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w w w .in s id e h a lto n .c o m | O A K V ILLE BEA VE R | Friday, M ay 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 | 6 E d it o r ia l Stay on dry land Though the lakefront -- its harbours, piers, parks and trails -- is the crown in the jewel of Oakville, local ofhcials are asking people to stay away, at least until Lake Ontario water levels recede. The Oakville Beaver has been reporting on the effects of high lake levels. A few weeks ago, the Oakville Power Boat Squadron reported the ground was still too soft to support a large crane used to hoist power boats into the Sixteen Mile Creek for the season. A rescheduled date saw our photographer taking pho tos of boaters wading in tall rubber boots and helping shore up rough spots as docks were submerged. The boat launch has been indehnitely postponed. In between, TOWARF (Town of Oakville Water Air Rescue Force) spent a Sunday removing trees from Six teen Mile Creek -- the result of a small landslide of the bank into the creek. Lake levels should be at their peak now, but are ex pected to take time to return to normal. The July 9 Oakville Children's Festival has been offi cially moved to Queen Elizabeth Park Cultural Centre (QEPCCC) as the park is having problems with water. In yesterday' s edition, we published photos of liferings that adorn trees in Coronation Park. Park benches are submerged. A local youth group has put off its semi annual shoreline cleanup. Waves are crashing into Gairloch Gardens. The parks are closed. This isn't news, the Town served notice lakefront parks, piers and harbourfronts were closed. The Town's website consistently posts notices urging people to use caution and steer clear of the waterfront. However, with lake levels breaking the 1952 record -- the highest since recordkeeping began in 1918 -- Oakville's Deputy Fire Chief Andy Glynn, who is also re sponsible for the Town of Oakville's emergency manage ment and preparedness and special projects, says people just won't stay away. "We're asking all residents to stay away from all piers, all waterfront parks and to avoid going to the harbours, when possible," Glynn urged. "Use extreme, extreme caution if they need to go down to the waterfront." Although the Town has posted signs, caution tape and fences warning people to avoid flooded areas, some aren't staying away, particularly at Coronation Park. "On Monday (May 22), even though the park (Coro nation) was closed, there was a large number of people that were there, picnicking," said Glynn, adding, "But, quite frankly, the parks are closed until further notice." Heavy rainfall has pushed Lake Ontario water lev els to a record high - 1.77 metres above normal. As of Wednesday, May 24, the water level was 75.86 metres, eight centimetres higher than the record high for this time of the year. The normal water level for Lake Ontario is 74.2 metres. The Town is hoping all residents and visitors to Oakville will pay heed to the fact all of Oakville's Lake Ontario waterfront parks are closed now, and for the near future, due to the flooding. Stay safe. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackbum@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. "Connected to your Community" 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classified Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 55 | Number 41 The Oakville Beaver is a division of ·* m etrolandm edia ** C o n n ectedtoy o u rc o m m u n ity ® Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. NEIL OLIVER Vice -P resident and Group Publisher o f M etroland West KELLY MONTAGUE Regional General Manager DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN M anaging Editor Letter to the Editor RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director LORI A NN GZOVDANOVIC Reader looks around to measure livability Oakville's `most livable' mantra goal is under stress or is perhaps oddly dehned by our munici pal administrators. Our cherished downtown now houses multi ple vacancies, victim of monopoly rents, burgeon ing retail developments elsewhere, expensive and inadequate parking and Lakeshore disruptions. The much vaunted new hospital is a half hour journey from residents in southeast Oakville, not ideal in emergencies. It is full of expensive technology, but operates on a system that rotates stafhng so quickly there is little time or incentive for nurses to develop the patient interaction so crucial to recovery. Trafhc is already heavy on the now six to eight lane Dundas Street leading to the hospital. Imag ine the gridlock when the soul-destroying archi tectural clones along it are inhabited. This isn't the Oakville I moved to in 1980. Increasingly, it has become home to the wealthy as property val ues soar, monster homes multiply and the rich's growing sense of entitlement increases discour tesy and dangerous driving. Provincially-dictated population and density targets produce cheek-by-jowl travesties as along Dundas that exacerbate the gridlock and destroy valuable agricultural land. Despite these increases in the tax base, the property tax burden constantly increases as the Town seems incapable of containing its costs within inflation, depending on Region frugality to achieve its claim of overall control. Odd that one never hears of any attempt to curb union demands or to delay or cancel such unnecessary projects, in my opinion, as re-modelling the Iro quois Ridge Library. The town communicates well, seeks regular public input and plans amenities intended to im prove but seems to overlook many aspects that truly make a place livable. We need peace and quiet, compassionate, easily accessible health facilities, efhcient trafhc flows, affordability, ad equate safe cycling routes and intelligent rather than brutal tree trimming. B usiness Manager M A R K DILLS Director o f Production M A N U EL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director o f Distribution K IM M O S S M A N Circulation M anager Proud Official Media Sponsor For: »CCAB Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Com m unity Newspapers Association Canadian Com m unity Newspapers Association A ccredited R. Adams, Oakville L o c a lM e d ia association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Halton Healthcare OikvIlltMlIwiM Pud by Steve Nease M Defending principles to inspire public trust Ontario Press Council The Oakville Beaver is a m e m ber o f th e O ntario Press Council. The council is lo cated a t 8 0 Gould St., S uite 2 0 6 , Toronto, Ont., M 5 B 2 M 7 . Phone 4 1 6 -3 4 0 -1 9 8 1 . 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