PAGE 8, WEDNESDAY, MARCII 20.,1985, WHITI3Y FR1I PRISS Lii LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Politicians don't give a "damn" about residents, Fox says Dear Sir: Do politicians care about us? After what I witnessed over the last ,several months, 1 amn convinced that not one of our elected officiaIs, either municipal or provincial, give a damn about the residents in the Kendalwood Rd. area of Whitby. In Sept. 1984, the residents in the area found out through a story in our local press, that a GO Transit rail yard was to be built in the neighbourhood. By law, these residents should have been of- ficially notified of this proposaI but were not! The residents are 100 per cent in favour of the GO extension, but we have very legitimate concerns about the placement of this railroad yard, with it's close proximity to residential properties. We are fully suppor- tive of the facility being placed in Whitby, but away fromn residential areas. The Ministry of Tran- sportation states, "At this time, the preliminary design for the Maintenance Facility site is not available. ..a more detailed discussion of impact and mitigating measures will bo in- cluded in the Design and Construction Report to be prepared prior to construction of the Maintenance Facility. Nýoise impacts, therefore, cannot be forecast to any degree of certainty." What the Ministry of Transport, is really saying here, is that they have no idea what effect this facility will have on the surrounding neigh- bourhood, until after it is built! This approach is ob- viously unsatisfactory. Many of these homeowners have just moved into the area and were neyer told about this facility either by the Town of Whitby, the province or by the developer. We have every right to oppose the location of this facility - it will destroy the environment of our neighbourhood and devalue our homes. With a deadline of Oct. 19, 1984, the residents in the area did not have much time to i I SPEEDY MUFFLERS Get 10% off our regular-line muff lers for domestic ond foreign cars. Top quality muff lers that meet or exceed original equipment specifications. SPEEDY SHOCKS Get10% off an ypair of shock absorbers from our comprIete ronge for cars, light trucks and vans. Shocks specifically designed ta meet your driving needs. SPEFDY MLIFFERS & SHOCKS ARE GUARANTFFD FOR AS LONG AS YOU OWNTHEVEHICLjj <Oi'Present this couî nan ael[ jjnl votid at oddress shown belo Offer expires April 30, 1985)H H10%OFF MUFFLERS &SHO(KSu react. Since the GO ALRT information meetings, held last year, did not mention this area as a possible site - we were truly taken by surprise. I petitioned 249 homneowners who lived closest to the site, at the southern end of Ken- dalwood Rd. Many of these people did not know about the facility, but everyone who was approached signed the petition. Accompanied by over 100 people, 1 presented Whitby Council with our petition and asked them to represent our concer- ns to the province - they refused! Instead, we were promised two meetings with the GO Transit people, in order for our questions to be an- swered. However, one of those meetings was cancelled without public notification and none of our questions was satisfactorily answered. The people in the area wrote to the Province asking for an Environ- ment Assessment Hearing. Once again the province imposed a Dec. 27, 1984 deadline for the request. We received our replies from the provin- ce two months later in February, stating that the Minister of the En- vironment felt that an environmental hearing was not necessary, but if we were really con- cerned, then Feb. 27 is the deadline for another request. In the weeks prior to this deadline, we organized many of our neighbours and replied once again to the Ministry of the En- vironment, requesting a hearing. Our letters were sent prior to the deadline and yet in the Oshawa Times on Feb. 28, there was an article stating that the Ministry of the En- vironment has given the final go ahead for the GO extention into Oshawa. Boy can they make fast decisions when they want to! Obviously, the decision to build this facility in this location was decided long before the residents found out about it. So why did the provincial government waste our time, and ef- fort? They had no inten- tion of listening to us. Instead, they played "political games" and hoped that the residents in the area would tire of the issue and go away. Well we are stili here and we are still deman- ding that the Hearing in- to this whole issue be f3flRTICIPta7tlfl P t-~$~. ~ - -d,, Our local "Iratepayers association" are in favour of this site and facility and they dlaim to represent us, and yet no one bas asked themn to! In fact, this association bas neyer actively sought the opinion of the residents in the area 1 The same developer who built our homes, neyer told us about it. As one Whitby Coun- cillor stated to me per- sonally, "the only reason he wants the facili ty is for the taxes." My reply was, "Dont the taxes of hundreds of homeowners matter? Why is a railroad yard more important than people? " He had no reply! To be honest, I arn in- terested in the politics of our community, 1 arn even more interested in the quality of life in our town. Like a great num- ber of people, I live in Whitby to escape the urban sprawl and big city noises - unfor- tunately it seems that "political games" are played everywhere and at our expense. In closinig 1 would like to ask one final question to ail those politicans, developers and to those few members of the ratepayer's who support this facility - "Which one of you wants to live next to it? " A little wiser, Dennis Fox Kirby Cres. 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