Park’s name is misleading
Notes from this week’s St. Catharines city council meeting …
The city will consider renaming Cushman Road Park — because it’s not on Cushman Road.
St. George’s Coun. Mike Britton made a motion asking that staff begin the process of changing the name.
Britton said when Welland Canals Parkway was constructed, it caused Cushman Road Park to no longer be located on Cushman Road.
The idea for a name change was brought to him by a resident who thought the city could find a more appropriate one.
Britton said the idea would be to have the public bring ideas forward.
The city passed a new naming policy on parks, trails and recreation facilities on Sept. 11. Britton said Cushman Road Park could be its trial run.
“Part of the naming policy is to go out and engage the residents and hear what they’d like to see. I think this could be a great opportunity to go out and drop leaflets and get their feedback,” Britton said.
The new policy outlines the process of name changes for staff, council and the city, with the goal of providing notice to the public of a proposed changes and provide an opportunity for input.
As well, names can now be in recognition of significant individuals, families, organizations and foundations who are still living.
Free tree giveaway: The fall edition
The city’s free tree giveaway Part 2 is coming next month.
The parks, recreation and culture services department is giving away 600 trees on Oct. 21.
The event will take place in the parking lot at Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until the trees are gone.
Available trees will include red oak, burr oak, white pine and serviceberry.
The free tree giveaway is a new initiative this year in an effort to grow the urban forest in St. Catharines.
In June, the city gave away 500 trees to residents in less than three hours.
Citizens must show proof they live in St. Catharines for a free tree and must plant the trees on private property.
New homes approved for three areas
Council approved three new condo developments in the city totalling more than 100 residences.
A three- to five-storey stepped apartment building with 70 units will be constructed at 1030 Vansickle Rd. The building will include visitor parking and underground parking.
Twenty-one homes will be built at 54 Mackenzie King Ave. near Welland Canals Parkway. They include 19 townhouses and one semidetached dwelling.
A 16-unit townhouse development will be built at 177 Russell Ave. The townhouses will be along a private road and have visitor parking.
GO transit station update
The team helping to design a St. Catharines GO station says the St. Paul Street West rail bridge will need to be reconstructed.
It’s one of the immediate improvements identified by Niagara Region’s GO implementation office after a traffic analysis was done in the area around the St. Catharines train station, where the GO station will be located.
City planner Aaron Butler told council a realignment of Ridley Road to the north at Louth Street is also identified as a short-term improvement. As well, traffic-calming measures will have to be installed in residential neighbourhoods to the east of the station to prevent vehicles cutting through.
In the longer term, the group envisions a widening of Louth Street and sections of St. Paul Street West and improvements at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Louth Street. There would also be streetscaping, a major gateway at Louth and Ridley and improvements at Cameron Park at Permilla, Ambrose and Great Western streets.
The area of the new station is being planned overall to accommodate an additional 1,900 people and 2,300 jobs by 2041.
In June 2016, the province announced the extension of GO train service to St. Catharines by 2023.
Diana Morreale, Niagara Region’s planning lead for the GO implementation office, said the group is working closely with Metrolinx to determine transit station design elements and plans for appropriate land uses around the station.
A public information meeting on June 19 at Ridley College drew 139 people. She said issues and concerns raised have been incorporated into the draft secondary plan.
A fall public information meeting will be held on Nov. 2 at Rodman Hall, time still to be announced. The team will share revisions to the plan which will be available a couple of weeks before the meeting.