All the NEWS that's fit to videotape

Yet another sub-plot of the Weber Street Widening

A couple of weeks ago CTV contacted the MHBPNA executive because there were reports of rampant graffiti in the neighbourhood. And Banksy was not the perpetrator. No, these were rather pedestrian efforts by some folks taking advantage of the lax security around the homes slated for demolition. 

We will admit parts of Weber Street looked a little tawdry but it also gave us a kind of "urban street cred" which everyone knew was going to be short lived since the buildings would be torn down quite soon.

CTV made a news item out of it and among those quoted were our president Lane Burman and our city councillor Dan Glenn Graham. 

The news report can still be found here.

Lane also joked that he thought we deserved better graffiti since the examples we got were pretty lame. But those comments were not used since CTV was building up the negative aspects. Dan Glenn Graham demanded something be done but the people interviewed who lived in the area all said they didn't like the graffiti but the buildings were going to be torn down soon so it really didn't matter. Their attitude could be summarized by a shrug.

The story might have ended there, as some filler for a slow news day, but shortly thereafter, the Region saw fit to protect us from viewing those images and covered them up with plywood and paint.

So we, and the commuting citizens of our region, were saved from the graffiti for about two days until this happened:

So now, no more graffiti. We thank the Region for looking out for us, but if someone knew the houses would be torn down in two days, did they have to spend the money on labour and plywood to cover it up for such a short time? 

So now we know what can be accomplished by a slow news day and a very modest amount of outrage. 

TP

Our 'spring' Newsletter is here and being delivered

The spring MHBPNA newsletter has hit the streets!

Our newsletters are being delivered by volunteers over the next couple of weeks. And they were written and edited by volunteers as well. 

We printed 3,000 of them this time and if you would like to help deliver any please email 'mhbpna@gmail.com'. We hope you enjoy them.

Cricket Training Program at Breithaupt Centre

Learn how to play Cricket and have a lot of fun. The Program starts on Saturday, May 11, 2013. Click on any of the three sections below to enlarge.

News Letters are Printed

The MHBPNA has produced our first printed newsletter in about three years! If you can help us distribute it, please email mhbpna@gmail.com.

The older newsletters are stored on our website here. 

#MHBP visits CBC radio in Kitchener

This drizzly Monday morning saw the launch of a new CBC radio station in downtown Kitchener. Those of us who regularly listen to Toronto's Metro Morning show were awoken to the sounds of Craig Norris, Andrea Bellemare and, gasp, local news!

Your intrepid MHBPNA Communications Director was compelled to make the short trip down town to sample free coffee from A Matter of Taste, pick up a couple of CBC buttons and spend a few moments chatting with the host of this new service.

I arrived just after the show finished and caught the affable and articulate Mr. Norris as he was coming outside to mingle with the dozen or more people out on the street. I welcomed him and the show to our area on behalf of the MHBPNA.

I congratulated him on how the inaugural morning show had gone quite well. Craig said they had a few "rough spots" early on, but that they had been "doing dry runs for the past two weeks" and had most of the bugs worked out. He felt pretty good about the first show. I also said that I was a little surprised about the new station and wondered if there was enough going on to warrant KW getting its own show. Craig said "You know, that is the same thing we heard from many of our focus groups that, 'gee not much goes on around here' but with Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and Stratford, there are lots of stories". I also said I was impressed with the whole CBC operation they have on King Street and that when I first heard about it I thought it might be some kind of internet show. Craig said that was a common misconception that they were a "web only" operation, but was not at all the case. 

The KW CBC has news reporters, staff and a real web presence at www.cbc.ca/kw. I guess their "gimmick" is that Craig does the "live" show and Andrea establishes a parallel web presence, engages in Facebook and tweeting, and lets us know how our local stories are "trending".

CBC had a tent out front on King Street giving away buttons, chocolate and a chance to win something in a draw. They will also be at the Kitchener Market this Saturday morning.

Hey CBC, welcome to Kitchener and thanks for thinking about us!

Ted Parkinson

Baseball pre-season training

Baseball Pre-Season Conditioning and Training Program

April 5 - May 3 at the Breithaupt Community Centre gym, outdoor field and batting cage depending on the weather. This is a program designed to focus on fundamentals for baseball players with any level of experience.

Ages    7-11          6:30 – 8:00 pm           Fridays

Speed and Agility Training
Infielding
Fielding
Batting Practice (outside batting cage weather permitting)
Throwing Fundamentals
Pitching Fundamentals

Presented by the Mt.Hope/Breithaupt Neighbourhood Association in cooperation with the Kitchener Minor Baseball Association.

Cost is $45 (no HST) per player.
Fee assistance and a multi player family rate is available.
Payable by cheque, cash or etransfer to MHBPNAPrograms@gmail.com
KMBA will not be doing any registration.

Register by email to ralpherdman@gmail.com stating the participant's name, age and method of payment.

MHBPNA Waiver must be signed by a parent or guardian before taking part in the program (available at signup, Apr 5th)

Sign up early as there are limited spots

Moore Avenue Reconstruction

One of our neighbours, who writes the excellent Blog Waterloons, brought to our attention the tender for the reconstruction of Moore Avenue from Emma to Graham. 

We at mhbpna.ca are pleased to share some of the information gleaned from the city through our neighbour Blog's questions:

A project manager from the city of Kitchener responded:

Please find included the answers to your questions regarding T12-081 Moore Avenue (Emma Avenue to Graham Street) Reconstruction:

Is there any plan for sidewalk infill and/or bus stop pad on Moore Ave? If not, why?

Due to the large number of mature trees that would have to be removed to install a sidewalk on the cemetery side of Moore Avenue, we will only be installing sidewalk where it already exists as part of this project.  A concrete pad will be installed at all GRT stops on Moore Avenue including a new one at the stop near Peltz Ave..

Is there any plan for cycling lanes on Moore Ave?

It is correct that this section of Moore has been identified as a proposed on-road bikeway.  The road will be signed as a shared use facility, but no designated bike lanes will be installed.  This is consistent with the cycling master plan.

Will the new road have any traffic calming features?

At the end of construction this summer, the traffic calming features, namely the speed humps, will be reinstalled temporarily (for a period of two-years) at which time the final layer of asphalt will be installed and the permanent humps will be installed as they exist now.

I trust this answers your questions.  Please feel free to contact the city of Kitchener should you require more information or clarification.

Thank you Waterloons for your contribution to our bank of information!

The Transit Hub will be Huge (in a big way)

The regional Transit Hub will be built at the south-west corner of our neighbourhood. There is a good article in The Record about it which everyone should read. This structure, and all the buses and trains that will pass through it, will have a huge impact on the MHBP area.

The Record article talks about many "multi-use pathways" leading into it and a "public plaza" at King and Victoria streets. This is all very exciting (particularly if they manage to keep The Beer Store as a tenant!) but there are a few things we need to keep in mind.

First: this development is huge (massive, game-changing, neighbourhood-defining)  and it is not that far off. The article says it will open in 2017. That is only four years away, and so far we have seen no official renderings of any models, plans, drawings etc. The Record shows "one of the artist concepts" but it is pretty vague. We have had a lot of plans and studies, but very little solid information about how it is going to work. 

Even though it is a huge area, when I think of how large the existing Via/Go station is AND the existing Charles Street terminal with all the bus loading areas, the 1.6 Hectare site doesn't seem so big any more. In fact, I think it will be impossible to cram all those bus and rail and LRT services into that one spot and they will wind up keeping the Charles Street terminal at least partially open.

But we in the MHBPNA are really looking forward to seeing what is being planned. When will the Regional show us some proposals so we can get a better idea of the scale of the project?

Second: we are losing Waterloo street as an exit from our neighbourhood to the down town. The street will run into the back of the Transit Hub. The MHBPNA hopes there will be an easily accessible route (tunnel?) so that cyclists and pedestrians can continue to cycle/walk through this area on their way to the Market, Blues Festival, concerts, skating rink or whatever activities in which they participate. 

At one of the meetings we attended there was a proposal to have steps as part of this route and we disagree with that concept. We understand that cars will no longer fit into this, but we want this route to be as accessible as possible.

Let's all stay involved with this process. It is a big deal and will define the area for many generations so "stay alert and watch for the signs". 

Ted Parkinson