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_ City hall department a lament 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 74mm. Page 4 - Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, Match 5, 1975 On Monday Waterloo council was informed by a local resident that the city engineering department changed a work order in an attempt to have the proposed widening of Albert Street approved by council. There appears to be a communications prob- lem at city hall. 7 - While the work has been deferred until the city meets with the residents affected by the work, the change in plans has very serious impli- cations. The widening of Albert Street has been a thorn in the side of the city engineer for two years. Each time the issue has reached council the neighborhood residents have strongly objected. The result has been deferment in each case. Consequently Albert Street now resembles a country lane, with enough pot holes to stop a gherman tank. Obviously the work has to be one. But the problem lies in the width of the road. The engineering department wants the street widened from 26 feet to 32 feet and the residents claim six additional feet of asphalt would des- troy trees, lawns and the esthetic quality of their neighborhood. their neighborhood. Albert Street is back! At Council on Monday By changing the order from Section 12 to Sec- night Marg Kerr Lawson spoke on the change in tion 8 of the local improvement work schedule, section of the Local Improvement Act under the engineering department has assured an On- which the Engineer has placed the project. The tario Municipal Board hearing. Under Section changing from Section 12, under which objec- 12 a petition carrying the names of 50 per cent "uions by 50 per cent of the affected property of the residents would halt the proposed work _ owners is enough to call a halt, to section 8, for at least two years. Under Section 8 such a where even one objection forcesa hearing before petition would have little or no impact on the the Ontario Municipal Board, is only a matter of project. expediency to City Hall. When they want a job City engineer James Willis contends the work done, section 8 is the fastest route to follow. City engineer James Willis contends the work should have been placed under Section 8 when council first considered the work in January, At that time the work was listed under Section 12. His department later had the section chang- ed. While Mr. Willis' integrity is unquestion- able, council and the residents should have been notified of the change. Unfortunately the engineering department must now contend with charges of underhand- ed tactics. Hopefully something positive is to be gained from the issue. Communication is essential at the municipal level. City government is supposed to be closest to the people and reflect public attitudes. With- out proper communication the gap between government and the public will widen. And we will all suffer. s. problems In Canada: one year $8; in United States and Foreign countries: one year $10 A View'mint waterloo chronicle SUBSCRIPTION RATES ESTABLISHED 1854 Editor: Mike Roy Albert Einstein was once asked how he came to work out his .theory of relativity: he answered simply, "I challenged an axiom." We are the heirs and beneficiaries of thousands and thou- sands of nonconformists who through the years have effectively and creatively challenged axioms in all spheres of life. Through human history it has been the non- conformist, the off-beat character, the eccen- tric, who has.been responsible for most change and progress. A psychologist has said, "Many conformists have no deeper motive than simply to avoid a scene." Yes, of course. And many noncon- formists have no deeper motive than simply to create a scene, a safe little secene, mind you, designed more to draw attention to a little self than to challenge anything significant. Nonconformists bring change But there is nonconformity and there is non- conformity. Much of the fashionable n0nc0n- formity of today seems lacking in creativity. It is often simply childish self-assertiveness. The engineering department wants Albert Street done without delay. Waterloo residents, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, want the poor conditions rectified too. Surely there must be a solution. limvntewn perspective Next week at council the engineering depart- ment will present details of their proposals from Bricker to Bridgeport. For once more than sev- eral isolated blocks will be under consideration. The proposals will then be explained to the pro- perty owners directly affected. Of course we Waterloo residents are all affect- ed. Albert Street, with its tree-lined atmosphere is a test on ie. We realized that when we formed our ResV Ms Association two years ago. Now that the new hydro poles have been placed on the West fw'm of the street. all the widening Things must be very difficult today for the person who has come to believe that confor- mity is bad and nonconformity is good, Just how do you tell one from the other? The point is made in a cartoon in a magazine showing the wife of a bearded artist saying impatiently to her husband, "Why do you have to be a non- conformist like everybody else?" But let us recognize that much of today's non- conformity comes from awareness of those pressures of standardization which threaten to squeeze all the color and joy and juice out of life. Not long before he died Bertrand Russell gave this warning: "Individual initiative is hemmed in either by the stae or by powerful corporations, and there is great danger lest this should pro- duce, as in ancient Rome, a kind of listless- ness and fatalism that is disastrous to vigorous life." Nonconformity can be a moral virtue in these times. has to take place on the east. Yes, that is where the sycamore and superb maple are located. How much tampering can a venerable tree withstand? Can they be saved if a road-bed is dug as close to their trunk as a 32' wide Albert Street would demand? How much respect does Water- loo have for trees which have been around longer than cars? Some members of Council like to distort the views represented by the WDRA executive. Few of us want to live in the past, reliving the days of processions down Albert Street to band concerts in the park. But on the other hand neither do we want to live in the past when private cars and speed dictated the planning of our cities. Council is taking pains to ensure that the dis- cussion on the widening of Albert Street is res- tricted to only those property owners immedi- ately affected. The widening, however, is to con- venience the rest of the city, and the widening decision is basically a political decision. We need your help. If you agree with the basic philosphy of the WDRA. become vocal in any way you can. Write to the newspapers, and contact your elected representatives to express our views. We must negotiate a solution to the jh'l'l lem of Albert Street, which is the problem of all the residential downtown. Submitted by Rosemary Rowe Downtown Residents' Association