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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-11-18, Page 3Wednesday, November 18, 2015 • News Record 3 County council reconfirms support in principle for G2G Laura Broadley Clinton News Record Four recommendations for county council were presented on Nov. 12 in regards to the request made by Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail Inc. to lease the rail bed from east of Walton through to Goderich. The recommendations fol- lowed a series of meetings with the worldng committee of adja- cent landowners, community representatives and staff from Huron and Perth Counties. The goal of the committee was to work through some of the issues that had been brought up through commu- nity meetings, Rebecca Rath - well said. There was a recommenda- tion that council reconfirm its support in principle for the signing of the lease with the Province of Ontario for the G2G trail. County had originally declared its support in March 2014 and were asked to recon- firm, Rathwell said. There will be two open houses in coming week and it was recommended that a council member be appointed to attend: Nov 26 from 7 - 9 p.m. at the Perth East Recrea- tion Centre in Milverton and on Nov 28 from 2 - 4 p.m. at the Blyth Community Centre. Cindy Fisher said there was also a recommendation to have the county represented by a staffmember on the G2G board so that the avenues of commu- nication could remain open. "The reason for this would be to provide an avenue for county issues to continue to be County staff to start road safety program Laura Broadley Clinton News Record In the wake of a devastating accident, which led a woman being seriously injured, Huron County council asked staff to prepare a report on road safety in early September. At the Nov 12 meeting council approved a staff committee on cycling to begin a program to improve road safety. 'We put a staff committee on cycling together because this touches various departments as well as the Health Unit," Scott Tousaw, director of planning and development, said. At the Sept. 2 meeting coun- cil directed staff to research the potential impact of a Share the Road campaign. As a result of the report, Tou- saw said there were two groups ofrecommendations, short and long term. "This is a complex issue, as many issues are," Tousaw said before he presented a proposed cycling strategy for 2016, which would allow for interested members of the public to have a say. "There's a lot of people across the county and they're quite interested in this subject;' Tou- saw said. Four recommendations were presented including that the county participate in the Share the Road Campaign. • "You might be surprised to learn, as I was, that Share the Road is not a signage program. Those Share the Road signs that you see when you go travelling across Ontario are Ministry of Transportation approved sig- nage," Tousaw said. Instead Share the Road is an advocacy group that has pro- grams to help educate the public. • The second recommenda- tion was that a pilot project be introduced to investigate the possibility of wider paved shoulders during the recon- struction of County Road 31 from Safford to Benmiller. Tou- saw said there was an impor- tant distinction between wider paved shoulders and desig- nated bike lanes. He explained bike lanes require very specific specifications. "If you simply provide wider shoulders it has the effect of enhancing safety but it's not a designated bike lane," Tousaw said. Bluewater Mayor Tyler Hes- sel said wider shoulders would be better for all residents as It Starts with You! WINK iticfrita,�� PITCF-tM NAS GODERICH LIONS ARENA BINGO - EVERY WEDNESDAY 7PM TV BINGO Monday nights 7:00 pm Hurontel Channel 1 TuckerSmith Channel 48 Eastlink Channel 10 7:00 pm LIC. #M717467 opposed to a cycling roadway because evenwalkers could use them. • Third recommendation was to "enhance the County Cycling Guide and website with additional information for cyclists" This could mean statistics like road conditions and traffic counts, Tousaw said. • The last recommendation was to support community initiatives for off-road cycling facilities. Hessel said he would have liked to see a recommenda- tion that the county partner with the lower tier municipalities. "As much as the county has lots of roadways, a lot of the roadways that are ridden in the community are actually municipally owned road- ways," Hessel said. Tousaw said the long-term strategy would hopefully include the local municipal partners. Royal Canadian Legion Clinton Turkey Dinner Sunday, November 22, 2015 Dinner from 4:30pm - 6:30pm Tickets only $12 in advance $14 at the door discussed at the G2G Inc. board level and that would also be an information flow opportunity back to county council and to staff;' Fisher added. The fourth recommendation was that G2G be required to provide a work plan with costs and a detailed update by November 2016 to be consid- ered with council's decision to sign the lease. G2G signed an interim lease with the province in July 2015 and so work has already begun. "By the time there is one year of operation of the trail by G2G Inc. we feel that would provide important informa- tion back to county council on the potential cost and issues associated with the trail before the final signing of the lease," Fisher said. "It works in other places, we feel there's a workable solu- tion here." RECRUITING ONE NEW HCEDB BOARD MEMBER SON CL1 NTY HCEDB The Huron County Economic Development Board YOU COULD BE PART OF HELPING HURON COUNTY GROW IN EXCITING NEW WAYS! If you are passionate about Huron County and want to see it positioned well for the future; If you believe that we have a great story to tell and that we welcome investments and business development at the same time as we embrace our heritage and quality of life; and if you know that it takes commitment and hard work to accomplish great things ... then consider putting your name forward. In 2016 the Board will launch Huron County's new economic development strategic plan and a new economic development department structure. APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY November 30th at 4 p.m. For information on the Board and the recruitment process those interested can contact Natasha Fritzley via phone: 519-524-8394 x.3232 and email: nfritzley@huroncounty.ca