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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, D ec em be r 26 ,2 01 9 | 4 1453 North service road, West oakville, oN l6M 2W2 lexusofoakville.ca 905.847.8400 • 1.866.lexus.66lexusofoakville.ca experieNce aMaziNgexperieNce aMaziNg RX LEXUS RX lease apr 2.9%*40 MoNths 2020 RX 350 ^Delivery Credits are available on retail purchase/lease of select new 2019/2020 Lexus vehicles from Lexus of Oakville and will be applied after taxes have been charged on the full amount of the negotiated price. Vehicle must be purchased/leased, registered and delivered by January 2nd, 2020. *Lease offers provided through Lexus Financial Services, on approved credit. *Representative lease example based on a 2020 RX 350 sfx 'P' on a 40-month term at an annual rate of 2.9% and Complete Lexus Price of $58,256. Bi-weekly lease payment is $248 with $6,620 down payment or equivalent trade in, $0 security deposit and first bi-weekly lease payment due at lease inception. Total of 86 bi-weekly lease payments required during the lease term. Total lease obligation is $27,864. 48,000-kilometre allowance; charge of $0.20/km for excess kilometres. Complete Lexus Price includes freight/PDI ($2,075), EHF Tires ($20.70), EHF Filters ($1), A/C charge ($100), and OMVIC Fee ($10). Taxes, license, registration (if applicable), dealer fees (if applicable) and insurance are extra. Lexus Dealers are free to set their own prices. Limited time offers only apply to retail customers at participating Lexus Dealers. Dealer order/trade may be required (but may not be available in certain circumstances). Offers are subject to change or cancellation without notice. Offers are effective beginning December 3rd and expire on January 2nd unless extended or revised. Visit Lexus of Oakville, lexusofoakville.ca, or email sales@lexusofoakville.ca for complete details. Executive package shown Bi-WeeklY lease paYMeNt FroM $248*doWN paYMeNt $6,620* deliverY credits oF Up to $2,000^ AWD ALL-WHEEL DRIVE the tiMe toget iNto a lexUs is NoW Furnace, Plumbing or HotWater Emergency? EmErgEncy SErvicE - 24/7, 365 DayS a yEar WiShing OaKviLLE a vEry mErry chriStmaS Call 289-205-3443 BIA. "I've heard this from all the businesses. There are residents' associations as well who have stood up to say they don't think it is fair to the community to keep this road closed for 10 months. We must have learned some- thing from Phase 1 to make it shorter than Phase 1 was." Plewman said during Phase 1, sales for downtown businesses dropped an aver- age of between 15 and 30 per cent. She noted there were many days during Phase 1 where no work was beingwhere no work was beingw done, and yet Lakeshore Road was still reopened afterRoad was still reopened afterR eight months. "Why are you looking to extend to 10 month?" asked Plewman. "It is just not ac- ceptable." Those present also heard from Paul Barrington,from Paul Barrington,f whose business, Barring-whose business, Barring-w ton's, has been in Oakville for 69 years. He argued a shortened construction timetable is possible, but said it will take money, hard work and politi- cal will. "This has to be finished by Sept. 1. Many of our custom- ers go up to the cottage all summer long and when they come back, they want to see this done," said Barrington. "It is killing us in down- town Oakville. We are bleed- ing like crazy with regard to lost revenue." Jill Stephens of the town's planning services depart- ment said the Lakeshore Road project is complex, re-Road project is complex, re-R quiring co-operation with multiple contractors to com- plete work required by the town, Halton Region, Union Gas and Oakville Hydro. Stephens noted it is not simply a road resurfacing project, but involves the re- placement of gas mains, wa- ter mains, wastewater infra- structure, major electrical work and more.work and more.w "All of this work has to be staged in a way that recog- nizes the interdependencies of the various components and that some tasks have to be fully completed before we can move on to the next ele- ments," said Stephens. "We are competing with all the other projects in the area for construction work- ers and the skills we need to complete this job." She said the schedule was also developed to take into account rain/snow days and unexpected issues that may be encountered. While Stephens said theWhile Stephens said theW contractor is authorized to work longer hours and week-work longer hours and week-w ends to get the job done fas- ter, she emphasized the that town cannot compel the con- tractor to do this. The town also does not have the ability to force the contractor to use larger work crews, she said. When asked by Coun. Al-When asked by Coun. Al-W lan Elgar if a Sept. 1, 2020 completion date could be ac- complished Stephens said that date is not reasonable given the amount of workgiven the amount of workg that needs to be done. When asked by Coun.When asked by Coun.W Cathy Duddeck if 24-hour construction was an option, Stephens noted this was pos- sible for some aspects of the job. She said the needs of ar- ea residents would need to be balanced for this situation. Ultimately, Coun. Dave Gittings brought forward a motion calling on town staff to look into what can be done to achieve a September 2020 completion date and to re- port back on these findings no later than the February 2020 council meeting. "At that point the contrac- tor will be in the ground and we may get a better sense ofwe may get a better sense ofw it," said Gittings. "It justit," said Gittings. "It justi keeps the heat on."keeps the heat on."k The motion was seconded by Coun. Janet Haslett- Theall and passed unani- mously by council. Council also voted to ex- tend a number of initiatives aimed at helping downtown Oakville merchants until Dec. 31, 2020. These initiatives include: reduced permit fees for pati- os, bistro patios and outdoor displays and free Saturday parking. Town staff have alsoTown staff have alsoT pledged better communica- tion with downtown mer- chants concerning the prog-chants concerning the prog-c ress of the Lakeshore Road construction. NEWS Continued from page 3 'IT IS KILLING US IN DOWNTOWN OAKVILLE' SAYS ONE STORE OWNER THE ISSUE: DOWNTOWN MERCHANTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE POSSIBILITY THAT LAKESHORE ROAD MIGHT BE CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION FOR 10 MONTHS NEXT YEAR. LOCAL IMPACT: MANY MERCHANTS REPORTED DECREASING SALES DURING THE EIGHT MONTHS OF CONSTRUCTION ON LAKESHORE ROAD THAT OCCURRED THIS YEAR. SAY 10 MONTHS IS UNACCEPTABLE. STORY BEHIND THE STORY We attended the Dec. 16 council meeting and listened to the Downtown merchants express their concerns as well as a presentation from Town staff about why a 10 month construction scheduled is being planned. We also listened to council efforts to reduce the length of this timetable.