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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 17 ,2 02 2 | 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeav @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Graeme MacIntosh CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM Trafalgar Road between Leighland Avenue and north of Hays Boulevard has now been completed af- ter two years of construc- tion. This will contribute to a safer road environment, as well as improve trans- portation flow for motor- ists, cyclists, pedestrians and public transit users. As for arterial road pro- jects completed in 2021, we completed Speers Road, from Third Line to Fourth Line. The project included new sidewalks, the first protected bike lanes in the town and improvements at transit stops. Our resurfacing pro- gram was another highlight from 2021. The program was paused in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021, we resur- faced 9.25 kilometres (cen- treline) of town roads on time and under budget. As part of the town's ar- terial road network, the fol- lowing work will be done in 2022: • Speers Road (Fourth Line to Dorval) -- This pro- ject is similar in scope to the Third Line to Fourth Line section. Utilities will be relocated later this year before construction begins in 2023. • Wyecroft Road (Bronte Road to Third Line) -- This will include added bike lanes, a sidewalk on one side of the street and a mul- ti-use trail on the other side of the street. The de- sign phase will begin this year, and construction will begin in 2025. We will be designing the new active transportation crossing of the QEW on the west side of Trafalgar Road this year, along with com- pleting the design of the Woodhaven Park Drive storm sewer. In addition to Lees Lane and Sherin Drive, the de- sign of Bridge Road be- tween these two points is already underway. Work includes the removal of ex- isting ditches along the road, resurfacing Bridge Road with bike lanes, con- structing a new curb and gutter, installing a storm sewer, replacing the side- walks on both sides of the road, upgrading the street lights and repairing the 14 Mile Creek Bridge. A part of the 2022 budget for the Neighbourhood Traffic Safety Program calls for the construction of 20 additional pedestrian crossings (PXOs), and re- habilitation efforts at Ho- lyrood Promenade are planned this year to im- prove beach material re- tention and to add protec- tion to an unprotected bluff at the back of the beach. Rob Burton is the May- or of Oakville. He can be reached at mayor@oak- ville.ca. ENHANCING OUR MOBILITY TRAFALGAR ROAD PROJECT A MAJOR BOOST FOR ALL FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION, WRITES ROB BURTON A squirrel finds a treat in a backyard in the Joshua Creek area. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Douglas Carson photo SNAPSHOT Economic activity in Canada ebbs and flows. We have prosperity, then things slow down and we can have a recession. Then a recovery. The goal of the Bank of Canada is to manage our economy, provide slow and steady growth and hopefully allow us all to prosper. That's good for the coun- try, but not necessarily good for individuals. When the economy slows, one strategy em- ployed by the Bank of Can- ada is to lower interest rates. The cheaper interest rates are, the more individ- uals will borrow and spend. The Bank of Canada needs to entice consumer spending to increase eco- nomic activity. Often there is a warning not to overspend and accu- mulate excessive house- hold debt. But lowering in- terest rates was meant to encourage spending. Economic success does eventually happen. Business activity picks up, people are employed, and the government col- lects taxes as a result. Economic success for Canada does not necessari- ly translate to those con- sumers who could not re- sist low interest rates and now find themselves with too much personal debt. Eventually the economy will be clipping along at a fast pace and need to be slowed. That will result in the Bank of Canada increasing interest rates. Some individuals with too much debt will not be able to afford higher inter- est rate payments. Those who overspent and helped restart the economy could face finan- cial hardship. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment products are provided by ACPI. ACPI is a member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth management services through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- s.com. NORMAL ECONOMIC CYCLES CAN HURT THE INDIVIDUAL PETER WATSON Column ROB BURTON Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM