Proposal for Anti-Idling By-Law

In September 2021, Council asked staff to investigate the idea of limiting idling for vehicles in the Town and at the CoW meeting on June 20, staff will present such a draft bylaw for approval.  Staff also suggest an initial education campaign.  The case for an anti-idling by-law is to reduce Green House gasses and improve air quality.  There are many exceptions such as hot or cold weather (details below), Transit, police and more and enforcement would be difficult.  As staff point out, the enforcement officer would have to watch a vehicle and time the duration of idling – although it’s suggested that the maximum idling permitted be only 2 minutes (and not 3 or 5 minutes as in other… Read complete articleProposal for Anti-Idling By-Law

Electric Vehicle Event at the Mall

If you were at the Mall today (Saturday, May 28) you might have wondered what was happening in the Parking Lot – it was the “Electric Vehicle and Sustainability Event”.  Many electric vehicles were there ranging from KIAs to Teslas to the new Ford Mustang recently acquired by the Police.  The event was jointly staged by the EV Society (Northumberland Chapter) and Sustainable Cobourg and was opened by Mayor John Henderson.  You could take a test drive of one of four electric vehicles provided by “PlugnDrive” and many owners had their cars open for inspection or you could sit in them.  There was not a big crowd but I spotted several people in earnest conversations with owners – a good… Read complete articleElectric Vehicle Event at the Mall

West Headland Recommendations

Since 2017 there have been heated discussions in Cobourg about the West Headland – probably now to be called Waterfront Nature Park. It got mixed up with unpopular plans to expand the Marina into the West Harbour and it’s a natural separation for the natural West Beach. It started with a concern that its official name – Langevin Pier – was no longer acceptable (dare I say not “woke”?).  See the Resources below for more but the short version is that Langevin was an advocate for the residential school system.  But what to name it instead?  Alderville Chief Mowat was not concerned so eventually the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) were asked to decide.  Along the way, there was… Read complete articleWest Headland Recommendations

Cobourg’s Earth Day – 2022

Earth Day was April 22 but Cobourg celebrated it at its Ecology Garden on April 23.  A ceremony attended by around 80 people brought together a diverse group of people who felt a spiritual connection to the Earth.  First to make a statement were indigenous people but also represented were Christians, a Jewish representative and an interfaith group covering probably all religions. I did not hear the word “God” mentioned but instead “creator” – no one seemed offended.  Young children (from the S.O.N.G. group) participated with a couple of songs and Council was represented by Mayor John Henderson and Councillor Adam Bureau.  After the initial “song”, the indigenous representative (Susan Siwick) allowed all present to participate in a ritual smudging… Read complete articleCobourg’s Earth Day – 2022

Update on Program to Mitigate Marina Pollution

Many of the big news items these days are about the Environment: electric cars, energy issues, unusual weather, climate change and pollution.  Enough people in the Town spoke up about this that the Town declared a Climate Emergency and established an advisory Committee.  Major projects are under way to decide what Cobourg can do on this issue but meanwhile action was taken on an issue mentioned less often: Pollution.  One pollution issue of particular concern is plastic waste in water bodies such as Oceans and Lake Ontario.  In October 2020, in conjunction with “Pollution Probe”, Cobourg installed a Seabin (and some LittaTraps) – see report in Links below.  And it’s still in operation!  At the next CoW meeting on 19… Read complete articleUpdate on Program to Mitigate Marina Pollution

Third 401 Interchange Planned

With the development at the north end of Brook road now moving ahead, also moving forward is planning for a third interchange with the 401 at Nagle Road. Currently, Nagle Road has a bridge over the highway but no access to the 401. Starting in 2017, MTO started the process to plan upgrading the 401 to 6 and ultimately 8 lanes from Cobourg to Colborne (more in Resources below). This will involve rehabilitating or more likely replacing seven bridges; the process starts with an Environmental Assessment (EA) which looks at natural, social, economic and cultural issues and includes public consultation. The Nagle Road Interchange is a separate project and is a Town initiative but will also require an EA, so… Read complete articleThird 401 Interchange Planned

Will Daintry Crescent Park happen?

According to Michael Clark, there is a long history of a promise of a Park on Daintry Crescent.  Michael is a resident of Daintry Cres and he spoke at last night’s Committee of the Whole (CoW) Council meeting.  Michael said that when houses were first built on Daintry crescent in 1992, they were on the north side of the road with a strip on the south side that bordered on the railway line.  The developer intended to then build Townhouses on that strip but permission was denied because they would be too close to the Railway – so the land has been vacant since that time and the Town eventually took ownership.  There were promises that it would be made… Read complete articleWill Daintry Crescent Park happen?

Donating Trees and Benches

You might have seen plaques on Trees and benches in Cobourg’s parks – these generally commemorate someone and are there because a citizen donated them. But to do that, the donor has contacted the Parks Department and discussed it with them although to date there has not been any policy or presumably, consistency on costs or what is done. But now, the Town’s Parks department is working on establishing a policy and procedure for such donations with the first step being to discuss draft documents with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee at their meeting on December 7. The cost will be standardized at $3,000 for most benches (including plaque) and $450 for a tree plus $275 for a plaque…. Read complete articleDonating Trees and Benches

Tannery District Public Meeting – November 2021

The Tannery Project began in 2009 and since then: has had three open houses (including the initial Charrette); a special page was created for the Town’s web site; a special Community Improvement Plan (CIP) was created to allow the Town to spend money on it and on Monday, a Council Public Planning meeting considered a Secondary Plan and Rezoning Bylaw which would effectively implement the Consultant’s master plan.  See the links below for more detail. Once again, the consultant Matt Reid, presented his plan: over 30 citizens were online to hear what he said and 10 participated – mostly in support.  There are two aspects of the plan that generate support:  first, It’s “Green” and sustainable and second it promises… Read complete articleTannery District Public Meeting – November 2021

Twenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration of Ecology Garden

Cobourg’s Ecology Garden was started 25 years ago by Minnie Pennell and it has since become a significant place in Cobourg for residents and visitors.  On Saturday, a ceremony was held to celebrate this anniversary and it was also a wonderful way to also celebrate the beginning of the end of the pandemic.  Given the current restrictions, attendance was monitored and the count was 95 inside the area at the west end of the Garden which was “roped off” with ribbons.  The original opening was by Mayor Joan Chalovich and she was there again on Saturday.  The garden has certainly grown over the years – it started as a 20 foot by 100 foot patch on Legion Village property, just… Read complete articleTwenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration of Ecology Garden