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January Newsletter 2019

Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour.

Happy New Year.  Hoping for another wonderful year ahead in 2019.

1) Bailey Broom Company
2) Message from Vesla – Volunteer Ski Instructor
3) Repair Cafe – Sunday, Jan 13
4) North King’s Town Working Group Update
5) Two Local Conferences: Sustainability and Climate Change
6) Population, Housing and Employment Projections Study for the City of Kingston
7) Ongoing Gate Replacements on the Rideau Canal

1) Bailey Broom Company
Some of you may have noticed work happening at the old Bailey Broom Company at the corner of Rideau and Cataraqui Streets.  Stabilization of the brick facing along Cataraqui St. has been done. (Thanks so much Brenda Slomka for the photo at the end of this update!) The concrete section along Rideau St. has been removed.  As of this writing I do not have further information to share with you as to what the final design will look like.  More next month….  The owners are an architectural firm called RAW design.
Here is an exerpt from their webpage
“RAW Design, was launched in November 2007. As one of Toronto’s most vibrant architectural studios, RAW possesses an international design sensibility and a wealth of local experience. We are a full-service architectural firm and our professional experience comprises a variety of scales and building types, varying in size from 10,000 to 1,000,000 square feet. Our portfolio includes community greenhouses and community master plans, single family houses and large multi-unit residential complexes, mixed-use projects and specialized office environments.
RAW won the OAA award for Best Emerging Practice of 2009 and our Lang Tannery Project in Kitchener, Ontario has been recognized as Best Overall Development with a 2011 Brownie Award. Principal Roland Rom Colthoff has compiled a respectable list of awards for his design work including a number of OAA Awards of Excellence  (including BMW Toronto) and City of Toronto Urban Design Awards, including recently for Cube. Our approach led to the City of Toronto consulting us during the formulation of the Mid-Rise Guidelines, and Mr. Rom Colthoff currently serves as a member of the City of Toronto Design Review Panel.”
https://www.canadian-architects.com/raw-design-toronto

2) Message from Vesla – Volunteer Ski Instructor.
“The Parks Department came and cleaned out the underbrush and other junk from the lane between 205 Rideau St. (Rideau Towers) and the town houses to the north – best Christmas present I could get.  The wire fence is still there but I understand that a different crew has to deal with that.  Greg Tilson was very pleased – his child got skis for Christmas. I have volunteered to be a ski instructor on the hill and that goes for anyone – young and old – I am good!!!  My phone is 613 547 4750 – call any time there is fresh snow?.  I love being outdoors!!!”

3) Repair Cafe – Sunday, Jan 13
Repair Café Kingston is a community initiative of the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship (206 Concession St.) that promotes repair as an alternative to tossing things out. They are hosting free monthly meet-ups on the second Sunday of each month (2:00 to 4:30 p.m.). Bring your broken items and they will work with you to fix them on the spot with the help of our fixers. They can help you fix your clothing and textiles, wooden items and furniture, bicycles and skateboards, electrical items, jewelry, toys and stuffed animals. Not sure we can fix it? Bring it by and they’ll take a look! They are always looking for more fixers and helpers; whether or not you know how to fix things, consider joining us as a volunteer. They can be reached through our Facebook page or by emailing ktownrepair@gmail.com.
Feb 9/10.  Also Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ktownrepair/?__tn__=%2CdkCH-R-R&eid=ARDOlHZmbLvZmcu_FGa2fmPOEwjyyFaolOGJC_d1u4pRuJnVreunlODwmRQr6-d7udoE8ts9OD_FRomT&hc_ref=ARR6MtfW1gDP-kBEIFWZO_0YzBjIu74oErcHNjBRvwIuezbNaLsdY2YIeD38Ag6pNiU&fref=nf&hc_location=grou
They can also be reached through their Facebook page or by emailing ktownrepair@gmail.com.

4) North King’s Town Working Group Update
The following is from Sonya Bolton, Senior Planner with the City of Kingston – sbolton@cityofkingston.ca

“While we had hoped to release a couple of the draft technical reports this fall, work still continues on them internally with the project team. We have also identified some additional work that we want to undertake for a couple of the technical studies in the new year, to ensure that we have the information necessary to be able to implement the recommendations of the secondary plan and realize the community vision for NKT. The following is a summary of the work and approximate timing for the four NKT technical studies currently underway:

Land Use Plan – The City has released a draft of the latest Population, Housing, and Employment (PHE) Projections, and plans to have the final document in front of Council by late winter 2019. We are going to review the latest numbers against some earlier estimates of potential future growth for NKT, and look at the density permissions put forward in the first draft of the NKT land use plan against the new growth estimates.

Transportation Plan – For the NKT transportation plan, we want to do some more detailed work, so we are looking at creating a “micro traffic model” specifically for NKT. It will provide us with more detailed information on the impacts (both within and outside of the study area) of not developing the Wellington Street Extension, as well as the impacts of providing some other suggested local road connections (e.g. extending Russell Street to Rideau Street). It can also be used to look at proposed land use permissions and development proposals to better understand traffic implications associated with new development and intensification. We anticipate that the work involved in creating the micro model for NKT would be complete by the spring of 2019.

Servicing Plan – Work is underway on inputting the data from the NKT Secondary Plan to date into Utilities Kingston’s water and wastewater model for servicing infrastructure. This will let us know whether the underground infrastructure is capable of supporting future development, and if there are upgrades or improvements that will be needed. The current modelling work is looking at the impacts to the overall system within NKT. Some additional work we’re looking at doing is some “sensitivity” analysis, where we’ll test specific locations (i.e. some of the locations where we’re directing higher densities), to look at the impacts on the water and sewer systems as you increase the number of people in the area over time. It’s expected that the additional work on the sensitivity testing for the servicing plan would be complete in spring of 2019.

Cultural Heritage Study – We’ll be working with the consultant to put the finishes touches on the draft NKT cultural heritage study in January. This document will likely be the next piece that is released for public review and comment.”

5) Two Local Conferences: Sustainability and Climate Change

What: Queen’s Sustainability Conference – “This year, the theme of the conference is “Empowering Communities” which focuses on the role that local and small-scale contributions have on achieving a sustainable world. We will also highlight the roles that individuals can occupy within these frameworks and in their individual lives.”
When: Thurs, Jan 10 – Sat Jan 12
Where: Mitchell Hall, Queen’s University
Cost:  Free.  Donations of $20 – $25 appreciated.
More Info? Katharina Holt and Mitchell Malinsky – http://qsus.ca

What:  Kingston Climate Change Symposium
This full day symposium will bring climate champions together, inspire action, and showcase the latest developments in community-based climate initiatives. Featured speakers will be Dianne Saxe, Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner, Lauren Saville of the Jane Goodall Institu, the Weather Network’s Chris St. Claire, and other local industry experts.  Attendies will have an opportunity to hear from climate experts and engage in meaningful discussion around ways we can all do our part to make Kingston more sustainable.
When: Thurs, Jan 17, 1 pm – 8 pm
Where: Grand Theatre, Regina Rosen Auditorium
Cost: $39.55
More Info? www.sustainablekingston.com/events

6) Population, Housing and Employment Projections Study for the City of Kingston
This important information will direct future development plans. A consultation summary contains the feedback received as well as the next steps for the project. Included are the PowerPoint presentation, poster boards and Draft Findings Background Document.
http://www,cityofkingston.ca/business/planning-and-development/planning-studies/projections

7 ) Ongoing Gate Replacements on the Rideau Canal
Message from Parks Canada
“Gates are often used to keep people out, but Parks Canada prefers to invite you in!  Gates are often the first interaction a boater has with each lock site; the eager anticipation of approaching the lock; watching for the little whirlpool on the water as the gate first begins to open, and entering the lock chamber that leads to a world of adventure only the boater can design. For these reasons, a fresh gate is part of the unique and picturesque experience visitors have come to expect. They are also one of the most essential components in lock operation. As the Rideau sees on average over 11,000 boaters a year, effective and well maintained gates are essential for the safety and positive experience of boaters and visitors on land.
Many gates are being replaced along the Rideau Canal over the next few years as part of Parks Canada’s Infrastructure Investment program. Since the start of this program, gate fabrication has doubled from three gates per year to a total of six.
In order to construct these gates, logs weighing up to 4,800 lbs are transported to the Parks Canada shops. Our craftsmen proceed to plane, square and shape them into their appropriate form. From the time logs are received until the time they are sent to site is an eight week process. After gates arrive on site, they take another two weeks to install. The expected lifespan of each gate is between 15-20 years which will preserve the historic look and feel of each lock for future generations to enjoy.
The following schedule gives some insight into gate work that has been completed as part of our Infrastructure Investment program thus far, and into the work that is yet to come.
Gate installations that have been completed in 2018 are: Old Slys, Burritts Rapids, Hog Back, Upper Nickolson’s Upper Brewers.
Gates scheduled to be completed in 2019 are: Chaffeys, Kingston, Merrickville, Edmonds, Beveridges

So that’s it for now.
Cheers,
Mary Farrar, President,
Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour