May 20 2019
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange
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Hello Spring!
Thanks to my friend Bob for taking me on such an amazing ride! It was the highlight of my week!
Thanks also to our Engineering and Roads staff for completing the rehabilitation of Village Parkway (VP) in Unionville and eliminating the deteriorating centre "bricks". VP and Carlton Road (from Warden to VP) now have narrowed "traffic calming" driving lanes with informal bike lanes by the curbs. Hopefully the rest of Carlton Road will be completed soon!
Congratulations on the opening this weekend of
The Singing School at 20 Crown Steel Drive. It's amazing just how much artistic talent and entrepreneurial spirit we have here in Markham. Thanks for inviting me!
Take a look at the York Region trails video below. It's really great that we have nearby access to such wonderful nature trails. Please take a morning or afternoon to visit a YR forest.
Now is your chance to advocate for snow "windrow" removal by the City of Markham. There is a link to a survey below. Speak now or forever ...
Click here
to read the last edition of
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange.
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In this issue
- Winter Road Maintenance Review
- Alectra Spring Newsletter
- Seniors Housing Symposium
- Explore York Region Trails
- Committed to an energy wise YR
- Immunization Saves Lives
- Helping When Most Needed
- Greening Our Communities
- YR Strategic Plan Update
- LRCA Neighbourhood Garage Sale
- May 21 - World Cultural Day
- Community Meetings and Events
- Q&A - Park Revitalization
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Please feel free to forward this update to anyone that may find it of interest.
Make sure you are on the list for future updates.
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Looking for more information?
Any of the blue text, blue buttons and most of the graphics have links to further detail.
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Yes, I know it is finally spring and the last thing you want to think about is snow and road plowing but the City is asking for your feedback on their winter road maintenance operations.
The
Winter Maintenance Survey
has just gone live on Your Voice Markham, the City's online engagement site. The survey asks for you input on various subjects including snow removal on residential streets, windrows and sidewalk clearing. Your ideas, feedback and opinions will be reviewed by the Operations Team as they prepare for our upcoming workshops on June 4 and June 17 about winter road maintenance.
The survey can be accessed
here
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Alectra Utilities
has provided a link to their Spring newsletter for the residents of Markham. The update provides details on the topics below and more:
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Seniors housing is an important issue in the community. This event will be exploring the use of land owned by different faith groups for affordable seniors housing.
Thursday 23 May
7:00pm - 9:30pm
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York Region has a very extensive network of trails and forests that many residents have not taken the time to get out and explore. Many of these trails were ancient routes used by First Nations and the network extends throughout each of the nine cities and towns that make up York Region. There are paved urban trails or rugged forest paths. You will be amazed at the diverse landscape, points of interest, wildlife and vegetation waiting to be appreciated.
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More information including maps and planning tools can be found
here
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York Region owns and operates over $12.3 billion in assets in the form of buildings, transit vehicles, fleet vehicles, water and wastewater facilities and supporting infrastructure.
York Region’s
2019 Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan
outlines ways the Region can further reduce energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through a mix of conservation, efficiency and renewable energy alternatives.
These initiatives were developed in collaboration with Regional departments, York Regional Police and Housing York. Details on what has already been achieved and upcoming projects can be found
here.
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With the increasing re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases globally, like measles, York Regional Council
endorsed the position
of the Council of the Ontario Medical Officers of Health in support of a centralized immunization registry in the Province of Ontario. The registry would allow for the seamless reporting of immunization information by all health care providers at the time of administration.
Do you have school aged children? Further information
here
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York Region allocated $5.5 million to community agencies in 2018 through the
Community Investment Fund
by investing in local community and social programs. There were 49 projects that helped more than 78,000 residents with low to moderate income to enjoy a better quality of life. These projects provided direct services to residents, and supported organizational development and skill building activities for community agencies.
Allocations through the Community Investment Fund had a vital impact on York Region residents in 2018:
- Approximately 46,000 breakfasts and snacks were distributed to York Region students through the Food for Learning program
- More than 700 individuals experiencing homelessness found shelter at Inn from the Cold and Mosaic Interfaith Out of the Cold during the winter months
- Over 4,000 residents received support to help with transportation needs through the Transit Ticket Program, which provides approximately $100,000 to non-profit community agencies to help buy transit fares for client use
- Four community agencies received more than $100,000 to support capacity building activities that help to strengthen their performance and impact
The Community Investment Fund was established in 2002 to support agencies in York Region to deliver programs and services to address community needs and service gaps. Activities funded must meet at least one of these four community goals: social inclusion, community health, economic independence and housing stability. More information is available at
york.ca/communityinvestment.
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York Region continues to work with local and municipal partners to protect and preserve environmental lands and increase tree canopy and woodland cover, with a goal of increasing woodland cover to 25% by 2031. Woodland cover was last reported as 23.2% in 2017.
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- Engaging residents through events, hikes and education programs
- Planting more than 101,000 trees and shrubs and creating 44.4 hectares of new woodlands
- Protecting more than 1,360 hectares of environmental lands since 2001 and partnering with Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust to protect the 32.5-hectare Maple Cross Nature Reserve
Visit
york.ca/treeplanting
for details on the beneficial impact of trees and York Region’s tree planting programs. Additional information on the Greening Our Communities initiative are
here
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Since 2014, significant progress has been made on a number of performance measures including:
- Increased business engagements with targeted business sectors by 12%
- Maintained 99.9% of samples that meet Ontario drinking water standard
- Increased solid waste diverted from landfill by 9%
- Increased the number of services available online from 7 to 28
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Event Date:
Saturday, May 25th, 8 AM to 12 noon (Rain or Shine!)
Location:
Your driveway!
Registration Deadline:
Thursday May 23 at Noon to make sure you are on the map
The
Legacy Community Ratepayers Association (LCRA)
Spring Garage Sale will be held on Saturday, May 25 from 8am to 12pm rain or shine. The LCRA will help you get the word out about this event. We’ll put up signs, provide group advertising and distribute maps to indicate the homes that are participating in the sale. We’ll also put your list of items for sale together with the map so the bargain seekers can find your home and their target items faster and easier. The maps and lists will be handed out during the garage sale at all entrances to the community and will also be available ahead of time on the
LCRA website.
To get on the map, e-mail to
YardSaleRegistration@legacynet.ca
by 12:00 noon Thursday May 23rd and provide your name, address, phone number and list of the types of items you will be selling (i.e., household items, children’s clothes/toys, sporting goods or specific specialty items).
Volunteer opportunity - This year we’re calling for 4 volunteers (attention all you students seeking community hours!) to hand out maps. If you can help, please e-mail
events@legacynet.ca
for more information.
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Embracing Diversity and Inclusion - World Cultural Day - May 21
York Region is a place where diversity is celebrated and is one of Canada's fastest growing communities with 1.2 million residents, representing all ages, backgrounds and interests.
York Region is a mosaic of cultures, stories and voices:
- More than 51,000 recent immigrants live in York Region (immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2011 and 2016)
- There are more than 120 different spoken languages and over 230 distinct ethnic origins
- 47% (515,225) of York Region residents were born outside of Canada, which is the third highest in Ontario behind Peel and Toronto
- Markham is Canada’s most ethnically diverse community with 78% of the population identifying as a visible minority
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Learn more about York Region’s immigration and ethnocultural diversity in these
Census bulletins
.
May 21 is the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Our greatest strength is the ability to bring people together to build a welcoming community that celebrates and values the differences and contributions of everyone.
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Community Meetings and Events
All City of Markham meetings are listed on the City's website at
Upcoming Council and Committee Meetings
. Unless noted differently on the link above, meetings are held at the Markham Civic Centre and are open to the public. If you aren't able to attend in person, meetings are live streamed.
The calendar of York Region meetings is available
here.
You can listen to meetings on line. The details from past meetings are available online.
I'd be pleased to highlight other community meetings in future newsletters. Please forward the details to
dhamilton@markham.ca
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Frequently Asked Questions...
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As an ongoing section in these email updates, I would like to provide answers to some commonly asked questions by residents.
If you have a question that you would like answered, please send me an email with your question.
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Question:
If there’s a playground in my neighborhood that I would like to see refreshed (with new foam floor and updated play set), what is the process to request this refresh? What are the requirements, if any?
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Answer:
Playgrounds are "refreshed" according to the City's lifecycle account unless there are serious issues in which case repairs are made immediately. Usually when the lifecycle refresh is done, it is like-for-like meaning 3 swings for 3 swings, 1 slide for 1 slide and sand for sand. Any upgrades such as rubberized surface instead of sand or a different piece of equipment would need to be requested and supported by your local Councillor.
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Working together to make Markham better!
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