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Time for the new council to cut through downtown’s snow wall

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In Collingwood
Dec 11th, 2010
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By RICHARD ROHMER, O.C., Q.C. Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin December 10 2010
Have you ever seen such snow in Collingwood this early in December?
Well, the beautiful stuff was plough-banked at about three feet (one metre?) in front of our driveway in Olde Town– which hadn’t been cleared by 10 a.m. last Monday. That prevented us from getting to the swearing-in of Her Worship Mayor Cooper and her non-motley crew of councillors–including the distinguished new Deputy-mayor Rick Lloyd, who brings much experience to the DM’s chair.
Back in the old days I was (from time to time) invited to give the ‘charge’ at the swearing in of the new Council. I’ve outgrown that privilege but I haven’t outgrown giving some free advice (worth what you pay for it) to the new team via this column that I’ve been writing for the E.B. for some 20 years.
There are two pieces of advice.
The first is: stop spending on capital projects that are wonderful but are killing us taxpayers. The Town’s debt is now astronomical.
Sure we have the new Library-cum-Municipal Offices. And yes, we have a new First and Hurontario Streets.
But enough already!
When we moved into Olde Town 10 years ago our municipal taxes were in the $3,000 per year range. Now they’re pushing toward $5,000! Sure, the school costs are always rising.
But, as I say, enough already!
Council, do what you can to put a cap on capital spending and on the Town’s debt. And on any further increases in real estate taxes.
The second piece of advice comes out of this week’s storm which left (until late Monday night’s clean out) a one-metre (at least) impassable wall of snow down both sides of Hurontario Street from First Street to Hume and the wreckage of the great project at the northeast corner of that intersection.
 Hurontario’s street/road and its abutting sidewalks belong to, are the property of, the responsibility of the Town.
Even so, until the big midnight cleanout, the Town refused to open those impassable snowbanks by cutting with their sidewalk plows, narrow passable walkways.
No, it has the equipment and personnel ready and available to make passage ways through the snow but refuses to do so.
Two groups of taxpayers are suffering.
The first is the BIA merchants on Hurontario Street where customers can’t/will not climb over the dangerous, high snow walls. No customers, no business.
On top of that the Council expects each store/shop owner to cut his/her own path through the Town’s snow mountains.
The second group is the citizenry taxpayers of the Town plus visitors who are totally unable to climb the Town’s snow mountains. If they search for and find a magic dug-out path from the car parking area, they will have to walk five or 10 car widths on the street at the tail ends of the cars within a foot or two of passing traffic!
Highly dangerous on our slippery streets.
And finally this: how can our law abiding citizens, who must absolutely buy parking time, get to or even find those meters on the other side of or under the snow mountains?
Generally speaking–surely this new Council, filled as it is with sensible, experienced talent, will take immediate steps to tell its Works Department to get on with creating as many humanitarian pathways through the Town’s snow-mountain walls as are necessary to save and protect lives and businesses.
A Town pathway in front of every second store entrance on Hurontario would be a good start. Until a full cleanout is justified.

 

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