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Friday, July 3, 2015

Ontario Trail News - follow us on Twitter or a variety of sources!

Follow us on Twitter

Member Requests

1) Algonquin College program on-line

2) OTC Website for your Mobile

3) Post Photos to Pinterest

4) OTC on Foursquare

5) Safe Trails Manual

6) OTC Youtube Channel

7) Ontario Trails Maps

8) Enabling Change Program

9) OTC Board 2014-15

Jack De Wit - PRESIDENT
Canadian Recreational Horse and Rider Association
905-655-4666
cndhrsman@bellnet.ca

Dan Andrews - Vice President
TrailADE Consulting
705-927-8648
trailadecanada@gmail.com
Paul Ronan
Ontario Parks Association
647-991-9444
paulronan@rogers.com
Frieda Baldwin
Individual
705-245-1005
frieda.baldwin@rogers.com
Wayne Daub
Oxford Trails Committee
519-500-3715
w-daub@rogers.com
Zane Davies
TreadScape Inc.
519-270-8461
treadscape@gmail.com

Graham Burke
Individual, Education Program Facilitator
519-941-8911
twest @ofsc.on.ca

Jason Davis
Renfrew County
613-633-9683
J davis @countyofrenfrew.on.ca

Bonnie Simpson
Acting Treasurer
Kirkfield
705-438-5752
fortheotc@gmail.com

Patrick Connor
Ex-officio - Executive Director
Deseronto
613-484-1140
execdir@ontariotrails.ca

We are looking for 2 Board members interested in supporting the broad interests of all trails in Ontario. Interested give us a call. 613-484-1140

If you are interested in assisting the OTC, through fundraising, membership development, conference planning or as an educator, please e-mail Jack De Wit to discuss. cndhrsman@bell.net

Disclaimer
The ideas, opinions, re-posting of news, editorials and content contained in this newsletter are not necessarily the ideas or opinions of the OTC Board or staff. This news is intended for informational purposes only.

OTC Event Planning Guide
Call 877-668-7245

OTC Trail Committee Manual
Call 877-668-7245

Ontario Trails Membership
On behalf of OTC we thank you for your support. If there is a group you know that is not a member contact us and we'll send them a note on membership benefits. This past week we received a renewal from Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and Sault Ste. Marie Thank you very much for your support!

THANKS! MERCI!

Surveys and Networking!

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Photo Credit Header - Friends of Killarney

COMPLETE THIS SURVEY PLEASE

The Ontario Trails Council has collected over 40,000 points of data on Ontario's recreational trails. We know that there is a trail in over 430 communities. We know Ontario maintains over 80,000 km of trails. This means a sizable investment of time, effort and funds has been utilized to create the world's largest system of trails. This survey asks you to provide more detail on the inputs of time, effort and investment that made trails in your area.

Thanks

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Ontario Trail News - cyclist killed while road cycling and cycle tourism workshop in Lambton and more from Ontario Trails

Clarington cyclist killed Easter Sunday after colliding with car

Cyclist accident 2

Dave Parsons

CLARINGTON -- Members of the Durham Regional Police Traffic Services Branch conduct an investigation after a 60-year-old cyclist was killed when he was hit by a car at Bloor Street and Solina Road Sunday, April 5 about 10:55 a.m. April 5, 2015.

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Clarington This Week
By Mike Johnston

CLARINGTON - A 60-year-old Clarington man is dead after he turned his bike in front of a car as it attempted to pass a group of cyclists on Bloor Street Easter Sunday, April 5, report Durham Regional Police.

According to police, seven cyclists were biking westbound on Bloor Street at 10:55 a.m. about to turn left onto Solina Road. Police said a red Pontiac Vibe was also westbound and attempted to pass the cyclists in the eastbound lane. The cyclist turned in front of the car and was hit.

The victim died at the scene, said police. The driver of the car, a 21-year-old Clarington woman, was taken to hospital with minor injuries and released. Police are not releasing the name of the victim.

Full article.....

Cycle tourism workshop planned for April 16 at Lambton College

By Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer

Monday, April 6, 2015 2:53:56 EDT PM

(Tribune file photo)

Dedicated bike lanes could be cropping up on Colborne Road and Cathcart Boulevard this year, with the community's OK.

A proposal in the city's transportation master plan, approved by council last year, said city development manager Mike Berkvens, calls for bike lanes on those streets to make traversing Sarnia's cityscape on two wheels easier.

“The cheapest way and the biggest bang for our buck is using the existing road and just doing line painting,” said Berkvens, noting council has set aside $250,000 this year for bike trail development and sidewalk improvements.

Full article.....

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Ontario Trails News - cycling routes coming to Oxford - home of the Oxford County Trail Council, in 2015, Greenbelt has done more harm than good

Learn more about Ontario's cycling trails

Saturday, November 8th 2014 09:21

Oxford Cycling Committee has teamed up with Transportation Options to make Oxford County a cycling destination.

OXFORD COUNTY - Great roads and quiet traffic are just some of the assets Oxford County has that appeal to cyclists.

Oxford County Cycling Committee is working hard to develop a series of cycling routes in hopes of making us a prime cycling destination.

Tourism Specialist Meredith Maywood says they worked closely with the award winning non-profit organization 'Transportation Options'.

"They are known for the website 'Ontario By Bike' and what they do is they promote cycling and cycling tourism throughout the province. Ontario By Bike came down to Oxford County, they met with members of the Cycling Committee and reviewed the trails master plan and other cycling information for the area and they developed 11 cycling routes that would appeal to cyclists coming to the area."

"They vary in length from something that would appeal to someone who is very recreational so from 15-30km to people who are looking for a more challenging ride up in the area of 100km or more," says Maywood. " The routes have just been developed and we are actually just in the process of getting ready to launch the routes for 2015."

Oxford County businesses are being encouraged to have cycling amenities available which could earn them 'bike friendly certification'.

Ten local businesses have received the Ontario by Bike designation which Maywood says varies based on the type of business it is.

"For a restaurant having healthy food options, bike locks available and water bottle refill and then obviously information on cycling available. To accommodations they would want to have overnight lock up available so whether it's in the person's hotel room or another location on site and also a bicycle repair kit would be required for those groups."

Once the routes are launched, Maywood says a pocket-sized cycling map, downloadable route sheets and videos promoting cycling in the County will become available.

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TOM CURTIS

Has Toronto’s Greenbelt done more harm than good?

TOM CURTIS

Contributed to The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Nov. 21 2014, 9:41 AM EST

Last updated Friday, Nov. 21 2014, 9:43 AM EST

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Tom Curtis is a Toronto-based real estate policy professional.

We are a few weeks away from the tenth anniversary of the Ontario Liberal government’s landmark passing of the Greenbelt Act.

This act enabled the creation of the world’s largest permanent greenbelt, which now protects about 7,200 square kilometres of land surrounding the Greater Toronto Area from urban development – an area larger than Prince Edward Island. The government claims that the Greenbelt supports healthy communities across the greater Golden Horseshoe by curbing urban sprawl and preserving natural heritage. Linda Jeffrey, now mayor of Brampton, explained earlier this year that the Greenbelt “supports our plans for a prosperous and sustainable Ontario” and that it “is one of the greatest contributions our generation has made to the future of Ontario.”

Such strong rhetoric might lead us to assume that the legislation is delivering overwhelmingly and unquestionably positive results. However, the benefits of greenbelt policy are widely questioned. Referring to the 13 per cent of England that is greenbelt-protected, Paul Cheshire, emeritus professor of economic geography at the London School of Economics, writes that “the unstoppable damage [greenbelts] do to societal fairness, housing affordability, the economic efficiency of our cities, even the environment, is devastating.”

Consider two facts: 1) the population of the Greater Toronto Area is seeing unprecedented growth; 2) through the implementation of Greenbelt legislation, the supply of land is being severely restricted. Basic supply and demand economics will tell you that if demand increases dramatically and supply is limited then a shortage occurs and prices will rise. In 1991 the population of the GTA was 4.2-million; in 2001 it was 5.1-million, and by 2011 it was estimated to be 6.1-million. The provincial government projects that the area’s population will tip 8.9-million by 2036.

Meanwhile, Greenbelt legislation has been introduced, premised on controlling the GTA’s urban growth boundaries. This, along with municipally-enforced density and height restrictions, heritage building protections and NIMBYism, impedes any effort to balance the supply of housing stock with demand. The result of this imbalance has been extreme and it is highly visible: hyper-development and Manhattanization of the downtown core, rapid gentrification of neighbourhoods, severe overcrowding of the transit system, and skyrocketing rents and property values.

The Toronto Real Estate Board reports that average property sale prices in Toronto are 68 per cent higher than they were in 2005. The average price of a detached home in the GTA is now $700,000, in the City of Toronto this number is nearer to $900,000. Even condo sales in Toronto are averaging $380,000. Property owners, including many of Canada’s wealthiest, are laughing their collective way to the bank.

But not everyone is benefiting. As prices skyrocket, first-time buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to access the market (The Bank of Montreal reports that a typical Toronto family now has to spend 42 per cent of family income on mortgage payments for the average bungalow), and huge polarization is forming between the price of single-family homes and condominiums – restricting mobility within the market. Aggressive gentrification is resulting in the poor being pushed out of their neighbourhoods into the less-desirable periphery and, not surprisingly, the demand for affordable housing is huge. The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association states that in 2013, 91,000 Toronto households were waiting for affordable housing. In addition, wait times for subsidized housing were 8.39 years in Peel, 7.57 years in York, and 6.67 years in the City of Toronto.

The provincial government’s first 10-year review of the Greenbelt Act is now due. However, it seems as though Queen’s Park has already concluded that the Greenbelt has been a unanimous success. In 2008, only 3 years after implementation of the Greenbelt and a full 7 years before its first review, the Liberals released criteria for expanding it. This document outlined the process by which municipalities could add land to the Greenbelt, while also stating that “reductions or deletions to the Greenbelt area will not be considered.” One has to wonder if there is any point in the review at all.

Regardless, it will be done in consultation of a government-appointed Greenbelt Council, comprised of a hand-picked team of environmentalists and supporters of the Greenbelt. It seems extremely likely that this will be a review focused on the conservation of green space and protection of idyllic private country estates, rather than the broader consequences the legislation has inflicted upon the region and its population to date.

There are many benefits to the provision of open spaces across the Toronto region: preserving natural heritage, supplying recreational space, providing clean air and water systems, and supporting the existence of farmland (although this claim is seriously questioned by some local farmers), to list a few. However, social equity is fundamentally important to our region and a healthy balance of these objectives is crucial. As with any government legislation, we must challenge the idea that Ontario’s Greenbelt is flawless and encourage debate.