You would think getting these weeds cut would be a simple thing right? Well, sorry to say, but the Region of Durham disappoints again.
I received word last month that it would be taken care of and waited. After not seeing any action, yesterday I sent an email and copied Region Chair Henry writing that this is unacceptable and an embarrassment to the City of Oshawa and the Region.
It's a Regional Road and this is the 1km stretch of Simcoe St. N. (west side) from Windfields Farm Dr. W. south to Ontario Tech Campus Ice at the gateway to Oshawa from Hwy 407.
Hoping a lesson is learned. A future recurrence of this problem needs to be avoided when construction happens on other roads. The care and maintenance of the boulevards should to be spelled out clearly when contracts are signed and then followed up on.
I received word last month that it would be taken care of and waited. After not seeing any action, yesterday I sent an email and copied Region Chair Henry writing that this is unacceptable and an embarrassment to the City of Oshawa and the Region.
It's a Regional Road and this is the 1km stretch of Simcoe St. N. (west side) from Windfields Farm Dr. W. south to Ontario Tech Campus Ice at the gateway to Oshawa from Hwy 407.
Hoping a lesson is learned. A future recurrence of this problem needs to be avoided when construction happens on other roads. The care and maintenance of the boulevards should to be spelled out clearly when contracts are signed and then followed up on.
It is the final phase of this Simcoe St. N. major project, from Conlin Rd. to Winchester Rd. planned for a number of years with an estimated cost of over $12M (See pages 19-22 in the Region's Master Transportation Plan) https://durhamtmp.files.wordpress.com/.../project...)
plus approximately $3M from the City of Oshawa for the multi-use trail, sidewalks and streetlighting, including an extra contribution for certain 'gateway enhancements' such as banners and decorative street lighting, in addition to the median trees. (See City of Oshawa's 2014 Report "DS-14-161") http://app.oshawa.ca/.../DS_14_161_Report...
When a number of residents complained last month about these weeds on a FB group page I wrote there actually are streetscape enhancements to look forward to: In addition to new trees planted along the sides, there will also be a tree-lined centre median. (Incidentally this section of Simcoe St. N. is not in my Ward but I drive it almost every day and a couple of my Ward 1 constituents also reached out and expressed their concern.)
Although I am not on Region Council, when the Region sent out Public Notices about the project last April, 2020 https://apps.durham.ca/.../publicw.../projectdetails.aspx... I spoke with the Project Manager because I wanted to ensure the centre median with trees would be included, because there was no mention of them in the Public Notices. He gave assurance they were still included...I wrote City Senior staff how it would be positive to place a note in some future public advisory about this new feature.
I believe in being committed to both the big and small. There are multiple categories of concerns on this job, and giving priority to certain issues doesn't preclude any member of Council from desiring and trying to do something about what some may consider seemingly less weighty issues. Lessons can be learned and small actions have consequences.
By the way, although I was not on Council in 2014 when the planned Simcoe St. North streetscape enhancements were approved, I wrote to the Mayor and Council members at the time that it would be good to do streetscape enhancements on Simcoe St. South by Hwy 401 too. http://app.oshawa.ca/.../2014.../CORR_Request_1_McConkey.pdf
With the Province's planned improvement to the Simcoe St. S/Hwy 401 interchange and the current condition of the 2km section of Simcoe St. South from the downtown area to the 401, now more than ever it seems a really good time to push the Region and City for Simcoe St. South road improvements and enhancements!
plus approximately $3M from the City of Oshawa for the multi-use trail, sidewalks and streetlighting, including an extra contribution for certain 'gateway enhancements' such as banners and decorative street lighting, in addition to the median trees. (See City of Oshawa's 2014 Report "DS-14-161") http://app.oshawa.ca/.../DS_14_161_Report...
When a number of residents complained last month about these weeds on a FB group page I wrote there actually are streetscape enhancements to look forward to: In addition to new trees planted along the sides, there will also be a tree-lined centre median. (Incidentally this section of Simcoe St. N. is not in my Ward but I drive it almost every day and a couple of my Ward 1 constituents also reached out and expressed their concern.)
Although I am not on Region Council, when the Region sent out Public Notices about the project last April, 2020 https://apps.durham.ca/.../publicw.../projectdetails.aspx... I spoke with the Project Manager because I wanted to ensure the centre median with trees would be included, because there was no mention of them in the Public Notices. He gave assurance they were still included...I wrote City Senior staff how it would be positive to place a note in some future public advisory about this new feature.
I believe in being committed to both the big and small. There are multiple categories of concerns on this job, and giving priority to certain issues doesn't preclude any member of Council from desiring and trying to do something about what some may consider seemingly less weighty issues. Lessons can be learned and small actions have consequences.
By the way, although I was not on Council in 2014 when the planned Simcoe St. North streetscape enhancements were approved, I wrote to the Mayor and Council members at the time that it would be good to do streetscape enhancements on Simcoe St. South by Hwy 401 too. http://app.oshawa.ca/.../2014.../CORR_Request_1_McConkey.pdf
With the Province's planned improvement to the Simcoe St. S/Hwy 401 interchange and the current condition of the 2km section of Simcoe St. South from the downtown area to the 401, now more than ever it seems a really good time to push the Region and City for Simcoe St. South road improvements and enhancements!