Take the road less travelled
Posted By DONAL O'CONNOR, Staff Reporter
Area farmers who could be impacted by "improvements" to the main transportation route between Stratford and New Hamburg rallied through Stratford yesterday on tractors under the slogan "Improve Existing Roads, Preserve our Farmland, Protect our Earth." For more Click here.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Consultants Response to ABC
The response to our Feb 6th, 2009 brief and accompanying recommendations came in to-day at 12:14 AM. It has not been possible to read, research and digest the contents of this reply, thoroughly. The net effect is that our community has not received an appropriate reply soon enough, to be of assistance to members at the PIC 2c to-day.
ABC and its members will have to sit down and discuss the most appropriate response. More information will follow when it is available.
Hwy 7&8 Response to ABC Recommendations_Apr21-09[1]
ABC and its members will have to sit down and discuss the most appropriate response. More information will follow when it is available.
Hwy 7&8 Response to ABC Recommendations_Apr21-09[1]
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Lorne Avenue being considered
The article below is from the April 21, 2009 edition of the Beacon Herald.
Lorne Avenue being considered as new corridor alternative
By DONAL O'CONNOR
A new corridor alternative that would run along Lorne Avenue has been identified by the Highway 7/8 study aimed at improving transportation between Stratford and New Hamburg. See complete article
Lorne Avenue being considered as new corridor alternative
By DONAL O'CONNOR
A new corridor alternative that would run along Lorne Avenue has been identified by the Highway 7/8 study aimed at improving transportation between Stratford and New Hamburg. See complete article
Monday, April 20, 2009
Letter to the Editor April 18, 2009
From the Beacon Herald's "Opinion' section:
Perth County farms are for farming, not for cars
On April 22 the Ministry of Transportation will be holding a public information meeting at the Festival Inn in Stratford from 4-8 p.m. and they are going to be there with its sales pitch that Stratford needs a new bypass around Stratford that would take local land producing local food for the local economy out of production and altering future viability of many dairy and livestock producers.
The Ministry of Transportation also has another alternative for bypassing Stratford that it will be displaying and, for the most part, uses existing roads for the bypass. This option still has many issues affecting farmers. One of the main issues is that this bypass uses existing roads on the west side of Stratford but on the east side of Stratford puts this bypass through the middle of many highly productive agricultural farms. This proposal has some merit but still needs a lot of change.
This is where we need the people of Stratford, our valuable consumers of local food, to come out to this meeting and tell the Ministry of Transportation and their consulting team that the Ministry of Transportation should work on a bypass of Stratford that concentrates on using existing roads. We need safe roads not more roads.
Coincidence or not, April 22 is also Earth Day so come make your contribution to Earth Day by keeping more local land for local consumption and by making the statement to keep our farms green.
John Van Dyk
RR 2 Tavistock
Perth County farms are for farming, not for cars
On April 22 the Ministry of Transportation will be holding a public information meeting at the Festival Inn in Stratford from 4-8 p.m. and they are going to be there with its sales pitch that Stratford needs a new bypass around Stratford that would take local land producing local food for the local economy out of production and altering future viability of many dairy and livestock producers.
The Ministry of Transportation also has another alternative for bypassing Stratford that it will be displaying and, for the most part, uses existing roads for the bypass. This option still has many issues affecting farmers. One of the main issues is that this bypass uses existing roads on the west side of Stratford but on the east side of Stratford puts this bypass through the middle of many highly productive agricultural farms. This proposal has some merit but still needs a lot of change.
This is where we need the people of Stratford, our valuable consumers of local food, to come out to this meeting and tell the Ministry of Transportation and their consulting team that the Ministry of Transportation should work on a bypass of Stratford that concentrates on using existing roads. We need safe roads not more roads.
Coincidence or not, April 22 is also Earth Day so come make your contribution to Earth Day by keeping more local land for local consumption and by making the statement to keep our farms green.
John Van Dyk
RR 2 Tavistock
Saturday, April 11, 2009
NEW Public Information Centre (PIC) #2c
The Consultants and the MTO have brought forward another PIC:
Wednesday April 22, 2009
Festival Inn - Shakespeare Room
1144 Ontario St. Stratford
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
All details have been in the paper and some of us have received a mailing. For anyone else see below.
Hwy7_8PIC2CNotice
Wednesday April 22, 2009
Festival Inn - Shakespeare Room
1144 Ontario St. Stratford
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
All details have been in the paper and some of us have received a mailing. For anyone else see below.
Hwy7_8PIC2CNotice
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Farm group wants better options for highway
The article below is well written and has a great picture of Paula and Linda to boot. I hope you all take the opportunity to read it.
Farm group wants better options for highway
By Tim Murphy, Independent Staff
Mar 04, 2009
Farm group wants better options for highway
By Tim Murphy, Independent Staff
Mar 04, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
February Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
February 12, 2009
Highway 7 and 8 Corridor Study
On February 6, 2009 the Agricultural Business Communities (ABC) of Perth East, Perth South and Wilmot West submitted a second Brief to the MTO. The Brief makes 15 recommendations from immediate to long terms directions, including our disapproval of the selection criteria used for the development of the Short List of Corridor Alternatives presented at three Public Information Centers in November and December 2008. The ABC recommends immediate collaboration on the development of the traffic volume numbers that are driving this process as well as the need for paid professional help to municipalities and affected landowners when it comes to the drainage implications of the chosen route. We also recommend a new form of public presentation for future planned events.
The ABC wants the plan to recognize agriculture as a business, protect prime agricultural land (Canada Land Inventory Class 1, 2 3) for the business of agriculture, minimize the impact on agricultural business enterprises, acknowledge and protect our rural heritage and for the MTO to assume financial responsibility for all drainage costs of highway development before and after construction.
The ABC believes the present corridors are based on subjective and questionable data and a weighting system with flagrant biases against the agricultural sector. Information on heritage buildings and landscapes is also biased in favour of the urban environment.
Furthermore, municipal and agricultural drainage and associated costs are missing in the consultant’s list of criteria. The taxpayers will be paying for the road development. Individual taxpayers along the chosen route should not also be asked to carry the financial liability resulting from highway development.
The ABC group formed in the summer of 2008 and works on behalf of over 300 property owners to ensure adequate input into the planning of the Highway 7 and 8 corridor. For More Information please contact:
Linda Dietrich 519-655- 2613 or http://www.hwy7and8.blogspot.com/
February 12, 2009
Highway 7 and 8 Corridor Study
On February 6, 2009 the Agricultural Business Communities (ABC) of Perth East, Perth South and Wilmot West submitted a second Brief to the MTO. The Brief makes 15 recommendations from immediate to long terms directions, including our disapproval of the selection criteria used for the development of the Short List of Corridor Alternatives presented at three Public Information Centers in November and December 2008. The ABC recommends immediate collaboration on the development of the traffic volume numbers that are driving this process as well as the need for paid professional help to municipalities and affected landowners when it comes to the drainage implications of the chosen route. We also recommend a new form of public presentation for future planned events.
The ABC wants the plan to recognize agriculture as a business, protect prime agricultural land (Canada Land Inventory Class 1, 2 3) for the business of agriculture, minimize the impact on agricultural business enterprises, acknowledge and protect our rural heritage and for the MTO to assume financial responsibility for all drainage costs of highway development before and after construction.
The ABC believes the present corridors are based on subjective and questionable data and a weighting system with flagrant biases against the agricultural sector. Information on heritage buildings and landscapes is also biased in favour of the urban environment.
Furthermore, municipal and agricultural drainage and associated costs are missing in the consultant’s list of criteria. The taxpayers will be paying for the road development. Individual taxpayers along the chosen route should not also be asked to carry the financial liability resulting from highway development.
The ABC group formed in the summer of 2008 and works on behalf of over 300 property owners to ensure adequate input into the planning of the Highway 7 and 8 corridor. For More Information please contact:
Linda Dietrich 519-655- 2613 or http://www.hwy7and8.blogspot.com/
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