Bruce Bennett
2715 
Province begins expropriating more land for new Hwy. 7
GuelphToday
14New appropriations so the province can sell “surplus land” off to developers ;)
4- Bruce Bennett
Public meeting set for proposed 14-storey downtown building
GuelphToday 9Really inappropriate in height and design. It would overshadow much of downtown including City Hall, patios, public spaces. And, the design is generic and ugly, detracting from the character of the City.
6- Bruce Bennett
Council offers mixed messages on the point of the Sleeman Centre
GuelphToday 3Civic owned and operated facilities that rely on revenue generated through risk-programming and rentals seldom operate on a full cost recovery basis. This applies to sports fields, swimming pools, recreation centres, performing arts facilities, and arenas.There is opportunity to generate more revenue at the Sleeman Centre by increasing its appeal to promoters and event managers. Both capacity to generate ticket and ancillary event revenue, and control of show and event production costs matter. The second is where investment in a facility and its equipment matter.Facilities ought to operate in a business-like manner. To say that they should operate as a business is a narrow perspective for facilities that cater to Guelph residents.The size of the Sleeman Centre and its proximity to Centre in the Square and Hamilton’s new TD Coliseum, and venue competition from Toronto, are management challenges - as is the lack of summer use.
5- Bruce Bennett
Council approves ‘amazing’ 24-storey building set for downtown
GuelphToday 1Not having a lot of faith in Council’s attention to detail begin with, I wonder if a shading study or street-level elevations were reviewed by the City at any point during the approval process. These provide good indication of local impact - wind studies come into play later with more tall buildings.Shadow studies and street level elevations were not considered during the Baker St development application before approval and - assuming my understanding is correct - indicate a pattern of inadequate review by Council and staff.
- Bruce Bennett
Council gives early green light to saving McQuillan’s Bridge
GuelphTodayThis is an ill-considered decision. I am for Heritage Preservation, however the heritage to preserve here is the shape of the bridge structure - not the actual concrete and rebar it is made of!The type of rehabilitation required can be seen on older concrete structures in Toronto like the Gardiner Expressway and Bridges crossing the Don Valley. Each repair location includes a protruding concrete patch that changes the visual lines of the repaired surface, I.e. the repaired structure does not look like the original.Either remake the bridge using new concrete and internal steel support (McQuillan’s Bridge 2), or save the arches as non-weight-bearing elements and build a new bridge. Both these options also reduce cost.
- Bruce Bennett
