Paul Nichols

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Council agrees to speed up downtown roadwork, enhance beautification

GuelphToday

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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

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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

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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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.

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

GuelphToday

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Some great ideas within the report. I hope the city can keep the momentum and continue to fund and prioritize these initiatives. One area that could be improved further is acting on local data and feedback. On my own local street we’ve been working for years to get speeds reduced and try to introduce simple things like stop signs at cross streets. Navigating the city and getting meaningful action is a challenge - even with a petition from a majority of residents. I’m not suggesting any wrongdoing, but the current processes and bureaucracy don’t align with the activism and urgency for residents living daily in challenging areas. Finding ways to implement changes more quickly and putting more weight behind resident complaints and petitions would help. We don’t always have to do a formal study and take years… sometimes we can just put up a dang stop sign.

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Closed intersection causing traffic chaos for neighbourhood (VIDEO)

GuelphToday

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This seems so avoidable to me if it was properly planned. Of course folks will cut through - no amount of signage will change that. Best option might be to close Lynwood at one end during construction and add “dead end” signage to the other end. Maybe there’s a way to have a “bus only” entrance for their detour and have the construction company staff someone there to move a simple barrier to allow the buses through when they arrive and keep the short-cutters out. Anything is better than “let folks get used to the detour”… I mean, anyone remember the parking lot of the plaza at Woolwich and Speedvale? That basically turned into a road for the length of that construction. No one learned a dang thing or followed those signs either!

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

GuelphToday

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Doug you’re making a lot of assumptions about my position, sir! All I’m saying is local shops are important too. I know Zehrs is a 10-15 min walk away. The walk along Elmira isn’t exactly an inviting one though and I bet a lot of folks would drive. Nothing wrong with that, I’m not jumping on a soap box here, but we don’t really have decent corner store options anymore. A short walk to grab milk or bread from a local store, or being able to grab a coffee, etc. is a good option and this development proposes to remove the intended commercial component. That’s all.

Speed limit reduced on section of Stone Road East due to bridge issues

GuelphToday

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I’m grateful the city is listening. The original suggestion to “use the sidewalk” which doesn’t exist didn’t exactly instill confidence! It’s a tough situation but the responsiveness is a good sign. Let’s please keep it up and get creative!

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Region of Waterloo ready to advance Cambridge-to-Guelph GO Transit proposal

GuelphToday

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It’s a creative idea and seems far easier than trying to extend the Milton line to Cambridge. The bus link is a no brainer also, I hope this can all move forward.

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