Neighborhood News

Thames River / Medway Creek Clean Up

Mark your calendars for this year’s spring clean-up. The date will be Saturday, April 27th. This will mark the 20th anniversary of the Thames River Clean Up – what an amazing milestone and it’s all thanks to the dedication of volunteers like yourselves. For more info see http://www.thamesrivercleanup.ca/

Annual Update and Priority Setting for the London Strengthening Neighbourhoods Strategy 2017-2020

The London Strengthening Neighbourhoods Strategy is a resident-driven plan for all of London’s neighbourhoods.

This session will help City Council determine what is included in the next four year budget cycle.

Wed, March 6, 2019, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM, Civic Gardens Complex, 625 Springbank Drive

To register go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/good-neighbourhoods-talk-tickets-56053658000

Fundraiser for Orchard Park Public School Home & School Association

Invitation from Fanshawe College

Fanshawe is hosting Mr. Gil Penalosa, Founder and Chair of 8 80 Cities on March 16 at 8:30 am at Fanshawe College room D1060. He will deliver a keynote address on “Life in a Transit Village” in relation to the City of London’s place type for the four transit village designations and the proposed bus rapid transit. Following the keynote address 10 – 12 student land use planning teams will present their ideas of Life in a Transit Village. Click here for more information.

Wonderland Road Widening

Next steps in the project:

  • March 2019: The project team will review and respond to public input submitted following the PIC
  • Spring/Summer 2019: The project team will develop a recommended design based on technical considerations and public feedback. The recommended design will be presented to the public at a second PIC planned for Fall 2019.

For more information on the next round of public consultation sessions – or to learn more – visit getinvolved.london.ca/DiscoverWonderland

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Save the Date for our annual BBQ

Save the Date:  May 23, Annual General Meeting and BBQ

May 23rd is the date of our community BBQ followed by our annual general meeting. The BBQ starts at 6 pm at Orchard Park Public School with the meeting at about 7:30 pm. This is a rain or shine event. We usually have Councillor Squire to give a City Hall report and respond to your questions. If you have suggestions for topics or other speakers, please let us know.

Mid-February Neighbourhood News

Sherwood Forest Park

The meeting to discuss options for the new park amenities has been rescheduled to April 3 at 6:30 pm at Orchard Park P.S. You should be receiving a letter inviting you to the meeting and where to provide comments if you cannot attend.

London Transit Open House

The LTC will be removing the bus service from Lawson and Wychwood. It still hasn’t made a decision on the re-routing of the service thru Whitehills and down Wonderland to Sarnia. There will be a public consulation on Tuesday, Feb 19th, at the Central Library Stevenson Hunt Room from 2 to 4 pm and from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Community Meeting on Unsanctioned and Unsafe Street Parties

All public agencies in the City of London involved in public safety, health care, education, and student life are very concerned about the unintended consequences of unsanctioned street parties which have occurred in near campus neighbourhoods. As a result of the most recent event on Broughdale Avenue in September 2018, a task force has been working on a variety of policy matters related to legislation, by-laws and internal policies. This group includes representatives from the City, London Police Service, Western University Administration, and Student Union who specialize in policy matters, and on-campus student programming. If any changes to City By-laws are proposed, Civic Administration will present them to the Community and Protective Services Committee (CPSC) by April 2019.

In an effort to engage the public in the discussion about solutions, a community meeting will be held:

Date: February 25, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Sir Frederick Banting High School

Family Day at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology

Monday, February 18. 10:00 am – 4:30 pm. Activities free with museum admission.

  • Try hand drumming and share traditional stories with Mi’kmaq storyteller Nina Antoine-Ogilvie;
  • Explore musical history with a visit to Lend an Ear to the Past: An Archaeology of Sound in the feature gallery;
  • Build your own musical instrument.

Engaging with the City Workshop

Take charge of your city. Learn how to navigate City Hall, and participate in council and committee processes.There will be a workshop on March 19th from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at London Public Library, Crouch Branch, 550 Hamilton Road. To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/neighbourgood-workshop-engaging-with-the-city-tickets-53692105533

Changes to Bus Service

The London Transit Commission accepted the staff recommendation to end bus service along Lawson and Wychwood to Sarnia Road beginning in September. The rationale is shown below. You will also note that a final decision on the closest bus route after the change has not been finalized. There will be a meeting to discuss the two options shown in the attached on Feb 19th at the Central Library.

Orchard Park

One of the main objectives of the 2019 service plan is to simplify the network by providing consistent service during all time periods. Currently in the Orchard Park neighbourhood, Route 31 provides service through the neighbourhood along Lawson and Whychwood Monday through Saturday between 6 am and 6 pm. After 6 pm and all day on Sunday the route maintains service along Sarnia and Wonderland.

The routing change during different service periods adds unnecessary confusion to the route and therefore was recommended to have consistent routing through the neighbourhood in the draft 2019 service plan.

The public feedback on the proposed change to extend service into Orchard Park during all operating hours was mixed with residents in the area both opposed and in favour of the change. Many residents also wanted to maintain the same level of service currently provided with service only operating through the neighbourhood until 6 pm.

With the goal of simplifying the system a main objective of the 2019 service plan it was determined that maintaining the current routing through the neighborhood until 6 pm was not a viable option as it would continue to add confusion to the route.

Through further assessment, it is recommended that either Route 9 or 31 (depending on the outcome of the above recommendation) maintain service along Wonderland and Sarnia during all operating periods, no longer providing service through Orchard Park on Wychwood and Lawson east of Wonderland. This will provide the greatest benefit to ridership productivity while having a marginal impact on overall service coverage. The recommended modification will maintain the objective of simplifying the system and provide additional service along the Wonderland and Sarnia corridors.

Routes 9 and 31

Through the public consultation period, concerns were raised with respect to the proposed changes on Routes 9 and 31 through the Whitehills area. The main concerns were related to Route 9 operating along Limberlost and Route 31 operating along Aldersbrook. From the feedback received the majority of residents living along Limberlost indicated they are destined to Western University and conversely the majority of residents living along Aldersbrook indicated they are destined to downtown.

Based on this feedback it is recommended that an additional public consultation session be held to present two possible routing options through the Whitehills area. Option I would present the routing modification as set out in the draft 2019 service plan with Route 9 operating along Limberlost and Blackacres to serve the Wonderland and Fanshawe intersection. Option II would be the alternative routing based on public feedback with Route 31 operating along Limberlost and Blackacres to the Wonderland and Fanshawe intersection and Route 9 operating along Aldersbrook and extended to serve the Hyde Park Power Centre.

Both options will achieve the desired outcome of the routing modifications in the Whitehills area of reducing duplication of the service and simplifying the network. Public consultation is scheduled for February 19, 2019 at Central Library. The outcome of the public consultation sessions and final routing recommendations for this area will be presented to the Commission at the March 2019 meeting.