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2 Friday, October 6 2017 brooklintowncrier.com Less than Half the Picture: By Richard Bercuson Mass Transit Shake-up Looms "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 Published 24 times annually Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 editorofbtc@gmail.com Locally owned and operated. A publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905-655-7642 Email: yeswomanbrooklin@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, October 20, 2017 Deadline: Friday, October 13, 2017 Council Meetings Council October 10 at 7 p.m. Planning and Development Committee October 16 at 7 p.m. Operations Committee October 23 at 7 p.m. These meetings will take place at Town Hall, 575 Rossland Road East. For a full listing of Town meetings, visit whitby.ca/civicweb For more information, contact the Clerks Department at clerks@whitby.ca or 905.430.4315 Notices Holiday Waste Collection Due to the Thanksgiving long weekend, waste and green bin collection has been bumped one day forward and will start on Tuesday, October 10. Download Whitby's Waste Buddy App or view the waste calendar at whitby.ca/waste News Nominations Now Being Accepted for 2017 Celebrating Youth Awards The annual Celebrating Youth Awards are an opportunity to recognize Whitby's young leaders for their contributions to the community. Nominations are due October 17 by 4 p.m. and can be submitted online at whitby.ca/youthevents. Get Active on the Ice This Fall Drop in public skating and adult shinny programs are on now. Visit whitby.ca/skating for a full schedule of ice times. Apply Now for Mayor's Community Development Fund Grant Community groups in need of financial support for initiatives and projects are encouraged to apply. Applications for community grants are due at the end of each month. Lead Cause applications for the Mayor's Fundraiser Event are due October 31. whitby.ca/mcdf Town of Whitby October 4, 2017 More information Phone: 905.430.4300 Email: info@whitby.ca UPCOMING EVENTS Getting Your Garden Ready for Winter Workshop Thursday, October 12, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Whitby Public Library. Learn how to get your garden ready for winter. Free admission. Explore Services for Seniors Tour Saturday, October 14, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m at various locations around Whitby. Pick up your map from the Whitby Seniors' Activity Centre, 801 Brock Street South. Farmers' Market Every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until the end of October. NEW LOCATION: Celebration Square, Whitby Public Library, 405 Dundas Street West. whitby.ca/calendar @TownofWhitby whitby.ca Healthy, Active Halloween Treats Healthy, Active Halloween Treats Scare up an alternative to traditional treats with swimming and skating passes! 10 passes for $10 whitby.ca/recreation Passes are valid from October 31 to November 30, 2017. Taxes are extra. I believe in public transportation. There it is, a full disclosure. Durham - Whitby - okay, Brooklin - has a superficial mass transit system. We know it's there because occasionally we see buses that aren't yellow and immediately deduce these must be for public transit. Where they go, or rather don't go, is at issue. Naturally no one can expect this region, let alone Brooklin, to ever have anything like a big city system, nor would we want it. We chose where to live mostly because it isn't a big city. For one thing, transportation is expensive. As I wrote last issue, we're only now wrapping our heads around the desperate need not just for wider roads but newer, better ring roads and arterials. Throw in more buses and routes, then expect outcries from the NOMS (Not On My Street) lobby. More on that later. Still, a decent bus system would help. Right now, the fares are reasonable. For packets of 10 tickets, teens pay $2.80 per ticket and those age 6-12, $2.10. But how many kids can take a bus to school or activities? It wouldn't be because they won't but rather because the routes aren't practical nor close enough to home. A trip to the renovated though Apple Storeless Oshawa Centre is a trek even if the GPS says you can make it there from Brooklin's centre in 15 minutes. Consider route 310 which travels north on Baldwin, goes east along Carnwith and back south on Thickson before disappearing into the hinterland. Why would a BHS student take this bus since it does practically nothing to eliminate either a long walk or car trip? In Brooklin, there are no buses on key roads like Duggan, Anderson (north of the 407), Montgomery, Columbus, Watford, Carnwith west of Baldwin, and most of Cachet. If you want to grab a bus, the walk to reach one might take as long as the trip itself. Would better mass transit greatly reduce our car dependence and reduce traffic? My guess is, after a while, probably. Will this happen? Let's ask the NOMS people, first cousins of the NIMBYs. All those in favour of having Durham bus stops on their streets, raise a hand. Just as I figured. Meanwhile, the region is examining an increase to the development charge on our taxes to help pay for improvements to transit. If you want to know more, attend the region's open house on Wed., Oct. 11, at 9:30 am at the regional HQ on Rossland. Brooklin, of course, is unique both in its quiet suburban feel and its geographical "separation" from both Whitby and the known civilized world. Still, we need to get around. Buses work. Permit me please to take an op- posing position on the ugly "Please Slow Down" signs appearing all over Brooklin. These signs are an eyesore and a blight on our community 's streetscape. We already have a sign program in place to motivate drivers to reduce speed. They are called Speed Limit Signs. If they are not working then it's an issue of inadequate law enforcement. I have lived in Brooklin for over 14 years and in that time we have not had a VISIBLE ongoing REGULAR Police presence in our community. You can't effectively reduce speeding from a helicopter. If our speed signs are not working then more ugly plastic signs are not the answer. This is an ineffective idea and as far as I can see impossible to measure without Police involvement. If Police ARE in the area, I wouldn't credit the signs for less speeding. I would credit the presence of law enforcement (not slow sown signs ) as the cause of the improvement. If the community is concerned with the safety of its children then perhaps the message on the signs should be changed to "Do you know what your children are doing tonight?" Two years ago a car passed me on Watford Avenue with one teenager hanging on the hood of a car and another teenager hanging on the roof of the same car. Last night as I picked up the mail four youth were skateboarding down the middle of Watford with ear buds (preventing them from hearing anything) and they were all texting as they rolled through the night. Maybe part of the problem is not driver speeding but irresponsible parenting. - Bill Schwartz Brooklin Letter to the Editor: