By Pepper Parr
September 28th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
There is an issue that no one on city council wants to talk about – the Councillors for wards 3 and 6 are terrified that their constituents would tar and feather them if they supported the offer the Nelson Quarry has made to give the the city title to the land which would be turned into a park.
The quarry, once it has been mined out and some work done to return the land to its original form has the potential to meet a need that is going o exist in the not too distant future.
Nelson quarry that is near its end of life – the site will fill with water and could be turned into a park.
Council members take the view during an election that it is heresy to talk about something many are against rather than explain the long term potential and why the idea of having the quarry turned into a large public park when all the useful aggregate has been mined out is a very wise long term decision.
The people managing the application for a license extension and renewal are about to announce that they will be making an announcement on a park operator.
Rendering of what part of the quarry could look like once all the aggregate has been extracted
Does this suggest that the city has lost the opportunity to be involved in the creation of parkland that is going to be needed in the not too distant future. The ability to be consistently short sighted on the part of Councillors Bentivegnia and Nissan is astonishing – both are reacting to the views of their constituents north of Hwy 407 and Dundas, forgetting that the bulk f their constituents are south of that border.
The Joint Tribunal process is winding its way towards a decision.
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
Nelson wants another 124-acre of our Escarpment greenspace in return for this “future park”. This means, they want decades (potentially a century) more of blasting Mt. Nemo to its rocky core. Rattling of nearby homes, sending plumes of toxic dust across residents’ yards, threatening the quantity and quality of well water that we need now, having hundreds of trucks ploughing up and down Guelph line daily, and putting lives at risk from flyrock- this is what they’re offering in exchange for a park. The “need for a park in the not so distant future” is a completely rubbish argument to try and cover up the irreversible destruction this quarry has done to already 504 acres of our escarpment land, and to illude people to thinking its some generous offer. Ask yourself, who will be paying to ‘rehabilitate’ this wasteland to a park? What is being used to fill this gaping crater they have excavated from Mt. Nemo plateau? We need natural spaces more than man-made parks. We need old trees, clean and abundant fresh water, habitats for the plethora of wildlife that calls Mt. Nemo home, including habitats and breeding ponds of the endangered Jefferson Salamander. We need city councilors who will stand up for the environment today. Do not be fooled by Nelson’s offer people. This article is so chalked with grammatical errors, its embarrassing.
There is an old quarry that I and my friends loved to swim in when teens in the 1950’s ——-long before Burlington had many public pools.It is still being enjoyed by Burlington Families in 2022. Now named Emerald Lake with many park facilities for camping etc.
This offer by Nelson Quarry could by a very valuable asset to Burlinton’s park system and is much closer for Most Burlington families than Emerald Lake.
This is a no-brainer!
With all due respect, Pepper, does Nelson Aggregates want something in return for this?