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«o vieranneegpppane i. * ... O . Sentcnnpi i ENC UR + : 9intzmmasaes on Certainly as Mr. Rektor states, traffic congestion is on the increase everywhere and our quality of life is being seriously threatened by development. Our present council was put into office with the mandate of stopping or closely controlling development, thereby preserving our community from all the negative aspects cause by expansion which we all know are numerous and undesirable. The bottom most cases, built in the early part of this century and never intended or able to accommodate this increased traffic. Traffic studies done by independent consultants indicated that, to preserve our core area, traffic must be reâ€"routed onto regional roads which were built, designed and intended to accommodate this ingreast_ad_trafl'nc: precipitated by growth. In a Kâ€"W Record article on Kitchener‘s downtown core (dated November 14, 1990) the following statements were made: 1. To ensure its survival, the downtown must be a living neighborhood. This will require a sea of change in attitude among civic leaders, core property owners and the residents themselves. 2. It will take more people living in the core to restore it to health. A healthy, living heart is essential to Kitchener‘s wellâ€"being. We in Waterloo do enjoy a healthy living core area, with a wonderful mix of welfare recipients, low, middle and upper income families. A true diversity. But this fragile mix has recently been threatened by development which has encroached On our uptown neighborhood and caused the loss of many single dwelling properties â€" and put excesâ€" sive traffic on our narrow streets which were, in It‘s quite apparent from reading Stan E. Rektor‘s article of April 10, 1991, in your paper that he was nndilnotverywollinformedutowhatprecipi- tated the decision by city council to put closures on Herbert and Willow Streets. Regardless of the arguments for and against the closures; and there were miany, council‘s decision was greatly influenced by the inâ€"depth traffic study done of the neighborhood in question by M.M. Dillon consultants. Part of this independent traffic study recommended closures be placed on Herbert and Willow Streets. Also, part of the official plan of the City of Waterloo is to preserve the integrity of the residential uptown core. Is Rektor suggesting Waterloo council should have adopted the philosoâ€" phy of Kitchener, which in years past did not pay attention to its residential downtown core area, thereby making it a less desirable place for families to livg, with the resultant deterioration it suffers Closure decision was courageous and informed I agree with Mr. Rektor in that democracy at times is and has been thwarted. However, democraâ€" cy does carry a responsibility for all of us. Part of that responsibility is to become properly informed and educated about the issues in question and thereby allowing us to make wise and prudent decisions, which the street closures, in my opinion, certainly was. S oo in itc oc uin l hood is a slow and insidious happening. It has already begun in our uptown core ueamall of us, including Waterloo council, have to make a commitâ€" ment to bring it to an immediate halt. For us to consider anything less and go back to the status quo is unthinkable, unacceptable, and could certainly be the deathknell of the uptown core area. (We would become another downtown Kitchener). 4. Waterloo council knows its decision was probably politically unpopular and damaging and therefore I believe a very courageous one. One motivated by a deep concern and love of this community and not political expedience. 1. Everyone was given ample opportunity to express their views, biases, and concerns in regards to the street closures at Herbert and Willow. 2. Those opposed did have some legitimate concerns, butinalmostl.llcnes.ifthetmthwenrully known, it was strictly a matter of inconvenience for them which precipitated their opposition. g;-'llhe deteriorafion’and destruction of a neighborâ€" line, Mr. Rektor, is â€" csm ol news, 8 an is . welcome in hopes that all complaints can be resolved. Those who féel further action Council, 4th Floor, 36 King Street East, «Toronto, Ontario M5C 2L9, ‘m a & + + Wifih v:figl:. address and helepb:lne number ant verifiedforaccuracy. Nounsigned letters will be published and the Chronicle [reserves the right to edit. $ Letters policy . John Foster Waterloo BATES‘S MAYTAG SAVE No. 1 preferred brand" Dependability proven Larger door opening Heavy Duty. Big Load Drum Porcelain Ename! 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