The following article appeared in the August 29 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
For the better part of an hour this week, Mayor Karen Farbridge had the ear of two key provincial ministers and said she used her time wisely to push for local initiatives.
While in Ottawa attending an Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, Farbridge met with Energy and Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman on the city’s energy plan and redevelopment of the provincial government’s land holdings on York Road. She also spoke with Transportation Minister Jim Bradley about improvements to the Hanlon Expressway and GO rail service.
The city is pushing for bicycle and pedestrian improvements to the expressway, costs the municipality would have to bear because the Transportation Ministry currently doesn’t pay for them.
Farbridge said Wednesday she was pleased to hear Bradley say that may change.
“The good news is he said they are reviewing that policy,” Farbridge said.
Part of Monday’s meeting with Smitherman, which included Guelph Councillor Vicki Beard, was to familiarize him with the city’s municipal energy plan “and how our desires align with provincial goals,” the mayor said. The intention is to use less energy in the city in future than it does today, even as Guelph’s population climbs.
The two Guelph representatives may also have enticed Smitherman to visit the city in the near future to examine its proposed Guelph Innovation District, which is what the city calls the provincially owned York district lands. It’s the sprawling 426-hectare site of the former correctional centre on York Road where the city and Queen’s Park are developing a strategy for a mix of businesses, including energy, agricultural, health, environmental and advanced manufacturing firms.
It may even have an energy-sharing component.
“He expressed interest in coming out to Guelph to see the lands,” Farbridge said.
The site is intended to spur job creation in Guelph, but she said it will also include a housing component.
Upgrading the Hanlon Expressway is currently under environmental assessment, Farbridge said, adding she’d like to see the province pick up as much of the tab as possible.
With new industrial land becoming available along the Hanlon near Laird Road, the two Guelph representatives told Minister Bradley Tuesday they want an interchange built there without delay.
“We just updated the minister on how critical it is,” Beard said yesterday, noting current traffic lights there limit vehicle flow and volume.
Bradley was impressed the city was being proactive in bringing industrial land on stream, Farbridge said.
Guelph also lobbied for GO rail service through Guelph. Farbridge said in the longer term, she pushed for discussions with the Transportation Ministry on a regional transportation plan that would include Guelph.