Julian H

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Hospital or national urban park? Nearly 350 acres of former jail land

GuelphToday

13

I don't understand why it's almost all flood plain. The stretch from York road, to the prison and all the way back through the extensive auxiliary builds, right back to Cargill and the waste depot isn't flood plain. Cargill built a huge facility there and the city built the waste depot. Obviously this isn't flood risk land. Seems like 60 acres to me. The whole flood plain things seems like a straw man argument. The future hospital could be surrounded by ponds and marshes. When I spent days and weeks at McMaster children's hospital, one of the things that kept me sane was walk the university grounds. Seems like the best possible way to get use out of the area that is a flood plain is by putting a hospital in the middle of it, a grassy ridge/hill.

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'How is this legal?' Meet the king of Ontario renovictions

GuelphToday

20

What a great investigative article. Especially from a local paper so pressed in the current news environment. Will be contributing. Thanks Guelph Today

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Property taxes likely to rise 6.08 per cent next year, council confirms

GuelphToday

15

Has there been any committees, boards or groups setup to look at why tax increases are well above inflation year after year? Could someone direct me if such a thing exists. It's just so unsustainable to continue on this path. I don't understand why this isn't a bigger priority.

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Million-dollar makeover coming to Boathouse retaining wall and stairs

GuelphToday

6

I'm relieved to hear that a railing will be installed here! I have personally had to grab my toddler has he ran for the edge to see the ducks. We have an ice cream shop that attracts hundreds of young children ever day. The entrance is 10' from the water and elevated. When a toddler falls into water they sink like a rock, there is no splash, or thrash or screaming like in the movies. They go down like a stone and if no one saw that initial fall, that kid will be unresponsive on the river bottom in literal seconds. This location is a real hazard and has left me wonder how there hasn't already been an accident and why there is no railing on this 200' long stretch. This not the place to take some kind of stand against safety infatuation. This is a location that will inevitably have a terrible accident or near miss. Hopefully the railing makes up a tiny fraction of the cost though.

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Urban park proposal and potential new hospital collide at reformatory

GuelphToday

9

If any local politicians read these comments I'd also like to say prioritize the hospital over more green space. GGH appears so at the limit that the urgent care triage is now a permanent trailer. Nowhere else have I ever seen this. Let's not add obstacles to the province authorizing a new hospital by dividing local politicians' stance on land use!On the other hand this land seems like great urban park. However, Guelph is already a very green city and it seems to me the desire for park space is insatiable. There is a history of this in the residential planning concept of 'tower in the park' model. It left us green space that was very under utilized and made for less than efficient city scapes. Let's not repeat that mistake from the 60s.

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Single complaint hits the brakes on 14 years of charitable bike repairs

GuelphToday

12

Keep doing what your doing. Don't wait for the minor variance, everyday you're shutdown extremely needy people don't get the support your work facilitates. If bylaw or someone from the city comes knocking again you just stare them down and inform them a fine will result in your ward councilor and the bylaw office answering phone calls from angry residence for a week. At least until the minor variance is evaluated. Don't be afraid to push back hard when you have the moral high ground.

Conestoga ‘exploring all options’ to house future Downtown Guelph students

GuelphToday

10

It feels strange to hear a potential purchaser describe the downtown as not having land readily available. I'm not disputing his view. When I look downtown I see totally vacant lots, empty store fronts, a mall with less than a trickle of people, heck even banks are leaving. There is clearly a problem with the state of things when that reality exists along side 'no readily available land'.

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Proposed new transit/fleet facility getting major downsizing

GuelphToday

7

The old budget works out to $2400 for every man women and child in Guelph, for context. So that's almost $10,000 of after tax income for a family of four. The new budget would be $5200 per family. I find this is a good way of putting infrastructure costs into perspective.

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Mayor ‘disappointed’ by U of G 'over-enrollment'

GuelphToday

5

Maybe we can start with the small easily achievable stuff. Getting rid of the bus stop on Gordon in front of the university. It has no shoulder so buses block the only lane of traffic on Gordon. How no shoulder lane for the bus has been added dumbfounds me! It's stop 292 if anyone on council is reading this. The south bound stop, 356 has one.

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Underground tunnels coming to keep critters safer on Downey Road

GuelphToday

5

Up until two years ago there was a collapsed retaining wall laying on Speedvale and two years later we are getting critter tunnels. I can't decide if the city feels broke or like it won the lottery. I guess sometimes those two things aren't mutually exclusive. Lol.

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Despite traffic concerns, 144-unit Gordon Street development approved

GuelphToday

3

Too bad it took 4 plans and 2 years to get a simple low rise multiplex, townhouses project approved on land planned for this density, as Cam put it. Seems to indicate how broken system is.

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Looks like Guelph has a Conservative Party candidate for next federal election

GuelphToday

4

First past the post electoral system and they are proposing a 24 year old candidate from another city, and not even a similar city at that. I have to think this is some kind of weird test to see how guelphites respond.

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More children live in low-income households in WDG than national rate

GuelphToday

2

What constitutes low income out of curiosity? Would it not be worth describing this in some detail in an article like this?FYI, childhood poverty began to drop very rapidly in 2015 due to the reform/payment increase of the 'baby bonus' as older Canadians would know it. Now called Canada Child Benefit, CCB. It's now a much larger payment and extends into what I would call upper middle class, family income of $150-200k a year. A Liberal policy initiated early in their term. Food for thought since an election is coming up soon. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2024020-eng.htm

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Internal docs show crushing gridlock ahead — even with Bradford Bypass

OrilliaMatters

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I don't understand. The critic did tell us what to do, build transit. Reread the article. He just mentioned it briefly because the article was about how the government ignored the results of its own study That is, more highways won't reduce congestion. Despite the recent lane additions to the 401 through Mississauga and Milton it's already a crawl through Milton. Maybe a start would be identifying a passenger rail corridor through the top of TO. I know there is an existing one through Brampton, Malton, Thornhill, 404 and beyond. I would love to take this when visiting family in Thornhill.

Internal docs show crushing gridlock ahead — even with Bradford Bypass

OrilliaMatters

1

I find this type thing terribly frustrating. Government consults people look at situation, that have background and knowledge, than government does the opposite for whatever reason. And we wonder why things don't work. Well you did the opposite of what what experts told you to do.

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Political hesitation 'galvanises' support for national urban park

GuelphToday

A site with enough space for a desperately needed hospital complex.

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Property taxes likely to rise 6.08 per cent next year, council confirms

GuelphToday

1

So no, group is formally looking to this? Really?

Guelph to offer new financial incentives to build affordable housing

GuelphToday

1

This seems on the right track for 'mildly' subsidized housing. Whether it's enough of an incentive I have no idea. Whether surrounding legislation, contracts and enforcement will keep things on the track 5, 10 years down the road I have my doubts. But, I have much greater doubts that government is able to build and manage affordable housing under its own umbrella.

ICYMI: ‘It is a folly’: U of G determined to tear down historic conservatory

GuelphToday

1

This is a broken system. Look at it this way. You have an authority, the city, who has the power to force another party to spend very large amounts of money while having no mandate to consider the financials of the other or even a cost benefit evaluation. In short, the authority has no skin in the game so of course there are going to be problems.

High cost means 'no plans to proceed' on restoring Basilica pinnacles

GuelphToday

1

I recognize the hesitation of a Christian faith in spending this amount of money on architecture and heritage. I'd argue this cathedral is more a piece of architectural heritage than a religious monument at this point to city. We even recognize sight lines to the towers for urban planning. For that reason is there no public money available to maintain such prominent heritage structures, or partly subsidize the restoration? Than again $7M for eight spirer points might not be the best value for money! Nonetheless sad to see them gone forever.