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g, (Continued from page 7) Co The City of Waterloo needs to set 8 an example and do whatever IS nec- E' essary to keep the lands of the Lau- 'd rel Creek Conservation Area m E their existing form. This includes not rezoning the area to perm" future residential and commented growth and appealing to our provmcral government for assu- lance Wildlife has already lost mm h of their natural habitat to develop- ment The my IS sprawling cvcr outwards, gobbling-up farms, homesteads, wetlands and now Invadmg the lull: that l5 loft wullnn the my Itself What are WC trying In do? Become more hke Km hcncr? I love Waterloo Not Just because II has a ddierent atmosphere [ love " I am responding to the article on Laurel Creek development that appeared m the Waterloo Chrom- cle Wednesday, March 29. One of the attractions of the city of Water- loo is the green space. Unlike other cities, Waterloo has always tooled the protection of natural areas like laurel Creek Conservation Area and its surroundings. Many people use the area for the pleasure. tran- quility, and safety ll provides. Peo- ple walk with their families and dogs as well as alone because It is safe. There are a number of animals that inhabit the area as well as numerous birds, ducks and geese We have already seen masswc development around the area, mostly residential infringing on Its fragile space The Grand River Conservation Authority should not be allowed 10 sell off parts of the watershed as a way to generate funds, now or ever, There must be other alternatives. The future of the lands should Sim- ply be to keep them as they are. Everywhere you look, there are new houses. How many more Intersection-located strip malls do we need? Our natural habitat areas are disappearing at too fast a rate. We need to maintain the vegeta- tion, wildlife, ground and surface water that these areas offer FOR- EVER. Let’s not become like Kitchener INDEPENDENTLY OWN") AND OPFRAT'ED. BROKER Il.llll-llll.illllllllllllllllllllll ROYAL LEPAGE IqllIll.l.llMll1llllllllllllllllllllllll SCHARF REALTY 50 WESTMOUNT RD N WATTiRCOO 747-2040 Set an example Mary Lavign: I m' ' ' >~< a u N g: Rh' '-,-'- "w: ‘ ' 1 ' _ fr "ry _i,i.1,?itt) 1tNl r f ii,MllBf'ti',i'cf) " . lat; win attiil It lil traffic a problem in u Now we have thscovered lhal 1lw GRCA has plans In sell off a sub- sunnal pomon of [dun] Creek (20 acres) lo developers The GRCA quoics massive provuural cul- Within the last year. we have been dismayed to see housing developments creep uncomfortably close to the borders of Laurel Creek Conservauon Area What will be Ihc er1varonmcrual impact on the wnsen'dlmn area as a resull of this development? As cilrzens of Waterloo for five years, our family has frequently enjoyed the benefits of Laurel Creek In all seasons. During the winter we ski there and during the other seasons we hike and canoe there. We are proud that our city has such a wonderful nature pre- serve tn what will, by all appear- ances, soon be the heart of the city. 1 most certainly do fed that the land at Laurel Creek should be pre- served as a green space - and it should be permanent. Judy Green- wood-Speers IS absolutely correct m saying that the provincial gov- ernment is strangling the GRCAThere is no doubt that the primary responsibility for lack of funds lies at the feet of the provin- cial government (remember who voted them in). That having been said, the abandonment of support for the environment by one level of government does not justify its abandonment by another. We must preserve this space in its natural state. If we do not. over time our entire area will fall prey to urban- ization and the effect on the envi- ronment in the long term will be disastrous. I agree with the residents of lau- rel Creek. They moved there because of the conservation area, not to have it destroyed by greed. Ac stated m the article “lithe env1- ronment ts number one In Water- loo, lets start doing ll." because of the green spaces and that there are some protected areas " lt hurts to see small woodlols m north Waterloo becommg even smaller because of development cumng Into them. Disastrous effects It's a Band-Aid solution The I952 Streamlmer stts quietly at the statmn waiting for tts first passengers and my double-decker bus Sits In a field hoping its batteries aren't dead Great antiopation for a wonderful spnng m Waterloo County Buyers and sellers aren't wmtmg, however, as house sales flourish m a very busy market, The sale of homes In March. while down slightly from last year in numbers, 527 to 503, IS up dramatrcally in average sale price, $ltitW76 versus $14lolo. or a I3 8% Increase fiom March I999 This amount IS affected by the ml: of high priced homes whwh bring the average price up ln March there were 92 home sales over 52mm and these homes averaged $281,620 earh, so you can see how that would poll the average sale pnce up The biggest increase In sales of real estate Involves multiple family burldmgs where total dollar volume Is up 32 Itha due to high demand " rental properties, especially near the two um9ersities An 'ntereshng development Into the KW Area, that being laurelwnod {map 41) where the average selling, pme for V homes sold on M I. Q was $241,7th We can look for continued strength In the market and house prrces will Inch up as demand continues For all your real estate needs call the professionals at Royal 1xrPage-yicharf Realty. at 74711140 or Mia-91M Carol Hueck Barb Cook We will be very disap- pointed if this sale goes through and cant help won- dering if this IS just a Band- Aid solution to a much bigger and on-going prob- lem. lf the GRCA is prepared to sell Ja large portion of Lau- ll citizens of Waterloo are concerned about losing any part ofLaurel Creek to devel- opers, they should pay the daily admittance fee or pay for a GRCA annual pass, even if they are only using the outdoor education centre section. backs and other decreased revenues, Could it be that decreased revenues are also related to the increased use of the conservation area by people who refuse to pay their fees? Everytime some- one steps onto laurel Creek land without paying the admittance fee, they are not recognizing the cost of main- taining this valuable resource. The Waterloo Chronicle welcomes letters to the editor. They should be signed with name, address and phone number and will be verified for accuracy. No unsigned letters will be published. Submissions may be edited for length, so please be brief. Copyright in letters and other materials submitted to the publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author, but the publisher and its licensees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other forms. Our mailing address is 75 King St. S, Suite 201, Waterloo, N2JIP2, our e-mail address is wchronicie@sentex.net, and our lax number is 886-9383. WATERLOO REAL ESTATE UPDATE It is very unfortunate that the Grand River Conserva- tion Authority should see lit to sell oil some of the laurel Creek land, of course the main issue is money; it always is for the GRCA. isn't that why they charge high fees to access Laurel Creek Conservation Area, summer and winter, despite the unat- tractive long grass bordering the beach area in the sum- mer and not always well- groomed ski trails in the winter? The Laurel Creek trail which runs beside Bearinger Road -- and which even has free access!.- is lovely. But Waterloo Park, which is maintained by the City of Waterloo. Is a far more attractive green space over- rel Creek, whlch conserve» non area will be next? Rachel and Andrew Sixt The city should buy it "There IS loo much volume. Traffic always seems to be backed up." "l find there to be more parking Issues than trallic Issues. But I know I do try to avoid driving on King Street whenever I can " Letters policy Lynda Tracy Bob Rowell I believe strongly that the property adjacent lathe lou- rel Conservation Area should be conserved as a green area. The city will This land in question should be preserved and, if the GRCA doesn't want it, they should sell the land to the City of Waterloo. There are other ways to save money, and the GRCA should explore these alterna- tives. More importantly, once you begin sacrificing park- land for development, you sacrifice its wildlife and its value as an environmental preserve. This is a slippery slope, and City of Waterloo councillors would be well- advised to conserve this and any other such areas. Fred and Anne Kallin all. I'm sure the City of Waterloo would do a better job of maintaining Laurel Creek than the GRCA does currently Conserve it Trd q half. Preudrnt Rum} Ix'l’ngr SUM”! Kathy The underfunded GRCA needs cash, The City of Waterloo cannot match developers dollars. As Waterloo urban expansion continues we need to can serve existing wildlife/nature habitats within our sprawl The conservation area is already almost completely surrounded by development. We need to conserve open and wild space for our chil» dren and future generations The GRCA'S mandate is con- servation. ttot development, John Brouwer expand and grow in all three- ttons over the cortung years and natural areas are going 10 be at a premium, if not non-existent. Think of future generations We need a benefactor “Padang in public lots IS a problem. And I know taxis and mm. tient drivers who pull Into the bus stop areas when the buses are com- lng have also caused some accidents." (Continued on page 9) "l cant say I have we many problems wuh the traffic, " moves along well." Mike Magreehan Bob Reichard Eileen Strub