|
||||||||
|
May 31st, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON For access to stops serving these routes, please proceed to the John Street Bus Terminal or Brant Street north of Caroline Street. 
May 31st, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON GIS mapping at Burlington city hall will be unavailable on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 from 1 to 3 p.m. The service and the system will be down for maintenance.
May 27, 2106 BURLINGTON, ON Aldershot Arena has now reopened for scheduled rentals and programs. The arena was closed on April 22 to allow for electrical system replacement following a transformer issue.
May 27th, 2106 BURLINGTON, ON The pests will be back soon – mosquitos. That bite is a quite a bit bigger than most people realize. As part of its commitment to enhancing the health and well-being of residents through public education and preventative programs, Halton Region has begun its annual larviciding program to reduce the risk of West Nile virus (WNV) in the community. This program is implemented in public property locations across Halton Region.  This is how the West Nile virus gets transmitted. Larviciding is the process of applying pesticides to objects such as catch basins, where mosquito larvae have been found. Larvicide is applied when other attempts at reducing mosquito breeding sites haven’t worked to minimize the risk of West Nile virus and is usually applied either in catch basins or in large bodies of standing water on public property. This preventative program reduces the adult mosquito population, helping to stop mosquitoes that can carry West Nile virus that are often found in standing water. “West Nile virus continues to be a concern in communities across Canada which is why Halton Region remains committed to monitoring and implementing programs to prevent and protect residents against this disease,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “By working together with the community, we will continue to reduce the risk of West Nile virus and keep our community safe and healthy.” “Larviciding is just one part of our West Nile virus prevention program which includes public education, monitoring and surveillance, eliminating potential mosquito breeding sites and larviciding,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “By eliminating standing water sites and by covering up outside at dusk and dawn and applying DEET or lcaridin, we can reduce the occurrence of West Nile virus in our communities.” Halton residents can help reduce breeding grounds for mosquitoes by removing objects that may hold water, such as bird baths, plant pots, old toys and tires. If residents see standing water on public property, they can report it to Halton Region by emailing accesshalton@halton.ca or dialing 311. Residents are encouraged to take the following steps to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes: • Cover up. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants with tightly-woven fabric. A map showing the locations of standing water sites on public property where larvicide is applied is available at halton.ca/wnv. For more information about West Nile virus, please visit halton.ca/wnv or dial 311.
May 20, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON This is nice news – the arrival of some warmer weather means the opening of the city’s splash pads on Saturday, May 21 followed by pools beginning June 18.  The Nelson pool – which won’t be open this year. “Splash pads and pools provide a fun way to spend a summer day,” said Chris Glenn, the city’s director of parks and recreation. “As the warmer temperatures return, the city’s nine splash pads and six pools will provide families with a quick and easy way to cool off all summer long and to stay active together.” A complete list of splash pads can be found at www.burlington.ca/swimming. Pool Openings  Michelle Benoit – getting in some pool time last year.
If you have questions contact staff at swimming@burlington.ca.
May 19th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON The following programs are cancelled: • Combo Lap Swim 10:30am-noon The Aldershot pool closing announcement used the same wording – they were close for several days. They rarely say what they mean by an unforeseen maintenance issue.
May 18, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON Handi-van phone service will be unavailable until 8:30 am today – Wednesday May 18 Customers please note that the phone line to contact Handi-van dispatch (905) 639-5158 will be temporarily out of service on Wednesday May 18 until approximately 8:30 a.m. for scheduled upgrades. For any urgent needs during this time please call (905) 335-7869 ext. 6602. This line will only be serviced during the phone disruption period.
May 17th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON Walkers Line at Britannia Road – Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Walkers Line will be closed at Britannia Road on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. to remove vegetation along the road. No traffic will be allowed through, with the exception of emergency vehicles responding to a emergency calls.
May 10th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON Handi-van phone disruption Wednesday May 18 Customers please note that the phone line to contact Handi-van dispatch (905) 639-5158 will be temporarily out of service on Wednesday May 18 until approximately 8:30 a.m. for scheduled upgrades. For any urgent needs during this time please call (905) 335-7869 ext. 6602. This line will only be serviced during the phone disruption period.
May 10th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON Well – it is official – with more people than is usually required to get a car out of a ditch, the $500,000 parking meter system went into use officially on Monday.  Looks like half of the Transportation department + a good portion of the city’s communications team was needed to launch the new parking meters. It took three different Requests for Proposals to get this project to the finish line. Luigi Lato , Chief Operating Officer, Precise ParkLink said he was honoured to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony, expressing that he is “overjoyed with the city’s excitement to introduce Precise ParkLink’s Pay-By-Plate parking technology. The residents will enjoy the upgraded parking system which brings Burlington on par with other global cities that use the Parkeon Pay-By-Plate parking meters and TelePark Pay-By-Cell option”. So much for that! The system is being paid for with funds that were in a reserve fund that is the levy the city places on commercial establishments in the downtown core. Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward explained that the taxpayers were not the people paying for the system. The difference for regular parking is – making sure you remember the license number of the car you are parking. You can use cash or credit card. You will also be able to use your cell phone to pay for your parking. Referred to as TelePark, it is a service that you have to register for – something you do one line. W will explain this in more detail in a follow up article. During the launch ceremonies IT staff did say there were some hiccup getting the back end of the system to work – it has to interact with the credit card organizations on a network that has the highest possible security.  Expect to see people with PAYBYPL8 walking the downtown core looking for perplexed citizens wanting to pay for their parking. They are Parking Ambassadors – there to help! The city will go into a full court press media mode explaining how the system works and will have people on the street – they are being called “Parking Ambassadors” walking around the downtown core to answer questions.
 Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward handling the cash part of the old parking meter with Downtown Business Association president Brian Dean. He is the one who is going to have to herd his members into taking on the feature that will let his members pay for client parking. Good luck Brian. The public hasn’t been jumping for joy. Michael Jones points out that these machines are in Hamilton and are not very user friendly – also if you have leftover time on your ticket you can’t share that with anyone. He adds: “ say goodbye to the great feeling of pulling up and seeing 20 minutes left on the previous parker’s meter …felt like winning a mini lottery”. Some of the posts that held the old parking meters are being re-purposed and will become bicycle racks.
May 6, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON For those who survived phase 1 of the New Street construction project – feel some compassion for the people who live within the phase 2 boundary.  Local traffic has to bob and weave to get through New Street – phase 2 starts on Monday. Gary Carr, Regional Chair, owes everyone near the New street Guelph Line part of the city at least one car wash. The dust is terrible – progress they say. Mayor Goldring was once heard to say that New Street is the one he drives along most frequently – hopefully he shares our pain. Phase 2 of the construction project begins May 9, 2016 affecting detours on Burlington Transit routes: 4, 10, 50, 52, 300, 301 and 302.
During this time, Burlington Transit has had to re-route and provide new schedules for Routes 10, 11 and 20 to allow for connections at the Appleby GO Station. Route 10 no longer becomes Route 20 at the Appleby GO Station which means a transfer is needed when going between Routes 10 and 20. The new Route 20 schedule has increased to every 15 minutes.
May 2, 2106 BURLINGTON, ON As of noon on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, riders can call 905-639-0550 – there they can enter the bus stop I.D. number to get real-time bus arrival time.
Phone disruption NOTE: This extension will only be serviced during the temporary customer service phone line disruption.
April 26th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON Our waterfront is used by thousands of people – on really nice weather days there are close to people traffic jams. The city makes great use of the space for festivals – these are organized events that are for the most part free but they don’t reflect much of the colour or culture of the city.  Great audience – but a passive audience. The Sound of Music draws thousand who are passive attendees – they listen to the music. Those on the stage are, for the most part people from out of town who are here to advance their music profile and provide what is basically free entertainment. Rib Fest draws thousands who sit and eat and listen some music.  The sand castle competition was popular but the city cut the program – it won’t be held this year. The Children’s Festival has events that children take part in but there isn’t any animating of the space by the children. Surely there is room for events that are small in nature that give groups or collectives an opportunity to express their creativity. A pop up play, a scavenger hunt for kids; wouldn’t it be something to see the gymnasts doing their routines in Spencer Smith Park? There was a time when the eastern end of the Beachway was home to Joseph Brant – what must that part of the city been like in Brant’s time? How would one express that dramatically? Great opportunity for the Museum people to do something at Brant’s house; they already do wonderful work at Ireland House where some of the most creative small community events take place. Something to think about. Toronto has created an Animating Our Waterfront, which is a pilot program that will provide funding to individuals, organizations, collectives and groups to support free arts and cultural programming in selected parks and public spaces developed by Waterfront Toronto over the last decade.  The Cirque – one of the No Vacancy programs that took place in the Village square knew how to animate their event. All it takes is some imagination and and a little Chutzpah The objective of this program is to host arts and cultural programming that celebrate these new public spaces and invite Torontonians and visitors to enjoy them. For the purposes of this program, “arts and cultural programming” includes the presentation of dance, music, theatre, visual arts, performance, literary and media arts, community- engaged artwork, cultural celebration, and any combination of the above. They are looking for projects that include themes like place-making, civic engagement, education, health and wellness, and environmental issues are encouraged. Why couldn’t Burlington do something like this?
April 26, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON  The man in the green T shirt on the left is a member of the provincial government who was in town a few wars ago to announce funding for BG to plant tree seedlings in the Beachway. The announcement was made a number of years ago – the province created a Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund that funnelled money into the city via BurlingtonGreen to plant seedlings in the Beachway area where the environmentally sensitive sand dunes need plants and tress to anchor the sand. The BG people were given $12,960 by the province for the planning, creation of three new signs, supplies, plant and tree stock After a very successful Clean Up event last weekend – 11,000 plus people took part – Burlington Green is holding a Green Up event – collaborating with Halton Region, Conservation Halton and the city.  Seedlings planted in 2015 in the Beachway – what will they look like in 20 years? Hundreds of seedlings will be planted and invasive species of flora will be pulled out and trashed. The Region, Conservation and city work with Burlington Green to determine the location of all the plantings and interpretive signs. The Clean Up involved thousands – the Green Up is limited to just 100 volunteers. The planting of the seedlings is city building at its most fundamental level – the plants that are pushed into the ground are going to be there hundreds of years from now. It will be a warm, welcome experience for the 100 volunteers to walk through the Beachway in 20 years and see their trees growing. The Region is beavering away on a plan to totally revise the Beachway from the community it now is to a rather spectacular park. The planting of trees now is all part of the evolution of that community. The Green Up event takes place on Saturday May 28 – runs from 8:45 to 12:45 with refreshments being served.  The sands on Beachway do shift. Much of the Beachway is a dune, the only one in the Region and very environmentally sensitive. The sands in th area actually shift over time.  BurlingtonGreen members water plants and shrubs they planted along the Beachway Park two years ago. Volunteers will be in the area late in May to continue this work If you want to be part of this event – go on line and register – there is room for just 100 people – they will be city building for that half day. BG volunteers have been doing this work since 2013. This year they will be planting native trees and plants. Register HERE.
April 25, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON On Saturday, April 16th, 2016 Halton Police, in partnership with the Halton Partners for Car Seat Safety (HPCSS), held a spot check car seat clinic in Burlington at Holy Rosary School. A total of 113 child seats (booster seats and car seats) were inspected to see if five key safety and legal requirements were being met. Of the 74 car seats checked, 56 did not pass this ‘quick check’ inspection resulting in a 76% fail rate.  The picture is for illustration purposes only – it is not meant to suggest that the seat is being recommended. The goal of these spot check clinics is education. Eighteen certified car seat technicians were on hand to educate and assist parents/caregivers in correcting errors once they were identified. Research tells us that proper use of a child seat can reduce the likelihood of a child being killed or seriously injured in a crash by up to 75%. The most common errors seen at the clinic in Burlington were: 1. Child not in the proper seat for their age and/or stage Parents and caregivers are encouraged to take the time to read and follow their child seat and vehicle instructions when installing their child seats. For further information on car seat safety dial 311 to speak with a public health nurse or visit www.haltonparents.ca or www.hpcss.ca.
April 25th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON Aldershot Arena is closed due to unforeseen maintenance issues.  Burlington layer and one time candidate for city council will no be using the Aldershot arena for at least a week – unforeseen circumstances have shut it down. The Arena is expected to re-open Tuesday May 3rd at 4:00pm. The original announcement on April 22nd said the arena was expected to re-open Tuesday April 26th at 4pm.
April 22, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON
Aldershot Arena
April 20th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON It is certainly an interesting program and one that will be p interest to a lot of people – but council meeting as a Standing Committee didn’t say a word about – it was consented to without as much as a word from a single member of council. The program they didn’t talk about offers low income older adults who own and live in their homes in the City of Burlington a full property tax deferral with interest being paid by Halton Region. It is a Regional program but every member of city council is also a Regional Councilor and get paid more than $50,000 a year to warm a seat at the Region – but the Gazette will tell you about the program. There are currently two property tax programs to assist lower income seniors in Burlington. Low Income Seniors Property Tax Rebate
A legislated program offered for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities to defer the year over year property tax increase. There have been no applications for the legislated deferral program. The provincial government also offers programs to assist low-income seniors including the Ontario Senior Homeowners Property Tax Grant, through income tax filing, and a property tax exemption for those individuals that make modifications to their home to accommodate seniors or persons with disabilities. Older Adult Property Tax Deferral program (OAPTD). The city has (and will in all probability) participate in the Region of Halton’s Older Adult Property Tax Deferral program (OAPTD). The program offers low income older adults who own and live in their homes in the City of Burlington a full property tax deferral with interest being paid by Halton Region. Criteria for the OAPTD Program include the following: • All registered owner(s) of a property must apply and qualify
If the tax deferral is of interest –give your member of council a call – they can or should steer you through the details.
April 10th, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON A group of Burlington-area performers have joined together to present a benefit concert in aid of Syrian refugees. Burlington impresario and artists manager Robert Missen put the call out to all of his Facebook friends when the tragic circumstances in Eastern Europe came to a head. He wondered if they would be interested in participating in a special concert to provide financial support to the cause. The reaction was swift and decisive. Missen put the word out to his colleague, Stillman Matheson, Director of Music at Port Nelson United Church, who then took the idea to the church’s Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Group . Their response was equally positive. The church will provide the use of the sanctuary for the concert, and will support the presentation of the event from marketing and logistical perspectives. Mr. Matheson and the church choir will participate in the concert.  Stuart Laughton Musicians from all genres- classical, jazz, folk, blues, musical theatre- will come together at 3:30 pm on Sunday April 17th. All of the artists will be donating their services. They include singer-songwriter Jude Johnson, trumpeter , sopranos Carol Ann Thomson, Elise Naccarato and Alix Kingston, KooGle Theatre’s Leslie and Chris Gray, pianist Charles Cozens, flutist Claire Sweeny, mime artist and singer-songwriter Andy Griffiths. Robert Missen will serve as Host. All of the proceeds will be shared equally between The United Church of Canada’s Emergency Response – Syria Relief campaign for those in refugee camps overseas and the Port Nelson Refugee Sponsorship Group.  Trevor Copp 5000 Miles Burlington is but one of several similar benefits that are being held across southern Ontario: Rosedale United Church in Toronto on Sunday November 8th ; Knox Presbyterian Church in Elora on Saturday November 28th ; and St. John’s Anglican in Ancaster on February 28th. Tickets are $25 and are available through the Office of Port Nelson United Church, at Different Drummer Books, through Eventbrite and at the door. Children under 12 are admitted for free.
April 7, 2016 BURLINGTON, ON If you have at some point felt your financial planner was not really delivering the level of service you thought you deserved for the fees you are paying – the province wouldlike to hear from you.  This isn’t the experience for everyone who engages a financial advisor – the province wants to hear about your experience. Ontario is seeking public feedback on recommendations to help consumers access quality, professional financial planning and advice. The Expert Committee to consider Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Policy Alternatives has issued a report outlining preliminary recommendations, including: Regulating individuals who serve as financial planners and advisors Harmonizing industry education, credentialing, licensing and titling standards Establishing clear rules to protect consumers and mitigate the risk of conflict of interest Starting today, Ontarians can provide feedback on the expert committee’s recommendations by: Submitting comments online to Fin.Adv.Pln@ontario.ca by June 17
The committee will use the feedback to finalize its recommendations to government, which are expected this fall. The financial services sector, including financial planning and advising, is critical to Ontario’s economic prosperity. In 2015, the sector accounted for 390,000 jobs across the province, generating almost 10 per cent of Ontario’s GDP. The Expert Committee to Consider Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Policy Alternatives was established in 2015. The final report by an expert advisory panel reviewing the mandates of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the Financial Services Tribunal and the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario with the goal of modernizing the regulation of financial services and pension plans and increasing agency accountability, is due to be released this spring.
|
||||||||
|
Copyright © 2024 Burlington Gazette – Local News, Politics, Community - All Rights Reserved Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
||||||||
The New Street construction project is scheduled until September 2016.
Bus stop I.D. numbers are displayed on the bus stop signs across the city or riders can search by route through the new Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system phone line. In June, real-time information will also be made available online which will feature a new mobile friendly website.
In 2015, there were 518 applications processed for the tax rebate program. Low-Income Senior & Disabled Property Tax Deferral Program
• The program requires an annual renewal application, which is initiated in January of each year with a deadline of September 30
