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WATERLOO PARK PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRE Waterloo Park has a long history as a community gathering place located conveniently in the city's uptown core. The park has, and continues, to be dramatically transformed primarily through redevelopment in the area and intensification in the urban core. The population demographics have changed as well with a rapidly expanding and diverse population with new and emerging needs. A number of initiatives are taking place in Waterloo Park including: • upgrades to the Central Street entranceway to the park; • trail improvements to the central promenade (Laurel/Trans Canada Trail) that runs through the park and will operate parallel to the Region of Waterloo's Light Rail Transit (LRT) corridor; • the transfer of programming from two existing ball diamonds (1 and 2) in Waterloo Park in order to provide space for a proposed festival area in the heart of the park; and • the beginning of an environmental assessment addendum to address issues with Silver Lake and Laurel Creek within the park. Please join us for an informal public information centre where you can drop in to learn more about the changes planned for Waterloo Park and speak with the project managers involved in the above initiatives. When: May 16, 2017 between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Where: Knox Presbyterian Church, 50 Erb Street West, Waterloo For more information, please visit waterloo.ca/waterloopark P. 519.886.1550 TTY. 1.866.786.3941 waterloo.ca/publicnotices The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is undertaking a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) study for improvements to the Erb Street road corridor from Fischer-Hallman Road to Wilmot Line in the City of Waterloo. Improvements along Erb Street are being considered in order to improve roadway capacity to meet projected traffic growth and to improve active transportation facilities for pedestrians and cyclists along the corridor. This study is being conducted in accordance with the Environmental Assessment Act through the approved environmental planning process for Schedule "C" projects under the "Municipal Class Environmental Assessment", dated October 2000, as amended in 2015. Public Consultation Centre A Public Consultation Centre (informal 'drop-in' format) has been arranged to present project information to the public and receive public input and comments on the traffic and transportation needs and opportunities, alternatives for improvements, environmental impacts and evaluation criteria, and the Project Teams Preferred Alternative for this project. The Public Consultation Centre will take place as follows: Date: Thursday, May 4, 2017 Time: 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Place: Kitchener-Waterloo Bilingual School, 600 Erb Street West, Waterloo, Ontario Project information and plans will be available for review and Region staff will be present to answer questions and receive comments on this project. Anyone with an interest in this project is invited to attend and provide input for incorporation into the planning and design of this project. If you require further information on this project, or wish to be added to the project mailing list for future project notices, please contact either: NoTiCe of PubliC CoNsulTaTioN CeNTre erb sTreeT imProvemeNTs fisCher-hallmaN roaD To WilmoT liNe CiTy of WaTerloo muNiCiPal Class eNviroNmeNTal assessmeNT, sCheDule 'C' William Gilbert, P. Eng. Senior Project Manager Region of Waterloo 150 Frederick Street Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3 Telephone: 519-575-4603 Fax: 519-575-4430 Email: wgilbert@regionofwaterloo.ca Mark Christensen, P. Eng. Project Manager WalterFedy 675 Queen St. S., Suite 111 Kitchener, ON N2M 1A1 Telephone: 519-576-2150, Ext. 285 Fax: 519-576-5499 Email: mchristensen@walterfedy.com Accessibility: This event is accessible for people with disabilities. Accessible Parking is available. If you require assistance to attend or participate in this meeting, or to access information in alternative formats, please contact William Gilbert (as above) at least five days prior to the meeting. All comments and information received from individuals, stakeholder groups and agencies regarding this project are being collected to assist the Region of Waterloo in making a decision. Under the "Municipal Act", personal information (such as name, address, telephone number, and property location) that may be included in a submission becomes part of the public record. Questions regarding the collection of this information should be referred to William Gilbert at the Region of Waterloo. Thursday, May 4, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 11 By Samantha Beattie Chronicle Staff During a single shift, a paramedic will lift 1,700 pounds, equivalent to moving all the furniture in a one-bedroom apartment. With paramedics having the highest incidence of work-relat- ed injury, any extra assistance makes a world of difference. That's what University of Waterloo researchers found when they studied Hamil- ton paramedics using manual stretchers versus Niagara para- medics using powered stretch- ers that had battery-powered hydraulic system and an assist- ed ambulance-loading feature. "Paramedics experience a lot of injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, and we wanted to look at how powered stretchers and load systems affect injury rates after full implementa- tion," said graduate student Daniel Armstrong, the study's lead author. In one year, injuries sus- tained by Hamilton paramed- ics, who were raising, lower- ing, lifting and loading during a shift, increased from 18 to 25 injuries per 100 workers. In Niagara, however, paramedics who were introduced to pow- ered stretchers to help with the same physically demanding tasks saw a decrease injuries by 78 per cent, or only four per 100 workers, down from 20. Injuries include aches, strains and sprains that were serious enough for paramed- ics to report and/or take time off work, said kinesiology Prof. Steven Fischer. "Anecdotally, the general consensus is paramedics really like this (powered stretcher) and think it's a solution that might extend their careers," he said. In Waterloo, paramedics use stretchers that are powered to move up and down, but then have to be manually loaded into the ambulance. Each of these stretchers cost upwards of $20,000, but a fully powered stretcher, like those used in Niagara, costs about $40,000. Without that larger invest- ment, Region of Waterloo Para- medic Services Chief Stephen Van Valkenburg said his force is still seeing a decrease in inju- ries. "Careers are certainly get- ting longer. The last couple of years paramedics have retired. In the past that was unheard of because of injuries," Van Valkenburg said. "Advances in equipment and safer work conditions have made a differ- ence." But, he said, they're always considering new advances in technology. "Generally in paramedic services, lifting is part of their job -- lifting a patient off the floor or out of the bathtub and onto the stretcher," Van Valkenburg added. "These uncontrolled lifts cause inju- ries." At the University of Water- loo, Fischer and his team are also looking at how paramedic lifting technique can make a difference. In another recent study, they found female paramed- ics generally used "a very good technique" that involved using their lower bodies rather than upper bodies during lifts. Male paramedics, on the other hand, were more prone to "very poor techniques," poten- tially leading to more injuries. "Females, because of their limited strength, don't have a lot of options when it comes to lifting," said Fischer. "While males are stronger, they have a few more options when they lift and some of them choose options that might not be as sparing as others." Stretcher differences could hurt