OCTOBER 10 - 18, 2014 WWW.OKTOBERFEST.CA FOR TICKETS
09 | 20 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 38
GROOMING UP SOMETHING NEW IN ELMIRA VENTURE PAGE 16
COMMENT PAGE 8
CANDIDATES IN PLACE, NOW WE HAVE TO GET INFORMED
Mayoral candidates make first pitch to Woolwich voters
Parking issues at Riverside PS prompt township action William Street changes the latest issue with traffic in front of Elmira schools STEVE KANNON
SCOTT BARBER When the candidates for mayor of Woolwich Township gathered for the first debate of the election campaign on Wednesday evening, not a single challenger dared to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Despite having ample opportunity to raise questions to one another, neither newcomer Doug Hergott, Ward 3 councillor Bonnie Bryant or former councillor Sandy Shantz raised the double reimbursement scandal that has plagued incumbent Todd Cowan’s re-election campaign. In fact, the foursome appeared lost for words at times, particularly during the open segment of the event, which was hosted by the Woolwich Senior’s Association at the WMC. Instead, the focus lay on issues tied more directly to the 60 or so seniors who filled the room, like handicap parking at the WMC and affordable rental units for seniors. But each candidate did get the DEBATE | 25
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Woolwich mayoral candidates (clockwise) Bonnie Bryant, Todd Cowan, Sandy Shantz and Doug Hergott addressed Woolwich Senior’s Association members in the senior’s room at the Woolwich Memorial Centre September 17. [SCOTT BARBER / THE OBSERVER]
Just a couple of weeks into a new school year, Woolwich is dealing with the chronic issue of traffic and parking complaints around some Elmira schools. The latest change involves no-stopping zones around Riverside Public School. Meeting this week, councillors agreed two areas currently signed as “no parking” will be designated “no stopping,” with that restriction extended to cover a section on the north side of William Street east of the current bus-loading zone. The extension deals with cars blocking a private laneway on the east side of the school. The goal is to have fewer cars jockeying around the front of the school as parents rush to drop off their kids in the morning and then pick them up in the afternoon, explained deputy clerk Val Hummel. Councillors also discussed recent complaints
about cars turning around and blocking driveways around Park Manor PS in Elmira. Coun. Mark Bauman said the school and other parents should discourage the practice of using people’s driveways, perhaps stigmatizing the behaviour. He called the practice unsafe given the dangers of cars backing up where students are converging on the school. “This is not an acceptable practice,” he said, suggesting it would be beneficial to “make parents feel guilty” about it. These latest issues join a longstanding problem with traffic around John Mahood PS on First Street. There, the township has enacted a number of changes to on-street parking and the parking lot in Gibson Park. As well, bylaw enforcement has been routinely stepped up, all at the township’s expense. In a later interview, PARKING | 7