April 12, 2018: Councillor’s Corner;
News from City Hall.
By Jeff Leiper, Kitchissippi Ward Councillor.
Welcome to April, Kitchissippi. It’s truly springtime now, and we are excited for all the events and activities that come with this new season. Here’s what’s been keeping our office busy this month:
On March 26th the Environment and Climate Protection Committee received recommendations for an updated contract between the City and Orgaworld, the company that processes our organic waste.
Proposed changes, intended to increase our green bin participation from the current rate of 51%, included the disposal of dog waste and single use plastic bags in the green bin.
Because we were unable to refine the contract language to allow only compostable bags in the green bin, I voted against the changes, but that is the only sticking point for me. Council voted 19-3 to approve these changes; I reiterated my dissent.
Ultimately, I hope residents will use only compostable bags in the green bin so we can minimize the amount of plastics in the landfill.
In transportation-related news, the Harmer Pedestrian Overpass Bridge is due to be replaced, starting in May 2018. The new bridge, which will be completed in 2020, will have improved accessibility features as well as an enclosed roof and lighting. The bridge will be constructed off-site and installed using a rapid bridge replacement technique. In the meantime, there will be a detour along Holland Ave including temporary segregated bike lanes; personally, I’m hoping the bike lanes will be widely used and may be made permanent when the construction is complete.
At its March 28th meeting, City Council voted unanimously in favour of the motion forwarded by Councillor Deans and seconded by Councillor McKenney to establish a Women’s Bureau and Women’s Issues Liaison at City Hall. We absolutely need to do everything possible to include women in the planning and building of our City, and I’m very pleased to see the municipality taking this step.
Coming up this month, we have Pop-Up Office Hours on Friday, April 20th and Thursday, April 26th. On the 20th I’ll be holding a table at the Bridgehead at Richmond Road and Golden from 9 – 12, and on the 26th I’ll be at Hintonburger from 5 – 8 pm; come by and chat all things Kitchissippi. Also upcoming is the Spring Ward Forum, which will feature John Manconi as our special guest speaker to give updates on transit in the City. The Forum will be held at Van Lang Field House from 6 – 8 pm on April 30th.
NEWSWEST -Easyread Blog 