Paul Nichols

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Council approves ‘amazing’ 24-storey building set for downtown

GuelphToday

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Again with this tired argument... Our downtown is lovely and walkable for those who actually visit and care. As for parking, as of right now, the real time parking spot tracker that’s on the city website shows over 900 parking spots available downtown. There’s honestly an obscene amount of parking available almost all the time and the number one thing people complain about is parking. It’ll be just fine. Maybe leave the car at home and go touch grass… sounds like it might do you some good.

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City proposes deferring major projects to reduce 2026 tax hike

GuelphToday

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Deferring the Quality Transit Network plan is a mistake. We’re mandated to add something like 50,000 residents over the next decade or two… if they all drive, traffic will be insane here. We need the investment in quality transit for everyone’s sake - even drivers!

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‘Bring it on’: Council praises 24-storey student housing proposal

GuelphToday

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This looks like a great proposal for an otherwise fairly lifeless section of Wyndham St. Animating the street there with a cafe and retail will extend the downtown feel further and the proximity to the GO station is exactly where this kind of development should be. Bring it on indeed!

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Council approves ‘amazing’ 24-storey building set for downtown

GuelphToday

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The more people living downtown, the more money stays downtown and better the local economy will be. This is a good thing. I hope it’s just the start.

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Council agrees to speed up downtown roadwork, enhance beautification

GuelphToday

10

There’s parking on both sides of the street and one lane of traffic each direction. Silly we need so much though given the multiple massive parking structures and the new one being built under the library. Accessible spots and more space for grander sidewalks would have been so much better. We have tons of parking… just a lot of lazy people (again, accessible spaces for those who need it should be included). I’ll be one of the ones bringing my bike or walking.

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Guelph to get 8 more speed enforcement cameras, making it 12 in all

GuelphToday

9

Absolutely no sympathy for all the whiners. Slow the heck down and you won’t get a ticket. It’s not hard. Just slow down, drive the limit, and these cameras won’t make a dime.

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City shuts down historic bridge citing safety concerns

GuelphToday

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As a family who has 2 young children who frequent the absolutely magical and critical outdoor school every week this is heartbreaking. The new stone road bridge is along a de facto highway with a dangerously small space for a so called sidewalk. It’s a laughable and unacceptable option. No one should walk along that road, young or old - you’ll get hit. There are numerous large trucks and traffic speeds are nuts there. It would absolutely be more dangerous for our kids to walk there than the other bridge. The city has to do more. How about adding a row of concrete barriers to create a protected space for the sidewalk from the existing driveway as a starter at the VERY least. Then urgently procure a new temporary floating bridge or help the outdoor school create an access on the other side. This can’t be the only option. Years of inaction on the McQuillan bridge and now a study after it’s too late and many years before a solution. Truly pathetic response from the city on this.

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Guelph Transit strike averted as tentative agreement reached

GuelphToday

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Fantastic news - they deserve it! Glad both the city and the union could avert the strike.

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Skyline wants to build 12-storey building across from city hall

GuelphToday

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As a downtown resident, I’m 100% in favour of this. It is the exact perfect spot for something like this. More people living downtown means more customers for businesses means downtown thrives. Get this built!!

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Wyndham Street Planet Bean closing 'for the foreseeable future'

GuelphToday

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Hopefully council will approve more buildings downtown and make them easier to build so more people can live within walking distance of businesses like Planet Bean. More local people, more customers. More customers, more businesses. More businesses, more vibrant downtown. Vibrant downtown means more of a draw for folks who don’t live downtown. We can end this cycle and reverse the poor perceptions of downtown. Council can make it happen. With a few years of road/sewer construction coming up too, now is the time to approve new buildings. Let’s get it done with urgency so when the dust settles we also have 1000s of new residents moving in to a refreshed and growing downtown that’s set up to thrive.

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Taxpayers spent more than $1 million on city council last year

GuelphToday

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Good grief, can someone help Phil out with his cell phone bill?! $178/mo is a terrible deal

City looks to shift focus in order to slow speeders

GuelphToday

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There should be a mechanism for councillors to review complaints from residents in their wards and help prioritize with staff - the local lens is critical. The challenge - which we’ve experienced - is that the data sometimes doesn’t meet the provincial thresholds used despite the impact on the people who live on these streets. A few bad actors can really impact, especially on streets with narrow lanes or where there are a lot of kids and a school bus route. This approach, while I get it, seems to swing the pendulum too far the other way. I think the approach needs more balance so residents don’t feel ignored and then disengage.

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Transit-only lanes, more roundabouts and more may be coming to Guelph

GuelphToday

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It’s hard to build usage for bike lanes that don’t always connect, end suddenly, or are badly planned afterthoughts on dangerous roads. You likely wouldn’t drive on a road that suddenly turned to gravel or ended right before an intersection either. We’ve tried only building roads and neighborhoods for car travel and the results stink - too much traffic, everything too far to walk to, people frustrated and speeding. I for one am ready to change that channel and build our city for everyone.

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Parent charged with headbutting another parent at school drop-off

GuelphToday

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Great example setting there, Dad. Wow. Maybe time to try walking the last few blocks to school and taking some deep breaths along the way eh? Life’s too short to lose it over parking. Good grief.

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Thresholds to donate piece of Guelph land to Indigenous group

GuelphToday

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Good grief, that’s dark… are you ok?

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Macdonell garbage bin pilot paused by Ministry of Environment

GuelphToday

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This sure seems excessive from the province. It’s a garbage bin in an existing parking lot! I can see if this was impacting some large wilderness area, but c’mon. Why does the province need to get involved at all?! Silliness.

126-unit apartment building slated for city's west end

GuelphToday

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Great that we’re adding more rental units. However, neighbourhood commercial areas are needed too. There’s nothing for residents to walk to so everyone needs to hop in the car for every trip. There should be space for a variety store or coffee shop or other commercial in the base of this development at a minimum.

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Skyline wants to build 12-storey building across from city hall

GuelphToday

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Not everyone must have a car for their daily lives. This will sell out, downtown will thrive and parking will absolutely not be an issue. It really won’t. There’s a giant parkade just up the street and another giant one being built under the new library. We have more than enough parking downtown - too much, really. Examples like this are all over the place. We just need to get over our fears. Not everyone needs or wants a suburban style home with a big yard and a driveway with multiple cars. This is perfect and we absolutely should approve it.

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Input sought on staff-recommended St. George’s Square re-design

GuelphToday

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They’ve got to rip up the streets to replace water and sewer pipes that are worn out, that’s why they’re considering redoing the square. They’re not wasting money just to make it pretty. They will need to rebuild after anyway, so may as well build it back a little better.

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Two hours of free downtown parking at city sites for the holidays

GuelphToday

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Why are we using public money to only subsidize private vehicle storage? Why not free transit too?

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