Category: London Ontario

Annual General Meeting – June 3, 2010

The Annual General Meeting of the Orchard Park Sherwood Forest Ratepayers Group will take place on June 3, 2010 at 7 pm at St. Thomas More School.

Councillor Nancy Branscombe will join us to help update the neighbourhood.

Glen Matthews will attend to update us on student housing issues.

Jeff Fielding, the City’s Chief Administrative Officer has also been invited.

Among the current issues facing the neighborhood:

Proposed closing of Sherwood Forest Public Schoo: The public school board has proposed closing Sherwood Forest Public School. If the school is closed, which could be as early as 2012, the future of the school buildings and property is unknown; they could be sold and the land use changed.

If the school must close, we can urge the Board to hold on to the property, finding uses for it that will not change the fabric of our neighbourhood. Right now, the City’s proposed Great Near Campus Neighbourhoods’ Strategy is stalled. Current land use rules provide a new owner with a great deal of flexibility in what could be built on the site.

Medway Valley: The City continues to propose building an access road and bridge for pedestrians and maintenance vehicles over the Medway River. City Council has placed a moratorium on paved, multi-use pathways in all Environmentally Significant Areas. Please contact Councillor Nancy Branscombe for more information.

Overnight street parking: City council has voted to allow over night, on-street parking from Victoria Day to Labour Day. The vote is subject to final approval in May. It includes a caveat that some streets could be exempt. If you do not want on-street parking this summer, contact Councillor Branscombe at nancy@nanbran.com or 519-432-1100.

Upcoming ARC meetings

Upcoming meeting dates for the Sherwood Forest Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) are:

  • Wednesday May 5th at Orchard Park
  • Wednesday June 9th at University Heights
  • Wednesday Sept 8th at Sherwood
  • Wednesday Oct 13 – location TBA

The ARC is dealing with the Board’s recommendation to close Sherwood Forest Public School.

You can keep up to date about the ARC at http://www.tvdsb.ca/board.cfm?subpage=102817

Members of the community are invited to speak at the ARC meetings. The ARC Public Consultation Form is available at http://www.tvdsb.ca/files/89379/ARC%20Public%20Consultation%20Form.pdf. This form must be submitted to the Board not less than 8 days ahead of the meeting.

Problems with paths

Here are some photos from paths in Killaly Meadows, another Environmentally Significant Area in NE London. The photos were taken in November 2009. This reinforces the concern many have about changing the Medway Valley from a refuge away from the city to one that would have more traffic and a paved path and bridge. Once urbanized, some people seem to treat Killaly Meadows as just another place, leaving trash and graffiti behind.

Continue reading “Problems with paths” →

Sarnia Road Widening Project

The city recently completed a study to widen Sarnia Road from Hyde Park Road to Wonderland Road North to 4 lanes, with plans to initiate the first phase of construction in 2011.

As a result, the 3-lane section of Sarnia Road, from Wonderland to Sleightholme Avenue currently presents a bottleneck in the roadway. The City’s 2004 Transportation Master Plan identifies the need to widen this section of Sarnia Road to 4 lanes by 2014.

Public Information Centre No. 1 will be held on March 9, 2010 to:

  • introduce the study and outline the study process
  • provide background information on the need for the improvements
  • obtain input on existing concerns in the study area
  • outline the next steps in the study

Public Information Centre No. 1

Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: St. Thomas More Catholic School – Library, 18 Wychwood Park, London