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Page A . Wateriqo @ronicle, Wednesday. February 19, 1975 Published every Wednesday by Fairway Press. a division of Kitchener-Waterloo Record Ltd. 225 Fairway Rd,, Kit- chener. Ontario. Address correspondence to Waterloo Square. Waterloo. Ont. Telephone 744-6364, On Monday Waterloo city council decided to allocate $40,000 for a study to relocate the CNR tracks dissecting the downtown area of the city. - Despite the obvious objections from a few councillors overdhe less than accurate finan- cial figure connected with the study it should prove to be worth every penny even if the Railways Consulting Subsidiaries study costs the city more than anticipated. By relocating the CNR tracks which dissect Waterloo Square and effectively congest traf- fic on Caroline, Erb and King Streets the city will open the doors for proper redevelopment of the downtown area. Monday's vote of confidence for the study is the initial step of a positive approach to down- town redevelopment. Once the city receives the proposed study federal assistance may be available. While city officials are not quite certain where the grant will originate or even the amount ( on a percentage basis) they are confident that the city won't be left with the total bill. If the study proves unfeasible (which is doubt- ful) then the city will foot the bill. If, however, the study indicates relocation is both physically and financially possible then federal assistance is likely. The study should prove fruitful for Waterloo. Even if it is not adopted in whole there should be some alternatives to relieve the track prob-' lem which has been a thorn in the side of this municipality for a number of years. Once the study is completed the city and Ox- ford should be able to arrive at a suitable plan which should be a shot in the arm for the down- town business community. '. by Mayor Herb Epp ' This is the first of what will be a regular monthly article by myself or one of the aldermen concerning matters of a local or regional nature in Waterloo. These articles are in- tended to keep you. the citizen. better informed of pro- blems and issues faced by your Council. My hope is that all citizens will read them and if clarification or elaboration is sought on a particular matter. you will feel free to phone me or someone else at City Hall for further information. The pulitical side During the last two years the Government of Ontario has had a task force studying the restructing of hydro for the Province Recently the Minister responsible for hydro Indicated that our region as well as others may now pro- ceed to restructure the current system to meet more accurately present needs of the consumers. Various alternatives are open to us, We could leave matters as they are and continue With 13 different com- missions within the region, We could reduce the number to 7 based on local boundaries We could make it a re- gional responsibility, or lastly we might ask the Province to assume the responsibility for distribution on a Provirr cial basis I have always felt that matters which can be dealt with on a local basts should be kept local and this applies equally-W0 the distribution of hydro power inmur Overdue In Canada: one year $8: in United States and Foreign countries: one year $10 waterloo chronicle Viewlmint Study SUBSCRIPTION RATES ESTABLISHED 1854 Who ivent to the first neighbourhood planning meeting held last week? Three aldermen were there, Rudy Kominek. Mary Jane Mewhinney and Harold Wagner. The city plan- ner, Rich Danziger, was also present. But well over 90 per cent of the audience consisted of concerned home-owners, mainly from the centre part of Area I. fairly unanimous in their outlook. . IMwntuwn Iperttttecth'e What went on? Well, there was a loose structure to the evening. Maps of the area were distributed and people ask- to mark the zoning densities they wished to see in their immediate neighbourhood. Comments could be written on the back and the map was to be turned in or mailed to City Hall. After a few explanatory remarks by lan MacNaughton, planning consultant, the meeting was steered by Ray Stanton from William Street. The audience was asked what it liked about the area. They enjoyed re-phrasing the familiar praise of downtown living-the chance to be near things. to have a large garden, be where "no tall buildings shade out the sun“. bring up children in a residential cross- section of ages and income, and have mature trees (long to grow and quickly destroyed. the speaker added i. People spoke up about their dislikes too. Speed on Will- iam Street, dogs at large. cars parked on lawns, loose zoning, industrial pollution. and lack of parkland were some of the concerns. A large portion of the meeting was taken up by these problems. and some useful information exchanged. Many existing problems could be solved if existing city by-laws were enforced. and one good recommendation put forward was to publish a list of the correct sources to contact with various complaints. When interest was shown in a minimum maintenance by-law, the city planner pointed out that one would necessitate a larger city hall staff Each of the municipalities should have the opportunity to retain control of hydro distribution within their boun- daries or ask the Region of Waterloo to assume it where they. as an area government. do not feel for one reason or another they want that responsibility. An alternative to the Region assuming the responsibility would be for larger communities. such as Cambridge. Kitchener or Waterloo to provide assistance to North Dumfries. Wellesley or other small local areas. The local municipality would, however. have the option to decide which course it wished to follow, area. Over the past decades our hydro commission has seen fit to distribute power to the consumer about as economically as anywhere in Ontario. I would like this to continue. In closing I want to say that I will be glad to learn of your concerns regarding our City operations Please write or phone me and I will respond as quickly as possible to your ‘requests, _ V _ ' I would also suggest that each municipality have a uniform retail rate within that municipality. This would help overcome the irritation that some of our more rural resi- dents feel because they must pay a higher rate than those of us who live in the urban parts of the City Wtttetrioo mayor Herb Epp will be submitting a roguiar column on the municipality from the chief . oncomivo's position. . i . . . . . . . - _ The problem of city traffic was aired. The planning con- sultants have, remained firm in their stand that they must plan within the given city road plan. They can report our concerns but must basically fit their plan into the existing road framework. Roads must be considered as a network for the whole downtown. Some downtown residents had misgivings about breaking the study into five areas. A smaller meeting gives a better chance for participation. and although we share concern for all of downtown. our worries are iarfrohn similiar in each area. What about citizen participation. though. did the resi- dents in-Area One really come up with any practical plan- ning? Most of us don't really have much knowledge to recognize what ideas are imaginative and applicable. We have to do more than say we do or don't like things about our neighbourhood. That first meeting was a good one in that the residents' mood was strongly expressed, but it left one with a feeling of dissatisfaction. obyiously the planners must come back again with some concrete options. We must chose between some practical alternatives. Take low-cost housing for example. Area One residents were only willing to make room for senior citi- zen housing. If other areas feel the same, what practical solution will there be for sites for low-cost family housing? They rejected hi-rises as well. Low-rise high density was discussed. but only on sites presently industrial. Is this the only practical solution for high density? A follow-up meeting will give us a chance to choose be- tween alternatives, based, where practical. on our sugges- tions. Be sure to attend your area meetings, and return the map with your ideas. That first m ting was only one rung on the ladder of planning 'liU"tirifpl'lltll. Submitted by Rosemary Rowe Downtown Residents' Association