site at Chisholm Street and Lakeshore Road will be developed in the near future. The new owner of the site appears to be making some progress with respect to the historic house that is on the property. There is nothing to report on the old Mexica Rosa’s site, other than the Town has amended the Official Plan to allow for a multi storey building higher than 4 stories if the site is sold to a developer. The Province has imposed new rules that override the Town’s Official Plan and we might expect more density in the future.
Our beautiful new park incorporating Waterworks, Tannery and Shipyards parks was well used during the summer months but for some of the residents living in the neighbourhood it created problems with traffic, parking and unruly behaviour on the part of some of the park visitors. Those residents approached the WHRA and we referred them on to the Councillors. As a result, the Town implemented new parking rules, increased the parking fines and undertook a Traffic Study of the whole neighbourhood. The report of that study will be forthcoming in the Spring of 2021. In the meantime, the concerned residents undertook their own survey which we believe they intend to present to the Town.
We would like to keep our membership list up to date and ask that if you have changed location or your email address please let us know. Also please advise us of any new households that you are aware of so we can put a membership flyer in their mailbox and welcome them to the neighbourhood.
Thanks for your understanding and Happy Holidays. Stay safe.
Your WHRA Executive Committee
Contacts: Lesley Henshaw – lesley.henshaw@sympatico.ca
Carole Gilbert– carolegilbert@sympatico.ca
Excerpt from Ward 2 Councillors Newsletter Fall 2020
#PROJECT NOISEMAKER
Project Noisemaker is an initiative to address noise issues created by loud, illegally modified vehicles, including cars, trucks and motorcycles. HRPS reports that inspections of vehicles creating unnecessary noise are often other accompanied by unsafe vehicle conditions and aggressive driving behaviours. The program runs until October 31, 2020.
Since May 2020, when the #Project Noisemaker program was introduced, HRPS has laid over 1,000 charges and Town of Oakville Municipal Enforcement Services has laid dozens of charges for noise related to loud motorcycles (charges issued under the Town’s by law).
In 2019, the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, S.O. 2019, c. 14 was enacted to amend the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) to include a new section (s. 75.1) that would make it an offence to tamper with motor vehicles by: (a) removing, bypassing, defeating or rendering inoperative all or part of a motor vehicle’s emission control system; or (b) modifying a motor or motor vehicle in any way that results in increased emissions from the level to which it was originally designed or certified by the manufacturer of the motor or motor vehicle. Unfortunately, s.75.1 has never been proclaimed to be in effect.
In order to support Halton’s police service and help deter drivers from the offences outlined in Bill C.14, Oakville Town Council recently unanimously passed a resolution that calls on the Province to proclaim s.75.1 of the Highway Traffic Act and bring it into force immediately.
Members of the community can continue to call the Halton Regional Police Service non-emergency line 905-825-4777 to report nuisance-related concerns.
| Excerpt from the Mayor’s newsletter November 25 2020Province recommends celebrating holidays with only those you live with Today the Ontario government, based on advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and input from the Public Health Measures Table, provided preliminary guidance for celebrating the upcoming holiday season, recommending Ontarians only celebrate with members of their own households. This is sure to come as disappointing news for those who were hoping to gather with family they have been unable to see all year, but is necessary to help flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19. Those who live alone are able to gather with one household, but there are indoor gathering limits across all zones of Ontario’s framework including a limit of 10 for those in Green, Yellow and Orange and five in Red. In lockdown, indoor gatherings are not permitted except for those of a single household. This is more encouragement for us to collectively do our part to keep Halton out of lockdown. Follow public health advice: Stay home if you’re feeling unwell, wash and sanitize your hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes, maintain a physical distance from others and wear a mask when you can’t and when mandated. Please also follow my three Cs of COVID-caution to avoid crowded places, closed spaces and close-contact settings. |