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Mayor Tony Van Bynen fought last year’s election on a pledge to bring lightning fast broadband to the Town:

“Bringing broadband connectivity to Newmarket is essential as technology plays an increasingly bigger role in our daily lives. A robust internet infrastructure is as essential to our economic future as rivers, railways, and roads were to our past. We are working towards connecting with Orion & Canarie, a high-speed 10 gig research network by the end of 2014.”

The Town is doing work on this but so too is York Region. In fact, the Region is setting up a Broadband Task Force and will decide on its membership at the Council meeting on Thursday 25 June.

My candidate is Tony Van Trappist but, first, he will have to shake off the torpor that descends on him as soon as he enters the Regional Council Chamber.

He relies on Newmarket staff to do his thinking for him but, nevertheless, broadband was his top priority in last year’s municipal election and that must count for something.

Everyone agrees (I think) that Newmarket needs super-fast broadband but how to make it happen?

The Town’s Committee of the Whole gathered last month (May 19) to chart the way forward.

The Town says it wants

a partner that will invest in the design, construction, ownership and operation of an open access, ultra high-speed broadband infrastructure at affordable rates for residents, businesses and organizations.

Town staff have a partner in mind but, typically, they are not telling us yet.

Three areas – an interconnected corridor – are to be given priority:

(1) Main Street Business District (from Water Street to Davis Drive)

(2) Davis Drive Health/Life Sciences Corridor(from Main Street to Leslie Street)

(3) Leslie Street/Harry Walker Parkway Business Corridor

But should these areas get priority?

Step forward John Heckbert, mortgage broker, indefatigable tweeter and champion of Davis Drive. His deputation of one is well received. He seems to know what he is talking about and that is always a good start.

He wants to know why Main Street with 75 business addresses is getting wired up but not Newmarket’s section of Yonge Street with 200-250 unique business addresses.

I learn there are plans for free wi-fi in Main Street and the Riverwalk Commons area. This is to get “community buy-in” for the super fast broadband initiative.

The Town’s Chief Administrative Officer, Bob Shelton, says staff is working with the Region. No-one wants to duplicate work that is being done at Regional level. Or, he might have said, take credit for it.

Now Susan Chase, the Town’s Director of IT Innovation, and Christopher Kallio, the Town’s Economic Development Officer are fielding questions.

Christina Bisanz wants details of how the community will benefit. Kelly Broome-Plumbley wants a time line. Will it be cheaper than the service offered by other internet service providers? Joe Sponga is banging the drum for Main Street – there’s lots of innovation there. Dave Kerwin wants to know what kind of financial return the Town is going to get from its investment. All this stuff is going to become clear when staff report back with a “favoured model”. But councillors are assured they will be made aware of all the models.

John Taylor tells us there are lots of high tech companies in Harry Walker Parkway – it’s just we are not aware of them.

Yet.

The Mayor is going to change all that. He says so.

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I am in the cavernous Council Chamber at York Region (11 June 2015) expecting a debate on super fast broadband. Instead, I find two deputations of Italian Canadians complaining vociferously about traffic infiltration in their neighbourhood in Vaughan. They are arguing about the solution and the rest of us look on, bemused. We are intruding on a family quarrel.

I learn about the neighbourhood’s Italian demographics. Every second person has a surname ending with a vowel (not unlike York Regional Council itself).

Vaughan Mayor, Maurizio Bevilacqua, jocularly tells one of the deputants, Anthony Francescucci, he shouldn’t anglicize his name just to help the Chair, the struggling Wayne Emmerson, get his tongue round it. He should stick with the authentic Italian pronunciation. This produces approving smiles from Francescucci's deputation.

Emmerson is now calling people to the lectern using their first names, finding it easier.

One group wants to ban peak hours rat-running by the clever device of placing turning restrictions at key entry and exit points. New traffic signs would order no left turns into the residential area. Another group from a different part of the same neighbourhood argues this “solution” would create another set of problems and would impact adversely on them.

I hear about the volume of traffic on some residential streets increasing exponentially over recent years. One vehicle whizzes by every 12 seconds. And they are travelling at the speed of light.

Emmerson, completely at ease in his role as the home spun philosopher, tells us people nowadays don’t get up early enough to take their kids to school and end up rushing.

Ahhh! So that's it.

After much argument and counter-argument a truce of sorts emerges. The Regional Transportation people say that stopping people from using some roads will have a displacement effect, transferring the problem elsewhere. Another study is needed!

They promise to look further at the issue of traffic infiltration into residential neighbourhoods and report back. Honours are even and this is enough to satisfy everyone.

I hope the findings will be as relevant to Newmarket as they are to the West Downs community in Vaughan.

We have huge and growing traffic infiltration problems of our own.

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At York Region’s Committee of the Whole (11 June)

The Region’s Chief Planner, Valerie Shuttleworth, takes us through the paper “Affordable Housing Measuring and Monitoring Guidelines”.

But first, her colleague, Rick Farrell, prepares the ground with some arresting statistics.

A new single detached home in York Region now costs on average $890,804.

Twelve months ago, that very same house sold for $799,000.

And between 2004 – 2014 the average resale house price rose by 90% yet average hourly wage rates rose by 21%.

I hear that the average condo rent in 2014 was $1,564 which Farrell describes quaintly as:

“a very substantial debt for those who are challenged with income.”

Now Shuttleworth is calling for more powers from the Province to tackle the housing crisis. She says the Region is using all the powers currently available from the Province and

“We haven’t even made a dent.”

She wants  inclusionary zoning.

Newmarket’s John Taylor is thinking outside the box. What about secondary suites? What about promoting ownership where homeowners have a rental income stream via a secondary suite?

Now he asks if the Region’s housing policy is achieving what we want to achieve. (Manifestly not.)  He says the Region’s policies could end up creating a lot of one bedroom condos.

“That’s helpful but it is not a solution”.

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York Region is a bit like a giant news factory, churning out, month after month, interesting morsels of information. I am surprised more stuff isn’t picked up by the local press. The Committee of the Whole meetings are not streamed or put out on YouTube and, bizarrely, full Council meetings are only audio streamed. Weird or what?

Anyway, I learned a few things at York Region’s Committee of the Whole (11 June)….

It is time for the Annual Traffic Safety Report and the Region’s road and traffic chief, Brian Titherington takes us through the grizzly roll call of accidents.

  • One collision every 63 minutes
  • One pedestrian hit every two days
  • One cyclist hit every 4 days
  • One person injured in a vehicle every 4 hours
  • One death every 17 days

I learn that of the top ten high collision intersections in York Region, Yonge and Green Lane is third from the top. Between 2012 and 2014 there were 164 collisions compared with Weston Road and Rutherford (187 collisions) and Highway 7 and Weston Road, the Regional black spot, with 199 collisions.

Personally, I would throw the book at bad drivers. Driving over the speed limit should be as socially unacceptable as blowing cigarette smoke into someone’s face.

And yet it is tolerated.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on the 400 series of highways with someone tailgating me or switching lanes at speed without signaling.

Most collisions (24%) happen as a result of driving too close to the car in front.

We need brake lights that shout: Back Off!

And dashboard and rear view cameras, with automatic taping, standard for all new vehicles. The technology is there and it is easy. Why not?

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In a piece in this week’s Era, Chris Simon writes:

It’s a meeting intended to help Newmarket and its residents learn from the past and prepare for future development.

The long-discussed Glenway “lessons learned” meeting will take place at the Seniors’ Meeting Place, 474 Davis Dr., June 23. This “structured session” is an opportunity for residents, town staff and council members to review the key issues related to the processing of the Marianneville Developments (Glenway) application, including last year’s Ontario Municipal Board decision.

Specifically, the focus will be on how the Glenway case can be applied to future development in town. A third party, independent facilitator, who will be tasked with summarizing the session and related recommendations, will lead the discussion.

It runs from 7 to 9 p.m. The town is asking participants to register in advance by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 905-895-5193.

It makes sense to register but I am sure people won’t be turned away at the door if they arrive unannounced.

Elsewhere… I emailed the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer, Bob Shelton, on 4 June 2015 with seven questions I would like to see answered before the meeting on 23 June. I shall post the answers on shrinkslessorsquare.ca as soon as I get them.

The lessons learned meeting is not, of course, about the OMB though I am sure it will be touched on.

The Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister, Ted McMeekin, told MPPs on 21 April 2015 (the first day of the second reading debate on Bill 73 - Smart Growth for Our Communities Act):

Now, I know there are questions about the Ontario Municipal Board itself and whether we’re planning to change its role. It’s another important piece of our puzzle. The Ontario Municipal Board’s operations, practices and procedures were not part of this first-stage review. To really complete our puzzle, however, I will work with my colleague the Attorney General in a review of the OMB’s scope and effectiveness. In the end, Speaker, we all want to see planning disputes resolved, wherever possible, locally.

Whatever comes out of the lessons learned meeting on 23 June, Glenway will remain an important case study in the context of the forthcoming review of the OMB.

The Mayor will ensure this is so. Before last year’s municipal election, Van Bynen told the Newmarket Free Press:

“Given our recent experience with the OMB, one of my priorities is to work with neighbouring municipalities, our MPP and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) to influence the Province to reform the OMB so that our community plans will be respected.”

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