Roger Varley has been in the news business almost 40 years with The Canadian Press/Broadcast News, Uxbnridge Times-Journal, Richmond Hill Liberal and Uxbridge Cosmos. Co-winner with two others of CCNA national feature writing award. In Scout movement over 30 years, almost 25 as a leader. Took Uxbridge youths to World Jamboree in Holland. Involved in community theatre for 20 years as actor, director, playwright, stage manager etc. Born in England, came to Canada at 16, lived most of life north and east of Toronto with a five-year period in B.C.
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Back to the old Was the Big Dig really the Big Push?
Here we are at the start of October and, except for some finishing work and some planting, the Big Dig is, to all intents and purposes, finished - and a month ahead of schedule at that.
Although there are merchants and residents who will say it was a major inconvenience, I would assert that the Brock Street reconstruction work provided not only a great deal of entertainment but also provoked a renewed interest in the downtown core. It is to everyone's credit - the region, the Township, the BIA and the construction company - that not only did the affected businesses remain open all through the Big Dig, they made sure everyone knew it.
People have been parading along the two-block stretch to inspect the work, check out the new lights and interlocking brick and ponder over the planting modules. And everyone, it seems, has an opinion.
Now, hard on the heels of the Big Dig, comes a proposal for a Community Improvement Plan (CIP), unveiled at council this week and the subject of our front-page story.
There are still many questions to be answered regarding the proposal and, no doubt, a lot of changes made to it before council even gets to the fine tuning. But at least we are seeing some action, finally.
Bob Shepherd was elected mayor in 2006 because the electorate bought into his vision of revitalizing the downtown area. In the following years, the Downtown Revitalization Committee held a number of public meetings, drawing out ideas from participating residents on ways Mr. Shepherd's vision could be realized and eventually releasing a vision statement.
To my understanding, the CIP is partly a result of that visioning process, but not entirely. Either way, I believe the unveiling of the CIP proposal is, to say the least, timely. The public's gaze has been directed towards the downtown all summer and the proposal should ensure that the gaze does not waver.
Now it is up to council to keep the momentum going and deal with the proposal as quickly as possible. This is not to say council should ride roughshod over anyone or ignore reasonable comment or suggestions. For example, former mayor Gerri-Lynn O'Connor is concerned about what could be construed by some as favouritism for downtown residential property owners and Councillor Pat Mikuse doesn't want to see municipal properties in the downtown sold for less than they are worth. Both are valid concerns and worthy of debate.
But neither should any member of council let the fact that the next municipal election is only a year away sway them when it comes time to make some hard decisions regarding the CIP.
With the apparent success of the federal government's home improvement rebate program under the stimulus package, it seems people are willing to take on projects when a little incentive is provided. Heaven knows, a number of merchants on Brock Street have been undertaking improvement projects over the last few years without any incentives.
The incentives proposed under the CIP could lead to increased improvements downtown, and that can only mean a more vibrant and people-friendly core for Uxbridge, which a large majority of residents said they wanted when asked to contribute to the visioning process.
But it seems to me that the programs outlined in the CIP proposal need to come into play without undue delay while we are still excited about our downtown's new look. In that regard, the Big Dig could be regarded as the Big Push.
Tell me, am I wrong?
