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A 6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, A pril 30, 2003 EDITOIUALS AND l e t t e r s THE HIM II I i. beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 337-5610 Circulation: 845-9742 IAN OLIVER NEIL OLIVER 1 ILL DAVIS Publisher I V' ' ...... · · .-M. ' , · . ·............................ .. Associate Publisher Editor in Chief KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director STEVE CROZIER em ulation Director TERI CASAS MARK DILLS Office Manager Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOUJ Photography Director ROD JERRED Managing Editor I b ttrp re eM w w .B u m efio a rc oB a rry *B a yT ta i · B a to n frttrp re a .B n rrp tx G u n k a n . Mvtn A m. · B u ln g K nSltnfqN w t,ttyPiwtC d r^w ciyM M Q i 1C o n rv C K W .E xt to rttU tn v .lmW «cttCcut| R a te s ! O o o c c fc tG u a rd U M lR a rrtn rc u g nP a *. G e o rg M M m . M M p a n d a ft'A d o nF f*» M n M a n linm I B ja n w sT rre i. 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Recognized for Excellence by 1 Ontario Community Newspapers Association v i H a it i $ $ | oakvllle galleries | C jtlkriU t C ® fn ~ n , o » * ueaneeomj ||| m * i M W T I M A U D Mjfc; A G O N >» -1 -- » r*X> C O M E * t im r is wag (*C N A Canadian Community Newspapers Association M fur,d / fffu / .................... TM SK '!'I Suburban Newspapers of America 4>rrS*' tv auction f0R6U$W{$StX«lUNCe " 'AAT. k te U M Life-or-death gamble An old safety concern has reared its ugly head again with the release o f police seatbelt safety blitz statis tics. The news isn't good. Ignoring studies that prove seat belts save lives some m otorists still refuse to buckle up when they trav el our roadways. Despite checking 1,500 few er vehicles for proper seatbelt use this spring. Halton police laid 88 per cent more charges and issued close to double the num ber o f seatbeltrelated warnings this year over last. These latest figures have Halton Police C hief Ean A lgar justifiably concerned about the need to con tinue educating people about the life-or-death gam ble they w age when choosing not to buckle up -- not to m ention the $110 fine if caught. You would think, after all these years, that drivers and their passengers would know a thing or two about seatbelt safety. How much more educating can we do? During the O ntario Provincial P olice's seatbelt blitz, a single officer from the Toronto detach ment issued m ore than 5(X) seat belt-related charges. Last Saturday, on the last day o f the O P P cam paign, tw o young w om en were injured when their vehicle left the road and rolled several tim es. N either was w earing a seatbelt. "We see vehicles with no intru sive dam age but the occupants are seriously injured or even killed because they sim ply w ere not w earing a seatbelt," observed one senior O P P officer. M ore disturbing still are the par ents w ho w illfully place their chil dren at risk o f serious injury or death by placing them in im prop erly-installed child,car seats o r reg ular lap/shoulder belts designed for bigger passengers. In an extrem e case, one Toronto m otorist w as recently found to have a fem ale passenger seated in the back with a tw o-year-old child sitting on her lap. T he front pas senger seat was also occupied -- by a brand new child car seat, still in its original box. A s adults we have the freedom to m ake decisions for ourselves -- right or w rong. H ow ever, poor judgm ent is no excuse for putting o th er's lives at risk -- especially those o f children w ho place com plete faith in their parents' ability to protect them from harm . LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Region says new tree-cutting bylaw will include higher financial penalties Re: Tree C utting Oakvillc/Soulh M ilton North LE TTER OF TH E W EEK Y o u th fir s t p o lic y ig n o re s a d u lt h o c k e y p la y e rs Town council's recent unilateral " youth first" decision for allocating hours of ice time use. is again another example of not seeing or even considering the big picture. Without a doubt, any citizen with a sense o f the future would agree supporting youth programs is paramount. However, like any other decision that affects the com munity at large, council should always strive to strike a balance. The "youth first" decision is flawed and lacks balance. The flaw resides in the lack o f quality input from other vested ice-time users in the community'. I speak for the hun dreds. perhaps thousands, o f adult hockey players who are " clients" of the community arenas. Clearly, we are unhappy and feel a sense of discrimination with council's decision. Odd that the " real" taxpayers are being " shut-out" o f the game. The representative o f the Halton men's hockey league made a statement. " We all realize that without minor hockey, there would be no demand for adult hockey." This is sophistry at its finest. As well, it does not represent the collective opinion of the various adult user groups. As for the bal ance. I don't see the inputs from other groups that I am sure are affected and equally unhappy with this decision. Lack of ice capacity is the fundamental issue. Again council and parks and recre ation lag reality and have missed the mark. We don't need a 5-10 year trend analysis to detennine kids' interest. Just look around and anyone connected with kids can see that the trend in youth hockey is right off the graph and will continue to rise. Just bite the bullet and add more ice. Burlington and Mississauga have done this in spades. What about the Oakville arena property? Put two sheeLs o f ice in there ASAP, and fast track the planned addi tion to Glen Abbey. Come on council, this is a no-brainer. PAUL R. VISSER Smart Growth shouldn't pose threat to existing neighbourhoods Ed. N ote: this letter was addressed to O akville Town C ouncil and a copy was Jile d with the O akville Beaver fo r publication. : - , n Halton Region is alarmed by what appears to be a significant case of illegal cutting recently on a property spanning north Oakville and south Milton. We are actively investigating the case in partnership with Conservation Halton. Landowners are required to seek approval from Halton Region for any tree cutting activity. In this M a p 'M recent case, no approval was sought. Most Halton property owners are responsible stewards o f the W ard 4 Regional C o u n cillo r A llan K lgar rented a plane last land, and illegal tree cutting inci week to take an aerial photograph o f the w oodlot along the dents have been rare occurrences in Halton. In each case, Halton has O a kville /M ilto n border, which is c u rre n tly under investigation by the Region o f H alton and Conservation H alton to determ ine launched an investigation, laid w hether trees were cut illegally by bulldozers. charges and vigorously prosecuted Halton's woodland protection polioffenders, seeking both fines and almost three decades. replanting orders. Through the Regional Official cies and the recent incident of illeSome of the commentary on this Plan Review, we are exploring a gal cutting is without merit. issue has created the impression proposal to toughen our tree-cutting A similar case recently in that the current public consultation bylaw even further as permitted by Durham Region offers an indica on a new woodland protection poli updated legislation. The current tion of how seriously municipali cy within Halton's Official Plan bylaw sets out a penalty o f S5.CXX) ties take these incidenLs of disre Review somehow encouraged or or up to three months imprisonment gard for the environment. In that allowed this recent tree cutting inci for offenders. The proposed new, case, the offender has been slapped more aggressive bylaw would dent. with 332 separate charges, and While strong planning policies allow for fines of up to $1,000 per serves as an example for others play an important role in protecting tree on the first conviction and tempted to engage in illegal cut Halton's environmentally sensitive $2,500 per tree on subsequent con ting. areas, they cannot guarantee to stop victions. The issue o f illegal cutting is of We have also been consulting an individual determined to cut great concern to Halton Regional trees in a forested area The most with the community on developing Council and the Town Councils in effective tool is an aggressive and a straightforward, defensible Oakville. Burlington. Milton and defensible tree-cutting bylaw, woodland protection policy for Halton Hills. Individuals engaging Halton Region that w ill help pro designed to make individuals think in illegal tree cutting should know twice before engaging in illegal cut tect wooded areas that are o f spe that our local leaders mean business ting. And while we have heard cial significance due to the age of when it comes to protecting our Halton Region's bylaw referred to the trees, the size o f the woodland woodlands, and w ill ensure that we as `'useless," in fact, the Region's and its interior space, or those that use all of the tools available to pros bylaw has served as a strong and serve as links to other natural areas. ecute offences. effective tool for prosecuting tree The connection some have made A. BRENT MARSHALL, HALTON cutting incidents in the Region for between this strengthening of CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Pud W H Y ? C AN s o Y o u ^ AMD |S E -S o m I l H ID E By STEVE NEASE CAN P U T BAc k I s t u f f -- i ^ I , TOOK FR O M H IM ? ' . oH lS . U 7 Nov Trafalgar-Chartwell Residents' Association has read the final report o f the Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel. We find much to like about the recommendations o f the panel. We strongly support the objectives o f attempting to accommodate the burgeoning population o f Ontario while protecting to the extent possible our rural heritage and, at the same time, enhancing our quality o f life by reducing gridlock and the impact on the environment o f our car-dependent cul ture. Average net densities need to increase in greenfield devel opment for this to happen. We also need to encourage inten sification o f existing neighbourhoods where current infra structure supports it and it is compatible with its surroundings and an overall vision for mixed development across a com munity. We would, however, like to express our concern that the document in its current form, even before it has given rise to legislation or been incorporated into municipalities' Official Plan review processes, could be inteipreted by planners, developers, and the Ontario Municipal Board (OM B) to over ride on an ad hoc basis the agreed vision for established neighbourhoods. This vision is embodied in official plans and zoning developed with considerable input from the public over a long period o f time. In particular, our concern is that neighbourhoods with adequate density to be walkable and to support public trans port today could find themselves burdened with increased density and a reduced quality o f life to pay for the lack o f density in more recently developed neighbourhoods which are entirely car dependent. It would be inappropriate in our view for the sins o f the sons (newer urban sprawl neighbourhoods) to be visited on the fathers (established neighbourhoods already sufficiently dense and providing a broad mix o f housing and employment uses). To illustrate, we note the request in a related report pre pared for Nestis by Metropole that municipalities are urged to identify nodes for intensification to assist developers in meet ing market need. This would be an appropriate part o f the visioning process communities such as Oakville would need to undertake before site specific planning decisions are made, which are informed by new principles as yet untested by pub lic debate. As in so many things, it is the interpretation and the exe cution that counts: the devil is in the detail. Smart growth policies as outlined in the report are conceptually appealing. No one could argue with the principles they embody. Clearly, the panel has made every effort to think through the concept on a large scale. The same effort should be expended at the Official Plan level in each municipality before the seductive parts o f the report blind us to the good reasons behind past practice and decisions. Failure to do this w ill have two negative results: the first w ill be the approval o f unsuitable developments; the second, and more far-reaching, w ill be the discrediting o f the smart growth concept, and an unproductive polarization o f devel opers and residents. · The principles o f the document are well conceived, and should not be jeopardized by an ill-considered application. TRAFALGAR-CHARTWELL RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATION CHRIS STOATE, PRESIDENT The Oakville Beaver Is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St.. Suite 206, Toronto. O nt. M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, togeth er with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for. but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or dedine.