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Community Garden Policy Blossoms with Council’s Approval

Council approved a new Community Garden Policy due to the ever-growing demand for community gardens within Richmond Hill. The Policy provides consistent support and delivery of new and existing community gardens by setting guidelines and service levels and identifying responsibilities. Richmond Hill anticipates the development of one new allotment garden and approximately four collective gardens within five years. Allotment gardens are divided into individual plots to rent and are administered by the municipality; collective gardens are maintained and managed by a group of volunteers and can be wholly communal or contain plots. Currently, Richmond Hill has one allotment garden and three collective gardens where residents and community groups are responsible for the gardens, including watering, pruning, disease/pest control and harvesting. In turn, Richmond Hill offers onsite water, disposal bins and annual soil preparation. The staffing and financial implications of this new policy will be considered in the 10-year Capital and Operating Budgets as required. For more information about the Community Garden Policy, contact Ann Marie Farrugia, Manager, Natural Environment, at 905-771-5509.

Education and Innovative Programming Slows Down Drivers and Improves Safety

Council approved 18 new locations for pole-mounted radar speed boards and the purchase of 22 new pole-mounted radar speed boards. Council also approved the acquisition of associated traffic data monitoring equipment, adjustments to the pole-mounted unit relocation timeframe (from six months to 12), and annual operating costs for the relocation of these units. The first pair of pole-mounted radar speed boards was installed in Richmond Hill in 2008 and was well-received, serving as a community education tool to raise awareness of driver travel speed. These boards were intended to be semi-permanent and scheduled for a new location within the town every six months. The initial results were positive, realizing a decrease in operating speeds and compliance with posted speed limits. As a result, the units remained in their original location (High Tech Road) and two additional units were purchased for the six-month placements within the Town. Following this, staff developed a policy to prioritize the deployment of the pole-mounted radar speed boards (2009) and in 2011, purchased 20 additional radar board units. The total estimated cost for the new radar speed boards, new monitoring equipment and unit relocation is $158,000 plus $20,000 annually for the ongoing replacement of exiting pole-mounted radars board units at the end of their lifecycle and the addition of new radar boards in future. The approved recommendations address the traffic challenges facing the community and are aimed at improving road safety. For more information, contact Rob Cowie, Senior Traffic Analyst, at 905-747-6455.

Council Committed to Providing Parkland

As Richmond Hill continues to grow, securing valuable parkland is key. In that regard, Council approved the purchase of 17 Rockwell Road, a 0.23-acre property located behind the new condominium buildings at 370 and 372 Highway 7 East and Rockwell Road. The land will be used to further develop the adjacent and existing undeveloped park creating a new public green space. In 2013, Richmond Hill acquired the existing 0.42 acre parcel of parkland from the developer through the Planning Act approvals for the condominium buildings. The Town accepted the parcel of parkland given the challenges of attaining suitable parkland areas in spaces with high density developments. The acquisition of this property will bring the existing park to a usable size of 0.67 acres. Funds to acquire the property came from the Cash in Lieu of Parkland Dedication Reserve fund collected through the development process. For more information, contact Patrick Lee, Director, Policy Planning, at 905-771-2420.

The next Committee of the Whole Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 5 at 4:30 p.m. and the next Council Meeting is Monday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held in Council Chambers.