On Wednesday, Oct 24 at 5:30 (Lippert Park) several people form our neighbourhood attended a meeting with councillor Dan Glenn-Graham and a regional staff person to talk about the Weber Street Widening design.
The meeting was very informative. The region has approved a pedestrian crossing with a "rescue island" in the middle, but no light. We don't think that is adequate, particularly for all the young students walking eastwards to Margaret Avenue school or west to KCI. But we have to act fast if we want our ideas to influence the design. More information will follow.
10/18/12
Central Art Walk this weekend!
It is the end of October (how did that happen so quickly??) and so it is time for the annual Central Art Walk.
This event happens on Saturday and Sunday and is in our calendar on the right of the Blog.
I could say lots of nice things about this even, but their website is very well organized so just click HERE to find out all about it.
I recommend clicking on their brochure because they have great photos of what each artist creates. So if you prefer paintings to stained glass, it is easy to decide where to go. So have a good weekend of fabulous art and you can get some exercise walking around the 'hood as well.
10/13/12
Weber Street Widening Culture Walk
On September 30, 2012 John MacDonald led members of the Mount Hope Breithaupt Park community on a "culture walk" to discuss the implications of the Weber Street widening. This walk was a result of our neighbourhood winning a "cultural" prize at a Festival of Neighbourhoods event a few years ago.
The MHBPNA would like to thank John for his time. We appreciate his insight into how neighbourhoods work and the many questions he encouraged us to consider about our area.
We met at Lippert Park and talked about some of the issues around what builds a community and the different types of streets and traffic movement that can encourage or discourage people talking to each other and interacting.
John asked us to talk about our patterns of walking, biking and driving and it became clear that Weber street is a dividing line within our rather large neighbourhood. There is a "Mount Hope" side and a "Breithaupt Park" side but many people cross this divide to attend school, walk to Central Fresh Market to shop, or walk or drive over to the Breithaupt Centre.
After discussing some of the general traffic patterns through our neighbourhood we walked over to the west side of the Wilhelm and Weber intersection (The MHBP Blog recognizes that using words like "west" and "north" in the Kitchener/Waterloo area is controversial, but we will use them anyway!).
It quickly became clear this intersection is a "hot spot" for problems with the widening. In the short time we were talking more than a dozen people crossed Weber street including two people in wheelchairs! As far as we know, the plan is to have Weber Street expanded to four lanes with no additional crossing lights from Victoria to Guelph streets. Yet we know children cross this street every day to attend KCI or Margaret Avenue schools and many others cross for different reasons.
We all agreed that we needed an additional crossing, perhaps with a light. Councillor Dan Glenn-Graham attended our walk and said he would discuss this issue with council.
Here is a view looking "south" on Weber Street towards Victoria Street. Lippert Park is on the left and a used car dealership is on the right:
Two big questions were raised about this:
1) What happens to Lippert Park when the road is widened? Apparently it will become a bit larger but it would be nice to have some influence on what gets added. We would like it to be attractive and invite people from both sides of Weber to use it, in spite of the busy street right next to it.
2) The used car dealership on the right will be torn down and Weber street will be straightened so Lippert Park will gain some land. But there will be a strip of land (where the car dealership presently sits) between the road and the train tracks. What will this land look like? Will be be a park (or "parkette") with grass and flowers? Or will it be a vacant "no man's land" with discarded coffee cups?
There will also be a bike trail along the present railway tracks which will end around the new railway bridge to be built over Weber.
It has been very difficult to find any solid information about how this is all going to look. In contrast, the Transit Hub project has invited lots of public input and has elaborate Information Boards they have put on the Web. I have searched the City and Region websites and there is almost no information. Searching for "Weber Street" on the Region's website found a document mysteriously titled MHSW Background which contains several swell "artist's renderings" of what the bridge might look like, including this one:
The Mount Hope - Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association is committed to finding out more about the widening which will have a huge impact on our area for many generations to come. We would like to have input into traffic calming, street crossings, making the railway bridge area inviting and "pedestrian and bike friendly" and many other things.
There are lots of questions with few answers so we hope to sponsor an information session in the near future.
Stay tuned to this Blog!
Ted Parkinson
Communications Director
MHBPNA
The MHBPNA would like to thank John for his time. We appreciate his insight into how neighbourhoods work and the many questions he encouraged us to consider about our area.
We met at Lippert Park and talked about some of the issues around what builds a community and the different types of streets and traffic movement that can encourage or discourage people talking to each other and interacting.
John asked us to talk about our patterns of walking, biking and driving and it became clear that Weber street is a dividing line within our rather large neighbourhood. There is a "Mount Hope" side and a "Breithaupt Park" side but many people cross this divide to attend school, walk to Central Fresh Market to shop, or walk or drive over to the Breithaupt Centre.
After discussing some of the general traffic patterns through our neighbourhood we walked over to the west side of the Wilhelm and Weber intersection (The MHBP Blog recognizes that using words like "west" and "north" in the Kitchener/Waterloo area is controversial, but we will use them anyway!).
It quickly became clear this intersection is a "hot spot" for problems with the widening. In the short time we were talking more than a dozen people crossed Weber street including two people in wheelchairs! As far as we know, the plan is to have Weber Street expanded to four lanes with no additional crossing lights from Victoria to Guelph streets. Yet we know children cross this street every day to attend KCI or Margaret Avenue schools and many others cross for different reasons.
We all agreed that we needed an additional crossing, perhaps with a light. Councillor Dan Glenn-Graham attended our walk and said he would discuss this issue with council.
Here is a view looking "south" on Weber Street towards Victoria Street. Lippert Park is on the left and a used car dealership is on the right:
Two big questions were raised about this:
1) What happens to Lippert Park when the road is widened? Apparently it will become a bit larger but it would be nice to have some influence on what gets added. We would like it to be attractive and invite people from both sides of Weber to use it, in spite of the busy street right next to it.
2) The used car dealership on the right will be torn down and Weber street will be straightened so Lippert Park will gain some land. But there will be a strip of land (where the car dealership presently sits) between the road and the train tracks. What will this land look like? Will be be a park (or "parkette") with grass and flowers? Or will it be a vacant "no man's land" with discarded coffee cups?
There will also be a bike trail along the present railway tracks which will end around the new railway bridge to be built over Weber.
It has been very difficult to find any solid information about how this is all going to look. In contrast, the Transit Hub project has invited lots of public input and has elaborate Information Boards they have put on the Web. I have searched the City and Region websites and there is almost no information. Searching for "Weber Street" on the Region's website found a document mysteriously titled MHSW Background which contains several swell "artist's renderings" of what the bridge might look like, including this one:
The Mount Hope - Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association is committed to finding out more about the widening which will have a huge impact on our area for many generations to come. We would like to have input into traffic calming, street crossings, making the railway bridge area inviting and "pedestrian and bike friendly" and many other things.
There are lots of questions with few answers so we hope to sponsor an information session in the near future.
Stay tuned to this Blog!
Ted Parkinson
Communications Director
MHBPNA
10/10/12
Annual General Meeting -- Come One, Come All
OK, so if you have been following our NA you might have noticed that the General Meetings have not quite been "annual". But we think it is time to have one and we hope you can join us.
Here is the basic agenda:
Agenda is:
1. welcome and introductions
2. report on activities in 2011-2012
3. Financial report
4. Appointment of Board
5. Discussion of Priorities for 2012-2013
6. engaging participation in Festival of Neighbourhoods
Please come and bring a friend. This is your change to meet the current executive of our MHBP Neighbourhood Association and perhaps get involved. Or at least, become informed.
For more information about our group, our website with documents is here.
Our constitution is here.
Please drop by at 10 am, Saturday morning.
FREE FRIDGE MAGNETS for the first 150 people!!!
Here is the basic agenda:
We will meet in the Solarium at the Breithaupt Centre at 10 am, Saturday, October 13.
Agenda is:
1. welcome and introductions
2. report on activities in 2011-2012
3. Financial report
4. Appointment of Board
5. Discussion of Priorities for 2012-2013
6. engaging participation in Festival of Neighbourhoods
Please come and bring a friend. This is your change to meet the current executive of our MHBP Neighbourhood Association and perhaps get involved. Or at least, become informed.
For more information about our group, our website with documents is here.
Our constitution is here.
Please drop by at 10 am, Saturday morning.
FREE FRIDGE MAGNETS for the first 150 people!!!
9/30/12
Thoughts on the Transit Hub
Ambitious
Ambitious
is the best way to describe the plan for the new Transit Hub, or the ‘Gateway
to Downtown Kitchener’, as it was described. This original rendering is WAY
beyond what I had anticipated, and the vision is exciting!
Last
night the School of Pharmacy hosted an open house and presentation for the
Transit Hub. Kevin Eby warmed the
crowd up with a great explanation of The region’s vision for the area. Glenn Scheels, gave us the meat of the
whole thing. He talked about some
of the important changes regarding zoning for the site. Then John Hill took over to cap off all
the things that we were thinking of, but never thought the planner would think
of.
I
have to say, after listening to each of them speak, I was inspired by their
vision. You can tell that these
people are invested in this project.
They are not looking for this to be a ‘building’, they genuinely seem to
view this as a Landmark. The vision
is for ‘DESIGN EXCELLENCE”. It’s
exciting!
One
of the residents asking a question, referred to taking his great grandkids to
the site. That thought is
exciting. They are not looking for
today, or tomorrow, or even 50 years from now, this will be a landmark in our
city.
While
I could drone on about the specific plan laid before us, I won’t. I felt while listening to the questions
from the residents that they were debating the final plan. It is not. It is the seed, the DNA, of what will be grown in this
community, and indeed in our neighbourhood. You can see the plan here, TRANSIT
HUB PRESENTATION BOARDS
I
could sense a real fear from some of the questions, that there is some
skepticism as to whether the Region, City, and Province can pull this off. I suppose I understand (remember the
Kitchener Market), but there seemed to be sense of responsibility for this
project. Like they (Planners) know
they can’t screw this one up.
The
important parts of this process that will make or break it are this.
- We must have
our best people working on this.
We need to have people that deeply understand our region as well as
regions around the world that have taken on this kind of ambitious
Landmark/Transit/Downtown projects.
We need to use local workers and materials wherever possible, and
we need to have a spectacular design.
- We need buy in
from the residents. We need
everyone that was at the open house, to submit his or her comments. We need all of our residents, and
especially those in our neighbourhood, to take the time and look at the
plans, and tell them what you think.
Good, bad or indifferent.
Sometimes a little kernel of a comment can pop into something
brilliant.
- We need to
understand that this is not the final plan, nor is there a price tag
attached to it. We need to
remember that this is a public space, and it will cost us money. There are no two ways about it. But remember this is a Landmark,
not a building.
I’m
excited, and I hope you are too.
This is a great boost for our community. We need to all participate in this process. The planners
seem to be listening, and in my past experience in these kinds of processes,
they do listen. Would you want to
build something that the residents don’t want?
So
please come out to all the meetings, answer the questionnaires and have your
say! You’ll be paying for it, so
might as well get a hand in the process.
Most of all, keep an open mind.
I heard a lot of negativity last night, and a lot of questions that no
one could possibly answer. We must
remember, this is the step after the City told us they have assembled the land
for a Transit Hub.
Lane
Burman
9/26/12
MHBPNA Cultural Walk, September 30, Come join us
The MHBPNA is pleased to announce a culture walk, led by John MacDonald, in our area.
The main focus of the walk is the Weber Street Widening and how it will affect people in our neighbourhood. A new transit bridge will be built, businesses will be re-located or closed, houses will be torn down and these events will all affect how we travel to work, form neighbourhood communities and experience our lives in Kitchener.
Another topic will be about "living with regional transit."
This walk is generously provided by John MacDonald as part of a "cultural prize" MHBPNA won at the Festival of Neighbourhoods a couple of years ago.
The walk will begin at Lippert Park at 1:30 and end there at 3:30. Lippert Park is located at Weber and Louisa Streets.
This will be "interactive" and we hope to have many neighbours attend and provide their perspective on Weber Street and how we walk though our area, places we visit etc.
The widening of the street and the construction of the transit hub will change our area forever and while it is mainly positive, it is difficult to imagine how profound the changes will be.
This walk is sponsored by the Mount Hope -Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association, but there are no limits on who can attend. Anyone who is interested in these issues is welcome.
Sunday, September 3o, Lippert Park, 1:30.
9/9/12
MHBPNA Culture Walk, September 30
The MHBPNA is pleased to announce a culture walk, led by John MacDonald, in our area. The main focus of the walk is the Weber Street Widening and how it will affect people in our neighbourhood. A new transit bridge will be built, businesses will be re-located or closed, houses will be torn down and these events will all affect how we travel to work, form neighbourhood communities and experience our lives in Kitchener.
Another topic will be about "living with regional transit."
This walk is generously provided by John MacDonald as part of a "cultural prize" MHBPNA won at the Festival of Neighbourhoods a couple of years ago.
We will publish more information later but please keep September 30, 1-3:30 in mind and mark it in your calendars.
Another topic will be about "living with regional transit."
This walk is generously provided by John MacDonald as part of a "cultural prize" MHBPNA won at the Festival of Neighbourhoods a couple of years ago.
We will publish more information later but please keep September 30, 1-3:30 in mind and mark it in your calendars.
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