[All] Excellent article from Waterloo Federation of Agriculture on importance of LRT

[Deb Swidrovich]

What can I say​... Mark is awesome!!!

Deb Swidrovich


On Sun, Oct 26, 2014 at 10:52 AM, John Jackson <jjackson at web.ca> wrote:

>  Opinion: Waterloo Region's farmers have a vested interest in getting
> light rail transit built and used to control urban sprawl
> *Waterloo Region Record*Fa
> *rmers work Modern and traditional farming technologies met in a field
> outside of Elmi*ra in May.
> Farmers and the agricultural community in Waterloo Region will not be
> required to pay for and will, in all likelihood, rarely use light rapid
> transit, yet we have a vested interest in ensuring that it is not only
> built but also used extensively by our urban neighbours.
> Quite simply, without intensification and its key requirement,
> high-quality public transit, the future of farming in Waterloo Region is
> threatened..
> Waterloo Region is growing at a rate that is higher than nearly any other
> municipality in Canada and the province of Ontario has clearly stated in
> the Places to Grow Act that we are to continue that growth. The
> agricultural views, vistas, farmsteads and indeed our cultural heritage
> that we all appreciate and admire are in peril if we don't continue to take
> measures to ensure that the official boundaries of our cities, our
> countryside lines, are kept in place.
> When one travels outside this region into other parts of Ontario, Canada,
> the United States, Europe and the world, the name Waterloo elicits about
> four common responses. People are familiar with our universities, our
> high-tech sector, Oktoberfest and the unique agricultural heritage of which
> we are so proud. These include the traditional old order farms and their
> traditional lifestyle, our farmers' markets, the rolling countryside, Noah
> Martin summer sausage, cooked cheese, apple butter, maple syrup, etc. We
> live in a unique and special place.
> In 2002, Waterloo Region Public Health, in co-operation with the Waterloo
> Federation of Agriculture, commissioned Harry Cummings and Associates of
> Guelph to publish an agricultural economic impact study of agriculture in
> the region. If the findings of that report could be summarized in a single
> sentence, it would be this: Waterloo Region has the most productive and
> prosperous combination of farmers and farmland in all of Ontario and quite
> possibly in Canada.
> Since 1973, when Waterloo County became a regional municipality, we have
> been blessed with politicians and planners who have demonstrated both skill
> and vision. We have built three great cities that are the envy of the world
> and at the same time protected nearly two thirds of our agricultural land.
> This took both courage and foresight. Our planners continue to lead and
> innovate and our new official plan and the light rail transit proposal are
> proof of that.
> What would Waterloo Region have looked like had we not planned for the
> future?
> Our current population density is about 1,500 people per square kilometre.
> Cities in the southern U.S. that lack effective planning policy, such as
> Denver, Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix, have densities of less than 500. If we
> had not had the visionary planners and politicians we have had for almost
> 40 years and our population density was only 500 people per square
> kilometre, the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge would encompass
> not only their present footprint but also all of North Dumfries Township,
> all of Wilmot, all of Woolwich, all of Wellesley and more. Agriculture and
> our rural countryside would not exist.
> Good planning and intensification protect farmland.
> Rapid transit, and specifically light rail transit, permit and drive
> intensification.
> It's that simple.
> Building more roads and allowing sprawl is enormously expensive in the
> long term. Sprawl is irreversible, If we procrastinate in completing our
> transit plan or embrace a less efficient alternative, we risk losing
> agricultural land that we can never regain.
> No matter what decision we make regarding public transit, we will be
> leaving a legacy for the next generation. Would it not be better to leave
> our children the opportunity to experience Ayr, New Dundee, Wellesley, St
> Jacobs and all of the productive countryside in between in a similar state
> to what it is today rather than having it resemble the sprawl of
> Mississauga, Brampton, Markham or Oakville?
> The pressure to increase our population is not going away. The pressure to
> sprawl is not going away.
> This is not the time to be complacent and rest on our laurels. It is the
> time to redouble our efforts to limit the urban footprint. It is the time
> to be even more visionary and protect the countryside we cherish. It is the
> time to be even better planners and continue to build three cities that are
> the envy of the world. .
> We encourage the voters in Waterloo Region to continue to elect
> councillors, mayors and a regional chair who are capable of taking the time
> to carefully and thoughtfully envision how we can sustain both our rural
> and urban communities, who utilize a planning timeline that looks forward
> nearly a generation into the future as opposed to just the next election,
> and who intentionally hire the very best staff and keep them because the
> quality of the people that we employ are a measure of how much we value our
> future.
> Mark Reusser is vice-president of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture.
> He farms in Wilmot Township.
> PRINTCLOSE
>
>
>
> http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/4940167-farmers-have-a-vested-interest-in-light-rail-transit-project/
> --
> John Jackson
> 17 Major Street
> Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1
> 519-744-7503
>
>
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