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Items from Whitby Council agenda(s) Monday, May 10, 1993 Recommenda- tions from the Planning and Development Committee That proposais from two Oshawa businessmen to Install advertising benches at Whitby bus stops be denied. David Spackman of Bus Stop Advertising wanted to lnstall elght benches for a trial period of six months, while Joe Shaw of Roadside Advertising proposed 20 benches for a one-year trial period. The benches would have been erected at no cost to the municipality and maintenance and liability insurance would have been the responsibility of the businesses. But a staff report states that the Town now provides sufficient seating facilities within its covered transit shelters. Carried That a site plan application from Midway Motors Ltd., 1300 Dundas St. E., t build a 740-sq. ft. addition to its showroom be approved. The addition is to accomodate a vehicle ioading area and a garbage storagefaciility. Carried Recommenda- tions from the Operations Committee That Oshawa Garden Service's low combined tender of $75,174 for the construction of Ash Street and Bassett Park play- grounds and paving of Manning Trail be denied and that staff's original recom- mendation to split the tender and award i to two different companies be approved. Although Oshawa Garden Servce's tender was the lowest bid for the overall project, staff proposed splitting the tender to obtain a savings for more than $1,200 to the municipality. Loc-Pave Construction Ltd. of Richmond Hill will do the work on Ash Street Park for $34,182. Rocky River Construction of Concord was awarded the contract for Bassett Park and Manning Trail. Council felt that il should follow past practice and spit the tender, but agreed 1o review its overaîl tendering policy after representatives of Oshawa Garden Service and Loc-Pave criticized the procedure. Carried That council accept the low tender of $16.465 from Loc-Pave Construction for the construction of a water spray pad at Kinsmen Park 1o replace the swiming pool which is being removed. With equipment and hook-up costs and site improvements, staff estimate the project will cost almiost $48,000. Carried Whitby Free Press. Wednesday, May 12. 1993. Page 3 Mayor urges delay in planned GO reductions By Mike Kowalski Proposed reductions in GO Transit rail service should be delayed until the full impact of the cutbacks are known, Whitby Mayor Tom Edwards says. Edwards has written GO chair Lou Parsons demanding that reduced service scheduled to take effect July 3 be postponed. He wants GO's recent decision to limit non-rush hour train ser- vice subjected to public scrutiny to determine its impact on com- muters and municipalities alike. Until those affected by the proposed cutbacks have a chance to respond, full train service should remain intact, Edwards says. "Surely the success of GO train services is so evident that these reductions ought not to be intro- duced until every possible alter- native has been explored," Edwards'letter states. "It is quite unacceptable for this announement to come out of the blue without any preparation for some alternate method of transportation,»he writes. Edwards "strongly urges" GO officials to allow for "some public discussion" of the decision so that they can better appreciate "how heavilyewe have come to depend" on the service. Except for rush hour service trains on GO's Lakeshore rail corridor will not run beyond Pickering in the east and Oak- ville in the west. Buses will be used to transfer passengers from communities beyond these points, such as Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa, dur- ing off-peakhours. Trains .will leave Whitby for Toronto every 20 minutes bet- ween 5:47 and 8:47 a.m. and leave Toronto for Whitby every 20 minutes between 3:13 and 7:13 p.m., Monday to Friday. During midday, evening and weekends, buses will serve the Whitby and Ajax GO stations and add about 10 minutes per e cutbacks are a result of the Ontario government's deci- Fear that businesses may relocate sion to trim its annual subsidy to GO Transit by $6.5 million. Although GO claims 85 per cent of passengers using trains will not be affected crities con- tend Toronto-bound commuters will drive their cars rather than ride the buses, thus adding to traffic congestion on area high- ways. A number of municipalities ôn the Lakeshore route, such as Whitby, now integrate their own bus runs with GO service and this will create scheduling pro- blems for local transit officials. Municipal leaders like Edwards are also worried that partial loss of train service may force some businesses to locate in other communities. As of last Thursday, Edwards had not yet received a reply to his letter but "I know Queen's Park is aware of my comments," he said. "I want the people who make the decision to be aware of what it will do to places like Whitby and Durham Region,»he said. "I'm hoping that when they see the facts they will maintain the service." Edwards conceded that rush hour service will not be affected, but noted that not everyone takes the train at that time. He mentioned university and college students, shift workers and the physically disabled. The latter group especially will "virtually be demed that ser- vice," Edwards said. Rather than risk taking the train during poak periods and being delayed beyond rush hour, disabled commuters will have to resort to other methods since bus transportation will prove quite difficult for them, he said. Durham Centre MPP Drum- mond White supported Edwards call for a delay in implementing the cuts. White said a study could deter- mine whether reduced service is warranted. "Let's see if there are enough people taking it. Maybe it (study) will generate better numbers than Lou Parsons has,"»he said. White said a study may in- dicate that bus service should be limited to weekends only. But he stressed that for the vast majority of commuters, there will be no impact. "Eighty-five per cent of GO train users will still be served by trains," White said. Omo-- am-~ -~~ __ ~~ -ffl--M-~ UMM - ~ - M - - ..on& ____ - - -- - - -- ~.M.MM -m Warmer weather is on its way. Time to replace or repair your broken windshield. Our technicianS use an incredible new process to repair windshield stone chips. ROTARY CALEE 641BREAK THE PATTERN OF POVERTY Please contribute to: ICUS56 Sparks usc Ottawa Canada K1P5B1 (613) 234-6827 Save Up To ON YOUR INSURANCE DEDUCTIBLE WITH THIS AD* m