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  #21  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2007, 9:17 PM
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Official Plan


Charlottetown will prosper by building on its past and by capitalizing on new economic opportunities. A desire to create the best possible quality of life for residents and visitors, now and into the 21st Century, will help ensure an attractive and welcoming community for all. Our status as Prince Edward Island’s leading city will remain secure because of our commitment to sustainable growth which utilizes existing resources and consolidates development.



If you would like to view the Official Plan of the City of Charlottetown, please click the link below.



City of Charlottetown Official Plan
(Acrobat PDF, 54 pages, 272 KB)
http://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/...icial_Plan.pdf
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  #22  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2007, 7:48 PM
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City council OKs retail development for Winsloe

City council OKs retail development for Winsloe

Up next is a proposal for East Royalty area, including a grocery store


DAVE STEWART
The Guardian

Retail is set to grow on one side of Charlottetown and hopes to do the same on the other side.
City council has given the go-ahead for retail development in Winsloe and will hold a public meeting for an application for retail development in East Royalty.
Residents in Winsloe can expect to see construction start soon on a project that includes a new gas station, Tim Hortons, pizza restaurant and convenience store.
The project will be built on the Malpeque Road, across the street from the existing Petro-Canada gas bar.
As for the project in East Royalty, there wasn???t much information from council on who or what the project will entail, if it goes ahead, other than that it involves a new grocery store.
Council sent an application to rezone a portion of the property (six lots) at 412 St. Peters Road from single-detached residential to highway commercial to a public meeting. That was in spite of a recommendation from the city???s planning department that the project should not go ahead and there shouldn???t even be a meeting with the residents.
Coun. Terry Bernard, who represents some of the residents in the area, said people want more information about a proposed grocery store.
???I???d like to hear what the developer has to say,?????? Bernard said. ???Let the residents hear what he has to say.??????
Coun. Kim Devine, chair of the planning committee, said her group doesn???t think the grocery store issue needs to go anywhere in East Royalty.
Devine said the planning committee feels there is enough commercial development scattered throughout the city and doesn???t need to start encroaching into East Royalty.
???It???s not like the population is doubling,?????? Devine said. ???The official plan says we need to strengthen existing commercial zones.??????
She said that East Royalty is currently a beautiful entrance to the capital and doesn???t need to be inundated with commercial development.
Bernard noted that East Royalty is growing at a rapid pace, with four new subdivisions and a new soccer complex, which is currently under development.
???Some residents wonder why there is no grocery store.??????
As for Winsloe, the development is earmarked for 535 Malpeque Rd.
Coun. Peter McCloskey said he has already met with residents in the affected area and while some residents have a few concerns they all support the new retail project. He said a public meeting isn???t necessary and council agreed, giving the developer the green light to start.
McCloskey, who represents area residents, said the developer is putting up a nine-foot fence to act as a buffer.
The area in question is zoned commercial.
Devine said a public meeting should be held to let residents know just how big the project is and explain how it will affect traffic flow.
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Last edited by MTLskyline; Apr 17, 2011 at 6:03 AM.
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  #23  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2007, 6:12 AM
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Whoa, I would love to visit PEI.
About how big are Summerside and C-town?
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  #24  
Old Posted Nov 9, 2007, 4:59 AM
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From the Wednesday, November 7, 2007 issue of the Cape Breton Post.

Quote:
Charlottetown airport breaks another passenger traffic record

Section: Atlantic

By CP
The Charlottetown Airport Authority broke its 2006 traffic record last Friday when the passenger total hit 225,441.

That's the highest passenger traffic volume ever recorded, surpassing the record-breaking year in 2006 by 12.5 per cent year-to-date.

"We are very pleased with the results the airport has experienced this year," said Cliff Campbell, chair of the Charlottetown Airport Authority.
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Whoa, I would love to visit PEI.
About how big are Summerside and C-town?
Source: Stats Canada

Charlottetown: 32,174 City; 58,625 CA
Summerside: 14,500 City; 16,153 CA

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  #25  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2008, 5:21 AM
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This place has been quiet for a while...

Does anyone know if the hotel-on-top-of-mall project ever got off the ground?
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  #26  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2008, 4:32 AM
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I might take a side-trip through PEI on my way home for my bachelor party in June to see how these things are progressing (I can't imagine what two highrises on the Summerside skyline would look like). Where did our PEI forumers go?

I'll start checking in on the local newspapers, just the free online sections though, as I'm already paying for my subscription to the CB Post.
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  #27  
Old Posted May 13, 2008, 5:57 AM
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Figured I'd start updating when I could

From The Guardian

Quote:
Capital approves street paving priority list for 2008
NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian

Charlottetown’s 2008 street resurfacing capital budget has a green light.
Council voted Monday to accept the recommendation from the staff of Public Works department to work on 12 sections of Charlottetown roads based on the departments “worst streets first” numerical ranking system.
Councillor Terry Bernard told The Guardian after the meeting that the ranking system factors in not only the condition of the road but also how much traffic it carries.
A little used road in very poor condition may not be as high up the priority list as a heavily used thoroughfare that appears to be in better shape in comparison, he said.
Residents living on streets not on this list should not despair. Bernard said that in addition to this capital budget, there is also an operational budget used for road repair. Included in that operational budget is repair work by both city crews and contract workers.
The total cost of the new, capital budget resurfacing will be $819,941, of which the department will pay $69,000 and the federal government’s New Deal fund will pay $750,000.
Included in the total cost is $10,000 for asphalt testing and a ten percent contingency fund of $70,000.
A section of Prince Street from Grafton to Water was number 12 on the priority list but will go to a separate tender right away in order to have the work done by June 12. That is when the city hosts the final stage of the Tour de PEI international bicycle road race.
The remaining 11 sections of road will go to tender in June.
“Industry members have commented that with June tendering, they might have a better feeling for their petroleum costs than currently, and might not be pricing high to hedge their bids,” said notes accompanying the resolution seeking approval of the 12-street list.
Map found here!

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Photographer: Heather Taweel for The Guardian

Capital city opts out

JIM DAY
The Guardian

The City of Charlottetown wants to do battle with the province on its own.
Mayor Clifford Lee announced Monday that city council unanimously supports a decision to end its membership with the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities effective June 30.
Lee believes the city can do a better job than the federation in negotiating with the province for funding and other arrangements to benefit the municipality.
He said Charlottetown has not received a good bang for its buck in the more than $40,000 it spends each year to belong to the federation. In fact, he described the city's membership as cause for more harm than benefit. He suggested the federation is either unwilling or ill equipped to represent the interests of Charlottetown.
“The Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities represents over 40 municipalities with populations ranging from 77 people in Victoria to over 32,000 in Charlottetown,” he said.
Lee said the timing of the membership withdrawal was influenced by the province’s recent announcement of the establishment of a commissioner on land use and local governance. He said city council feels that it is best to deal directly with the commissioner and with the province to ensure the city’s issues get full consideration.
Federation president Bruce MacDougall said he is disappointed at Charlottetown’s move.
“I feel we should be united. I feel we have a lot of issues we have to deal with whether the municipalities be large or small.”
Summerside Mayor Basil Stewart, who is second vice-president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, shared MacDougall’s disappointment with Charlottetown’s announcement.
The mayor said the federation has been good for municipalities across the province and it is important for every area to have representation.
Stewart isn’t sure Charlottetown can negotiate better on its own with the province than it can through the federation.
“I don’t know how the province will deal with it,” Stewart said. “I would doubt that the premier would want more than one association to deal with.”
Lee said he feels his city does not get a fair share of the provincial pie doled out to Island municipalities. He questioned why the city finds itself in the position of not being able, for instance, to hire the desired number of police officers.
“The only way we can do that is by increasing the property taxes,” he said.
“We need to address the long-standing issue with the province of P.E.I. of the province collecting 20 per cent of residential property taxes in this city and providing no services to the residents in this community.”
Lee said the city also stands to lose $95,000 when the province phases out an equalization grant to the municipality over the next three years.
Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan said Charlottetown is not losing out fiscally under the Liberal government’s recent budget.
“The most important part is that this year they will receive more than they expected to be getting under the property freeze,” said Sheridan.
All 75 municipalities across P.E.I. will pay the same rate of property tax under the new equalization formula unveiled in the provincial budget. The treasurer said Charlottetown will soon have a better idea just how much money they potentially stand to receive from the province.
Sheridan questions city council’s decision to pull out of a federation that has what he calls a great history.
“There’s 50 years of being together and having a united voice in negotiations with the province and I think it’s unfortunate that they’ve decided to go this way,” he said.
“I would love to see them (Charlottetown and the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities) get back together and talk this through. If we don’t have strong municipalities, we won’t have a strong province.”
Lee suggested there is no turning back from the decision to break away from the federation.
The city’s discussions with the province will be led by the city’s executive policy committee under the leadership of Deputy Mayor Stu MacFadyen and members of his committee, including Lee and Councillors Peter McCloskey and Rob Lantz.
Quote:
City says no to rezoning for auto dealership
NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian

There will not be a Mazda dealership at the corner of the Upton Road and the arterial roadway.
Charlottetown city council voted down the request from a local developer for a rezoning to allow the business to locate in a 4.5-acre area that is now zoned entirely R1 for single detached homes.
Charlottetown’s planning board had recommended approval, but the chair of the board said she was personally opposed to the placement of a commercial business at the affected corner.
“Rezoning this residential property to a commercial area would not be following the official plan,” said Coun. Kim Devine. “I think we should be following the official plan.”
Coun. Rob Lantz echoed Devine’s concerns.
“When you deviate, make exceptions from your plan, you don’t reach the goal you are trying to get to,” said Lantz. “We have a number of commercial nodes in this city that have been designated as such. When you rezone single-family residential property . . . to commercial, when you do that you diffuse the commercial property around the city and it weakens your existing commercial nodes.
“On of the arguments that has been given to me is that no one would want to live along the highway. I don’t think that is a valid excuse. There are a number of stretches of single-family residential zoning all along that bypass highway. Tell those people that currently live along the highway in their single-family residential (homes) that they don’t have desirable property; I don’t think it would sit well with them.
“(The residents) are very much opposed to that (change to commercial use). They have been here many, many times to defend that property over the years.”
Business owner Stephen MacIsaac wanted to take close to 4.5 acres at the northeast corner of the Upton Road and Charlottetown bypass highway intersection and make it into a new “state-of-the-art, image-compliant, 10,000-square-foot glass front” Mazda car dealership.
Landowner and area developer Warren Doiron supported the application.
“(It would have) very low impact as far as retail in that there is limited traffic associated with an automobile dealership, probably less than what would go in and out if you had it developed into single-family lots,” said MacIsaac at a public meeting on April 30. “It’s as low impact as it gets.”
“Residents in this area are weary of this never-ending struggle to protect their investment against the parade of developers whose primary motivation is monetary gain,” said resident Dennis Williams at the public meeting.
Resident Graeme Linkletter called the possible rezoning the “thin edge of the wedge.”
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  #28  
Old Posted May 14, 2008, 4:52 AM
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Today from The Guardian

Quote:
Province pays $320,000 to buy land to build school
STEVE SHARRATT
The Guardian

MONTAGUE — The provincial government will pay $320,000 to the town of Montague for the purchase of about 35 acres of land to build a new regional high school here.
It’s a good news deal for the town, especially since that’s almost double the estimated value of the property according to private Realtors contacted by The Guardian.
However, when a commercial interest expressed interest in the property at a price beyond $300,000, the deal was sealed.
The negotiations for the land purchase are concluding and efforts are being made to start construction as soon as possible on the new $18-million facility.
On Monday, Transportation Minister Ron MacKinley toured the prospective site with local MLA Jim Bagnall to view the planned site for the regional high school and the new wellness centre.
Officials discussed the choice of establishing a temporary road for the construction of the buildings or to install a more expensive, but finished roadway, into the wooded site.
Town officials were
not disclosing the estimated value of the 35 acres on the Valleyfield Road near the community pool, but private Realtors say the assessment is less than $75,000.
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  #29  
Old Posted May 16, 2008, 3:55 AM
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From The Guardian

Quote:
Capital mayor won't reverse move to leave municipal body
JIM DAY
The Guardian

Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee says he is willing to listen to the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities’ plea for the capital city to remain a member of the federation.
Sitting down to a meeting, however, will only be out of courtesy.
The City of Charlottetown has no intention of reversing its decision, reached late last week and announced Monday, to pull out of the federation, Lee told The Guardian Thursday.
“Do I see an opportunity for the City of Charlottetown to reverse its decision? No, I don’t,’’ he said.
Bruce MacDougall, the federation’s president, said he is penning a letter to request a meeting with the City of Charlottetown.
“I just want to sit down with them,’’ he said.
“I know there have been a few issues have come out. I would just like to have a heart-to-heart with them and see what the real issues are.’’
MacDougall said he is hopeful the municipality will reconsider its decision.
He said Charlottetown has benefitted well from its membership, most recently in the federation successfully lobbying the provincial government to stop charging an administration fee to assess properties and collect property taxes.
MacDougall said the move saved Charlottetown hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Lee gives the federation credit for that lobby effort, but was quick to add that the federation has also swayed government to make changes that have benefitted other Island municipalities at the expense of Charlottetown. He also reiterated his view that the city can bargain on its own behalf with the province more effectively than the federation.
On Monday, Lee announced that the city unanimously supported a decision to end its membership with the federation. He said Thursday the decision was reached after he called a meeting of the whole last week and held a discussion with councillors and senior administration. Councillors Cecil Villard and Terry Bernard were absent due to prior commitments.
“The consensus of council was the City of Charlottetown should serve notice,’’ he said.
The municipality informed the federation it would no longer be a member as of June 30.
A spokesperson with the Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour said the federation has indicated it will seek assistance from the province to help offset lost dues resulting from Charlottetown pulling out. The capital city has been paying an annual fee of more than $40,000 to belong to the federation.

Quote:
Montague mayor hopes to save new rink
STEVE SHARRATT
The Guardian

MONTAGUE — The wellness has turned to woe, but Mayor Pat McGowan hopes to find some way to salvage the future of a regional rink here.
“I wasn’t surprised with the tenders, in fact I suspected the cost estimates being bandied about were far too low,’’ said McGowan, who attended the tender openings at town hall late Wednesday and learned all four were $2 million higher than anticipated.
“From day one, I’ve suggested this project should be called what it is — a rink,’’ said McGowan.
“This whole idea of a wellness centre is nothing but an inflated title and now we’re facing a major problem trying to raise enough money and finding the costs even higher.’’
McGowan said town officials will seek a second opinion on costs and designs. The new centre is being developed to participate in the 2009 Canada Games in which the town will receive $60,000 to host women’s wrestling. But while some officials aren’t convinced it’s worth the effort, Iceland Arena has since been sold.
“We expected cost overruns but this is unbelievable,’’ she said Thursday. “How these figures can be so out of whack is beyond me.’’
Canvassers are now out trying to acquire enough pledges to ensure the community contribution for the $5-million facility is met.
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  #30  
Old Posted May 18, 2008, 3:45 AM
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From The Guardian


Quote:
Time for regional effort to build wellness centre, says Georgetown mayor
STEVE SHARRATT
The Guardian

GEORGETOWN — Efforts to raise money for a wellness centre have been heroic but Mayor Peter Llewellyn says building a $7-million facility to host women’s wrestling at the Canada Games borders on lunacy.
“It’s time to realize that we’re all too small to finance this kind of project on our own,” he said Thursday. “It’s time to get together as an entire region and fundraise for one major centre.”
Llewellyn was responding to news that tenders for a new Montague and area wellness centre were $2 million over the estimated cost. Instead of $5.2 million, the project will now cost $7 million. And it could even be higher before a ribbon is cut.
Montague and five neighbouring communities, not including Georgetown, are trying to raise $1.7 million as its share of the project.
Meanwhile, Iceland Arena in Montague has been sold, the Three Rivers Sportsplex in Georgetown required $40,000 from the town to maintain operations this year, and the Northumberland Arena in Murray River is limping along financially.
Llewellyn said the writing is on the wall that aging community rinks are on the demise. He said the current rinks in Murray River, Georgetown and Belfast could handle all the hockey and skating needs for the next few years while a major effort is conducted from the entire district to build one new regional centre.
Six months ago, he drew the ire of the Wellness Centre committee when he called the proposed project a “white elephant” and said “anyone who thinks you can build this for $5 million is smoking crack.”
Llewellyn said the 33 cent dollars (the project is cost shared by levels of government) could still be accessed for a future project.
“I know Montague doesn’t want to throw in the towel and I don’t blame them, but if they try and take on the extra $2 million, the interest payments alone would cripple the town. It’s time to work as a region and build one centre for all.”
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  #31  
Old Posted May 18, 2008, 10:28 PM
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We can't afford to lose our PEI forumers, they're as rare as pope's crap. I admit PEI is the most intriguing part of the country to me, I think I could even live there one day.
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  #32  
Old Posted May 19, 2008, 12:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by le calmar View Post
We can't afford to lose our PEI forumers, they're as rare as pope's crap. I admit PEI is the most intriguing part of the country to me, I think I could even live there one day.
I'm not sure we have any PEI forumers. Smevo's from Cape Breton and he seems to keep about half of these forums alive on his own.
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  #33  
Old Posted May 19, 2008, 12:31 AM
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There is one PEI forumer "billy1" but he hasnt been on here in ages...
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  #34  
Old Posted May 19, 2008, 4:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mylesmalley View Post
I'm not sure we have any PEI forumers. Smevo's from Cape Breton and he seems to keep about half of these forums alive on his own.
There was a time when I could've taken that credit, but now we've got some more forumers and better representation from the main cities, making my job much easier.

It'd be nice to see the PEI guys come back, I think MTLSkyline used to be from PEI, but I could be wrong. Quite frankly, I don't know the area or history well enough to know what kind of impact any of these things would have, but I'll still try to keep the development and related news stories coming.
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  #35  
Old Posted May 19, 2008, 1:58 PM
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Maybe we should all just move to PEI for the Summer to ensure that their Development thread is well represented. We'll mark off a nice section of beach, lounge in the sun discussing Summerside zoning by-laws, then build sand-sculpture versions of buildings we'd like to see gracing Charlottetown's skyline. It'll be great.
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  #36  
Old Posted May 20, 2008, 5:48 PM
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From The Guardian

Quote:
P.E.I. to get $290 million spread over seven years
WAYNE THIBODEAU
The Guardian

A multimillion-dollar announcement heralded as the largest injection of federal cash into P.E.I. since the construction of the Confederation Bridge will be made Wednesday in Summerside, The Guardian has learned.
Lawrence Cannon, minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, is set to announce a deal that will pump nearly $290 million into Canada’s smallest province over the next seven years.
It is part of the $33-billion Building Canada Plan announced in the 2007 federal budget. P.E.I. is the last province to sign on to the deal.
Cannon will make the announcement Wednesday morning. He will then attend a luncheon sponsored by the Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce.
The money will include $175 million in base funding. It will be sent to the province over the course of seven years, in installments of $25 million annually.
Each province, no matter what size, will receive the same amount of base funding.
Federal officials in Ottawa say the money comes with no strings attached, and the provincial government does not have to come up with matching dollars to tap into the fund.
A source said Premier Robert Ghiz demanded those conditions before signing onto the agreement, which is why P.E.I. is the last province in the country to sign the deal.
There will also be infrastructure funding, called the Building Canada Fund. This fund replaces what was once known as the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.
P.E.I.’s portion is not known but it is expected to total more than $78 million.
The province and its municipalities will also receive $30 million from the gas tax fund.
There are five pots of money being announced Wednesday. The other two pots are for the Atlantic Gateway and public-private partnerships.
The federal government is setting aside $2.1 billion for its Gateways and Border Crossings Fund. P.E.I.’s portion of that fund will depend on which projects the province brings forward.
The same is true of the $1.25 billion set aside in the Public-Private Partnerships Fund.
Each province will get a share of that money based on what public-private partnership projects it pitches to the federal government. The Island government is expected to pitch a series of projects for public-private partnerships, including the replacement of the five provincially owned manors, the BioCommons park in Charlottetown and a new electricity cable across the Northumberland Strait.
A deal had been reached between the P.E.I. government and the Paul Martin Liberals to place the cable inside the Confederation Bridge but it was not honoured by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.
Harper said the project had never received Treasury Board approval.
The cable would allow the province to import more electricity to meet increasing demands as well as provide it with an outlet to sell wind power to the mainland.
There are also suggestions the province could increase its wind-generating capacity by using funding from the Public-Private Partnerships Fund.
Neighbouring New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have already signed Building Canada agreements with the federal government.
New Brunswick’s agreement totals more than $541 million.
Nova Scotia gets more than $634 million.

Just the Facts:
Building Canada
— Worth $33 billion between 2007 and 2014, “Building Canada” provides more funding for provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure, and for a longer period of time, than any federal government since the Second World War, the federal government
says;
— Investments in the core National Highway System, public transit, clean water and sewage treatment infrastructure, green energy, among other categories, through the $8.8-billion Building Canada Fund, that will help support large
strategic projects as well as smaller-scale municipal projects;
— Base funding of $25 million a year equal per jurisdiction that will help provinces and territories address infrastructure priorities.
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  #37  
Old Posted May 22, 2008, 3:59 AM
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From The Guardian

Quote:
Bus route to help tackle tie-ups
NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian

Cornwall is planning to set up an express bus route to help with massive early morning traffic tie-ups that suddenly hit the community this week.
The culprit is work being done on the North River causeway, which as of Monday reduced a short section of the Trans- Canada Highway from four lanes down to a twisting two.
That created a bottleneck for inbound morning commuters that resulted in a traffic lineup as far as the Cornwall water tower and beyond.
“One of the residents brought it up, the idea of an express bus during the construction period at the North River bridge,” said Marlene Hunt, chair of the Cornwall transportation and safety committee.
She tabled a motion at Wednesday's monthly town council meeting to ask the province for financial help.
“We were anticipating there would be lineups so we started talking about it about two weeks ago in council but I literally can’t get into work,” said Hunt. “I'm late because it’s lined up right back to town hall at peak hours.”
Cornwall has been in contact with Trius bus service which is willing and able to provide one large, 45-seat bus, two if the demand is there.
It will travel only once in the morning from Cornwall to Charlottetown, and once only in the late afternoon back to Cornwall.
The exact time and route is not yet established but the town is hoping to have the service up and running by June 2. It also hopes the bus route will include a short loop through Cornwall to try and reach as many people as possible, including people who might live outside the town but come in to meet the express.
The town plans to sell weekly passes at $30 per week, one round trip per day for the five-day work week.
“Our hope is that it will be an express bus,” said Hunt. “It would leave Cornwall by 7:30, let’s say. At 7:30, you can get going, but 10 minutes later, you are in a jam.
“It would be an early morning departure, getting into downtown Charlottetown by (7:55 a.m.). There would be two or three stops along the way.
“Then it would come back a little after four o’clock to get home by (4:40 p.m.) so it’s going to hit the government workers.
“We are hoping to ask the minister of Transportation (Ron MacKinley) if we can have an express route so that we can be waved through if there is a jam,” said Hunt. “That’s really important. Otherwise, what’s the point? We would be sitting there in traffic.”
MacKinley told The Guardian Wednesday his department cannot help with money, but as the area MLA, he knows who can. That would be the minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Carolyn Bertram, who is out of province this week.
“I will know next Tuesday,” said MacKinley.
That is when cabinet meets and he thinks cabinet needs to approve Cornwall’s funding request.
MacKinley also thinks his department cannot do much to help the bus bypass any traffic jams.
The highway is only two lanes for much of the way from Cornwall up to the bottleneck area, said MacKinley.
“Past my place there is only one line of traffic going down and one line coming out,” he said. “What are you going to do about the line coming out? I don’t know what the department can do.”
He suggested maybe the bus could go by way of the Ferry Road and merge into traffic at the traffic lights by the old North River Rink. MacKinley said that is what he does and it greatly shortens the wait.
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Old Posted Jun 6, 2008, 10:15 AM
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Charlottetown: Hotel, office tower, possible parking garage

I know I'm missing some stories since I only check out the website once in a while and I'm only looking in the free section, but it looks like I picked the right day this time.

From The Guardian


Quote:
Deal on parking opens door to build hotel

DAVE STEWART
The Guardian

It appears that Dyne Holdings might break ground soon on a new hotel in the downtown core of Charlottetown.
The City of Charlottetown completed agreements Thursday guaranteeing Dyne 175 parking spaces.
The company told The Guardian Wednesday that it couldn’t move forward with an 85-room hotel on top of the Confederation Court Mall until the city and Charlottetown Area Development Corporation (CADC) finalized plans for new parking spaces.
A spokesman with the city corporation said Thursday CADC is comfortable enough to move forward.
That could mean a new parking garage or adding on to one of the existing three garages.
However, the city won’t budge on those parking spaces until Dyne Holdings formally secures a foundation permit to build the hotel.
The agreements the city signed on Thursday, worth an estimated $35 million, include the new hotel, renovations to the Confederation Court Mall and a new office tower on Fitzroy Street that would connect to the Queen Street Parkade.
Council gave the OK to the new office building in late April.
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Old Posted Jun 10, 2008, 3:17 AM
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From The Guardian

Umm...they mean leads the country in % increase in public transit ridership.
Quote:
Charlottetown leads country in public transit ridership

DAVE STEWART
The Guardian

Charlottetown leads the country in public transit ridership, according to the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA).
Public transit ridership statistics from 2007 show Charlottetown has the biggest increase at 25.5 per cent.
Nationally, transit ridership is up 3.1 per cent for a record 1.76 billion trips.
Next to Charlottetown, Kelowna, B.C., has the biggest increase at 18.1 per cent.
"We're small but we're mighty,' Charlottetown Deputy Mayor Stu MacFadyen, who chairs the transit committee, said Monday. "It's really catching on here in the city and before too long we'll see (transit) provincewide.'
Bobby Dunn, general manager of Charlottetown Transit, is obviously thrilled with the news.
"That's outstanding. Wow!' Dunn said when The Guardian informed him of the news Monday night. "Being a small little city it's kind of amazing we are when you think of big cities like Toronto and Vancouver.'
The latest numbers for the public transit system in Charlottetown show 13,300 people used the service in May. Most recently, the biggest single-day ridership nearly topped 700, a benchmark Dunn and transit co-owner Mike Cassidy have been chasing since the service was launched almost three years ago.
While officials with the transit system are aiming for 700 riders in one day, they ultimately want to get to 900 per day.
Dunn thinks the CUTA numbers for Charlottetown reflect the fact the capital city's public transportation system is so young.
"I think we're on the curve on the evolution and I think that's where those numbers are coming from. Most (services) have been around and they're happy if they get a one per cent increase.'
Mayor Clifford Lee said he expects the numbers to continue increasing.
"The operators of the system are doing a tremendous job,' Lee said. "Obviously, with the tremendous price we're paying for gasoline these days, transit is going to become, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on which way you look at it, probably the only option a lot of Charlottetonians are going to have in order to get around this community.'
The City of Charlottetown currently subsidizes public transit to the tune of about $620,000 per year to run six buses. However, transit officials have said in the past it would likely cost in the area of $1.2 million to operate a prime system in the city.
Lee said the city isn't likely going to be able to afford a 'cadillac' version of transit.
Dunn credits the dramatic increase in ridership to Cassidy spending his own money to extend the service into the evening, the city helping to support a sixth bus, an increase in the frequency of pickups and drop-offs and shortened runs.
"This is a credit to everyone who has helped grow the system,' Dun said.
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  #40  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2008, 5:25 AM
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My sporadic Guardian reading paid off again...

From The Guardian


Quote:
Parking squabble bogs down project

DOUG GALLANT
The Guardian

The construction of an 85-room hotel on top of the Confederation Court Mall is still a go as far as the developer is concerned, but the project manager for the multimillion-dollar development said Tuesday they will not break ground until the issue of parking has been fully resolved.
Cliff Campbell, of James C. Johnson Associates Inc., said he has been given no direction by Dyne Holdings to either slow down or stop work on the project.
“I am proceeding as quickly as possible but we will not break ground until the company’s concerns about parking have been addressed.’’
Campbell said the city and the Charlottetown Area Development Corporation have been working hard to address this issue, but at this point the solution is still not there.
Campbell said several options were on the table, but the option favoured by the city, adding two floors to the Pownal Parkade, is not one they can accept.
He said that parkade would be a hard sell for the tenants of their proposed development.
That’s not something Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee wanted to hear.
The mayor noted the city has been in discussions with the developer for months now.
“We believe we’d satisfied all their requirements,’’ Lee said.
“They wanted the hotel to be eligible for tax incentives. That was done. They wanted the Queens Parkade to be split 50/50 for monthly parkers and transients and that was done. They wanted City Hall staff parking at that parkade to be relocated to alternating parking and that was done.
“And they wanted the city to agree to construct 200 new spaces in the area bounded by Pownal, Prince, Richmond and Euston streets.’’
Lee said the city worked hard with the developer, the CADC and the province on that.
“We explored a number of options. The lot next to the Charlottetown Hotel was really too small and it would have put that hotel at a disadvantage because they use that lot for parking for their customers. We looked at the Queens Parkade and decided the only option there was to expand towards University Avenue and to do that would require us to purchase land from four property owners.’’
Lee said the $4 million pegged to address the parking issue is all that is available, there is no more money available to purchase land.
In light of that they had an engineer look at the Pownal Parkade and he said it was structurally sound and could accommodate two more storeys.
“That building is already owned by the city so we would not have to acquire more land. So that option, we thought satisfied all the conditions set by the developer. Ten days ago we signed a development agreement and sent it on to the developer to sign. That’s when they sent us a letter saying no (to) the Pownal Parkade.’’
Lee said the conditions, as originally laid out, have been met, and that the city is not prepared to force taxpayers into further debt to purchase land adjacent to the Queens Parkade when the Pownal Parkade could be utilized.
“Council must manage the city in a responsible manner and try to accommodate all business owners, not just one,’’ Lee said.
“We want the project to proceed, but if this means the project does not proceed that’s unfortunate. We feel we’ve done all they asked.’’

Quote:
Affordable housing project will help 20 families in need

STACEY MURRAY
The Guardian



Bill Campbell, left, Kings Square Affordable Housing Corp.; Caroline Arsenault, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.; Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee, and Health Minister Doug Currie turn the sod at the sight of the new affordable disabled-accessible housing project on Kensington Road in Charlottetown. Guardian photo



The federal government will provide nearly $500,000 towards a new construction project that will help 20 families in need of affordable housing.
The Canada-P.E.I. Affordable Housing Agreement will provide $488,000 to the Kings Square Affordable Housing Project to offset the construction of 20 three-bedroom apartments.
The apartments, which are set for completion next spring, will be built on Kensington Road, where the official sod-turning took place Tuesday.
A total of four buildings will be constructed, including three buildings with four apartments and one building with eight apartments.
Apartments will be heated, and those on the ground level will be modified for those with disabilities.
Bill Campbell, president of the Kings Square Affordable Housing Corporation, said the project has been in the works for some time.
“We’ve been talking about this for 3 1/2 years.”
He said it took time to find a location that would suit the needs of growing families.
“We’ve had very good fortune of finding a place that would border on a park.”
Campbell will take out a mortgage for $1.98 million to pay for the remainder of the costs.
While the costs of the units have yet to be determined, there is a cap in place to ensure they are no more than $800 a month.
Campbell said some figures show one in four adults spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
“This is a strikingly high number.”
Projects like this one will help ease the burden on low-income families. With rising fuel costs, heated units will also help make the units more affordable, he said.
“The way oil prices are going is incredible.”
Mayor Clifford Lee said the project will help improve the living situation for some low-income families.
“Housing is one of the very basic needs.”
Health and Social Services Minister Doug Currie said he’s met with families involved with affordable housing programs, so he understands the necessity of the project.
“I’ve seen the differences these housing projects can make.”
Caroline Arsenault of Canada Mortgage and Housing Canada said while the project on Kensington Road was just beginning, another project had its official opening Tuesday as well.
Independence Place opened 11 one- and two-bedroom apartments in Summerside.
The housing trust provided $431,500 for the project, which will provide spaces for people living with physical disabilities she said.
“We are proud to support projects like these,” Arsenault said.
The housing agreement involves an investment of $8.32 million in the creation of affordable housing units in Prince Edward Island.
To date, more than 120 units have been supported by the agreement in rural and urban communities in the province.

Quote:
Petition backing Souris-Cape Breton ferry link tabled in Commons

NANCY WILLIS
The Guardian

SOURIS — A petition to establish a ferry link between Souris and Cape Breton was tabled in the House of Commons last week by Cape Breton MP Roger Cuzner.
This concept has been under discussion for the past 40 years, and the recent petition, signed by several hundred supporters, is being championed with renewed vigour by residents on both sides of the Northumberland Strait.
However, Cuzner said as valuable as a ferry between the two eastern ports might be, it is not one that has any support within the ferry service industry.
“It is a difficult issue because the Canada Marine Act clearly identifies that there only two types of ferry service that will receive funding and subsidy from the federal government and they are those covered by Confederation agreements,” he said.
These include the ferry between Cape Breton and Newfoundland, and those that provide service to remote locations.
Cuzner said he is aware that Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay did tremendous work on maintaining the Northumberland Ferries Ltd. service and extending its
contract.
“But that is due to expire soon also,” he said.
As far as Cuzner can see, the only way a Port Hood-Souris ferry would happen is if a private operator would come on board and say, ‘Yes this would be a feasible line.’
“But I haven’t talked to anyone in the industry that sees this as happening,” he said.
Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay said he supports the idea and is looking forward to any discussion when it happens.
But he too is not holding his breath.
“Yes, I support it fully, but my theory is that this crowd (the Harper government) is more interested in taking away ferry service from Islanders than creating anything new,” MacAulay said.
Cape Breton residents believe a ferry between the two localities would inject millions of dollars into the local economy to create jobs and stem some of the out-migration of local families and young people to Alberta.
Souris Mayor Joanne Reid is also very interested in such a project. She said the idea of communication and transportation between Souris and Port Hood has always appealed to her.
“The composition of both areas is very similar in terms of people, industry, history and culture,” she said.
“And we are both in areas where water transportation is easy and land transportation is not.
“Given the fact that Souris already has a ferry terminal and a great port, another ferry in our realm would work wonders for our economy and add to the service we already have.”
Mark Macneill, former New Democratic Party candidate from Mabou, Cape Breton, said islanders on both sides have called for a ferry from Souris to Port Hood for 40 years, and his take on two studies on the issue is they suggest such a ferry service is more commercially viable than the existing P.E.I. to Pictou route, which now suffers from being too close to the Confederation Bridge.
Speaking to Reid this week, he said: “Keep your fingers crossed and should this progress, it is imperative that we resolve collectively to persist with this project and the good it will bring our region.”
Cuzner said Macneill is “looking at this through a political lens.” He said neither of the two studies done on the Port Hood-Souris run has indicated a strong business case.
The main support for this on Cape Breton Island is from Inverness County. I would like to see it happen, but not at the added expense to taxpayers. No need to subsidise another ferry when the NFL side is serving its purpose and still has to be subsidised. I've got to agree with Cuzner on this one. I don't think it will do much in the grand scheme of things, but might inject some money into Port Hood (taking it away from Pictou).
MacNeill was behind the petition with his former role (still his unofficial role) as the head of the Cape Breton Provincehood movement, and is now trying to position this issue to go against Cuzner as a member of the NDP in the next election. He's made no secrets about any of that.
Anyway, the rest is just my opinion.
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