Good Neighbours Community Day May 2nd

From the Milton Champion.

I thought given the fact that Earth Day has just passed and through so many other venues we’ve heard people talking and raising issues about how we keep our community clean, I wanted to let everyone know about a long standing tradtion in Milton called Good Neighbours Community Day on May 2nd, 2009.

You can contact Len Lee at (905) 875-4085 for more information.

Helping your neighbours while beautifying the town is the goal behind the upcoming Good Neighbours Community Day, a long-standing Milton tradition.

The morning of Saturday, May 2, for the 17th year, residents will gather to lend a hand to other residents unable to perform tasks such as washing windows, digging gardens, raking leaves, cleaning up inside and interior painting.

“In the past several years, the day’s activities have expanded to include cleaning riverbeds, roadsides, parkland and other property sites,” said long-time organizer Len Lee.

About 300 volunteers are expected to join together, including new and long-time residents, high school students, Scouts, Air Cadets and Girl Guides, Lee said.

Participants are invited to meet at 8 a. m. at Hugh Foster Hall to start the day off with a hearty bacon-on-a-bun breakfast cooked by the local Rotary Club.

Volunteers can also register and receive their assignments, plus pick up the necessary cleaning supplies. They’ll also be provided with a Good Neighbours t-shirt for identity and security purposes.

As in previous years, Halton Regional Police and RCMP officers will be driving to the various sites to transport volunteers, provide security and deliver refreshments donated by local businesses.

The event will continue until about 12:30 p. m. Students can use the time toward their required volunteer hours.

Illegal dumping on Earth Day

Is this what Louis St Laurent and 4th Line will look like if things keep up?  I dont know about you but its getting rather annoying.

For those who dont know about the area, this intersection will be the new home of a public Milton high school and other ammenities in the coming years.  But what seems to be happening, given the fact that construction hasnt started yet, is people are using this area as a dumping ground for their garbage and nothing seems to be done about it.

Over at the Hawthorne Villager Forum, there is a discussion going on about what can be done about it.  Seems appropriate considering today is Earth Day.  It just seems people like to treat their community like a dump.

Colin Best, Regional and Town Councillor in Milton responded to some of the concerns on the blog by saying this.  If you see anyone in Milton illegally dumping garbage … CALL THE TOWN with the plates of the vehicle and descriptions as well.

colin b. Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 740 Location: MILTON

Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:21 pm Post subject: Hi Synergy and other posters Yes the Town is working on more enforcement of littering. Last week at the committee meeting I requested staff to review the 1991 littering by-law and step up enforcement which the committee agreed on as our engineering staff is doing weekly pickups on streets such as Louis St. Laurent Blvd. If you do see people dumping please take their licence plates and call the Town either at 905-878-7252 during the day or 905-878-7141 after hours and weekend line. Monday night committee also approved the accelerated the design and construction of the next section of Louis St. Laurent from Yates to Highway #25 in the next year which will increase the traffic and make it more difficult for anyone to stop and dump, as the design will be similar to Thompson Road and Derry Road with curbs and sidewalks linking the area. Colin Best Local & regional councillor Milton/Halton colinbest.ca

Good News for Milton GO transit riders

As outlined in the Champion this week, it looks like there will be more trains headed to Union Station from Milton in the coming months.

This will be a welcome addition for the many people who use the GO train on a daily basis.  From personal experience I know how much time contstraints are on the riders given the limited number of trains.  One more in the morning and the evening will be well received.

I know first hand that a large number of people who use this GO train come from outside Milton as well.  From as far as Kitchener and Cambridge people make their way down the 401 to Main Street to catch one of the few trains to help them in their commuting ways.

Also outlined in that article is the fact that GO Transit is looking at doing a study for all day service.  Before you start jumping up and down, its not going to happen for a long time, if it ever does.  Many things will have to fall into place, including a transfer at 401 and Tremaine Road to accomodate more traffic headed to the station, new tracks along the route towards Union and of course the big thing…CASH!

Still good to hope that it might happen.

Less coffee, more walking

Having started a new job at Moneris Solutions (Canada’s leader in debit/credit processing solutions) and back on the road, Ive had to re-learn a few things.

In the past, I was an outside sales representative in the B2B (business to business) sales. My job was to go to my prospects offices, sell, and repeat. With this new position my territory is mainly in the downtown Toronto area.

Nothing like working downtown Toronto to make you appreciate Milton even more. In my first week, I did learn a valuable lesson. My contacts are mainly retailers and generally they are all located beside each other, leaving me to park my car and walk from one end of the street to the next.

Not a problem, right? For those who know me well, I am an avid drinker of coffee. Lots of coffee (with an 11 month old at home some of the reasons are obvious) is how I make it through the day. In the past, I was able to drive from one location to the other, make a stop here and there for some coffee and use the washroom when needed.

My first stop on my calls was the Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue part of Toronto. So after I get into town, find myself a parking spot, pay in advance, I grab my materials and head out. The only problem is … using the facilities . In downtown Toronto there arent many places you can just drop in and go. If there are places, its coffee shops and restaurants. They are pretty picky on who comes in to use the washroom so they normally demand (some nicely, and some not so nicely) to buy something before using the washroom. This leads to even more coffee and a repeat of the problem.

Needless to say, now before I head out, I limit my coffee intake and so far, its served me well. That and more comfortable shoes as pounding the pavement, literally, can be painful.

Thats why I enjoy the ride back into town and despite all the selection in town, my favourite place for a great cup of coffee is Cafe Deda, located at Trudeau and Derry Road (right beside Hawthorne Pharmacy) Tell Faisal I said HI!!!!

Sky is Falling and Paving Your Driveways

Happy Be-lated Easter everyone!

Its been a great weekend with the weather (albeit a bit cool) and fun Milton events. There was an event being held on Good Friday courtesy of The Village in town at the Milton Fairgrounds.

It was advertised as a free event, a massive “egg drop” for the kids in town and the first of its kind anywhere. If you did get a chance to come out, you were one of the few who didn’t. Close to 2000 people came out with their children in tow to take part, throwing the organizers for a loop, as they only expected 1/2 of that.

The winds were high early in the morning and they were not allowed to set the balloon aloft to the bright sky. The Milton firefighters improvised and raised their crane in the air and dropped hundreds of plastic eggs, each one containing a ticket to be redeemed for easter candy and prizes, into a crowd of children below.

Despite the extra numbers that did come out, it was a pretty good event, once again showcasing Milton as a family friendly town. Despite a few kids getting bumped around and temporarily getting lost, everyone seemed to have fun. Of course, as with any event, things can get better. Anthony and Miranda also had a blast to say the least.

Some other council notes: the new ward boundaries have been officially approved and will be in effect for the next election in 2010. Yes its only a year away. Only two councillors voted against the changes (Regional Councillor Colin Best and Town Councillor Jan Mowbray) siting reasons that the boundaries wont be accurately divided and they recommended that town staff take a further look to make sure its the best job it can be.

This means Milton will go from a 4 ward/2 councillor per ward system to an 8 ward/1 councillor per ward system. This should help increase accountability for our town representatives which would be a drastic improvement from what we have now. You can read some details here from the Champion.

Also included in that update is councils decision to allow people to pave their driveways to have 2 car parking, even if it means paving part of your lawn.

Driveway expansions approved

Residents with a home that has at least a 26-foot frontage will now be able to expand their driveways to fit two cars, even if it means paving over a portion of their lawn.

Council approved the changes to the zoning by-law last week in an effort to accommodate the needs of residents with multiple cars, some of whom have resorted to parking on their lawn as the Town doesn’t allow street parking for more than three hours.

The Town still requires enough green space such as a lawn or garden to allow for water filtration.

This doesnt mean someone could pave their entire lawn for driving, as you do need enough room on the lawn to allow for the flow of water. For some time there has been a debate, especially in the new area of Milton, about people and their parking habits. Residents have been coming up with creative ways of parking which include on the road, in the driveways with the end of the car over the road (risking tickets and raising safety issues) and also parking perpendicular at the end of the driveway. All of the fault seems to be laid squarely at the towns feet…unfairly to say the least. They may not have taken this kind of growth into consideration but as one of my neighbours said to me recently “no one held a gun to their head to buy the house knowing they had 2 or 3 cars”.

True enough … and what about the garage?