Posts Tagged ‘Scarborough Mirror’
Scarborough Mirror: Wind turbines and Kingston Road are issues for Ward 43 candidates
Monday, September 27th, 2010 – Michele Mclean
Candidates running for the Ward 43 seat seem to have a different spin when it comes to the proposed wind turbine project off the Scarborough Bluffs.
Paul Ainslie and John Laforet are against the installation of wind turbines in Lake Ontario; while Benjamin Mbaegbu, Bhaskar Sharma and Samuel Getachew support them. Mbaegbu, though, said the Scarborough Bluffs isn’t the proper location.“I am completely against them,” said Ainslie, the incumbent councillor. “I have always been completely against them from the first day they came out.”
A wind testing study is currently being done at the site. In June the Ministry of Environment announced that the province has decided on a five-kilometre setback for offshore wind farms. Since the lake bed off the Scarborough Bluffs drops off after four kilometres it likely means the proposed wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs won’t be viable.
”I would like a scientifically based health study done on the effects of wind turbines on local population, the human population, animal population,” Ainslie said.
“We don’t know the effects of putting concrete structures like this on the lake bed and how it affects fish spawning grounds. There’s also an issue of migratory birds. As a city councillor there’s a huge issue on overspending taxpayer dollars to build wind turbines on Lake Ontario. A lot of jurisdictions are looking at them as outdated technology now for saying you’re green and respecting the environment.”
Laforet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario, said he’s been fighting wind turbines for more than two years.
“There’s overwhelming opposition,” Laforet said. “There’s a lack of scientific protocol. It’s alarming. There’s known to be a real health impact and environmental impact. This city and this province are pretending there aren’t any issues and it’s not worth studying to prove or disprove.”
It’s also a financial issue, he added.
“It’s a billion dollars of our money on a project that will never see that return. How much debt do you want a City of Toronto agency to take on? It’s probably the worst way to generate electricity on a grand scale. Toronto Hydro is supposed to be providing our houses with reliable, affordable energy, not generating energy – that’s not their mandate.”
Mbaegbu said he supports the green use of generating electricity,
“Wind turbines are a very good project for the city, but not the location (off the Scarborough Bluffs),” he said. “It will create employment, but it’s a health hazard to the people around it.”
Sharma said he thinks the wind turbines would be good for Scarborough and the environment.
“Of course more detailed study must be done to look at its full usefulness. I know it’s a turn off for people who think it might be taking away from landscape, but I feel when we look at going back to nature and beauty and the environment it will be good for future generations and people at large,” he said.
Getachew said turbines will offer a great source of alternative energy.
“I support the wind turbines,” he said. “I’ve travelled to so many places, including Norway, Denmark, Africa, and I’ve seen what’s happening in Alberta and they do use them. We can’t depend on the same source to produce energy over and over again. I think they’re a great alternative.
“There hasn’t been any signs telling us they’re bad for the environment or someone’s health. The only thing people have is fear. We have to be conscious. There might be problems in the future, but as of now I don’t see any problems with them. I think they would be a great source of energy for us.”
Getachew said he also supports development on Kingston Road and infill developments that have popped up in the ward. “We need more developers,” he said.
“We need more business owners. We need more people creating jobs. There are issues. People have discussed them with me. I want different conversations to take place. It’s an issue that can be solved.”
Mbaegbu agreed that development in Ward 43 isn’t an issue, while Sharma said he will look into it.
However, Laforet said the infill on Kingston Road is squandering the opportunity to restore the area.
“My issue is that Ward 43 doesn’t suffer from a lack of housing,” he said.
“There’s many communities where folks can live (in the ward) and there’s very few places where people can work. The reason we have such high poverty in Ward 43 is because the job market is inaccessible based on poor infrastructure and even before the recession our employment rate was considerably higher than the rest of the city. I think Kingston Road and the used car lots and motels present excellent development opportunities for commercial endeavours. I would like to see Kingston Road become a localized job market and a place where people can get work and residents can get services. I think housing squanders that opportunity.”
Laforet said the current state of Kingston Road is a “patchwork of half-empty plazas, old gas stations and seedy motels. The city has a role to play in cleaning that up because it has a very negative impact on the community and we could have something we could be truly proud of and have a great urban feel to it.
“This is the gateway to Toronto from the east. There’s a very good reason to make it so Kingston Road is something people can be proud of and make their living and folks can stay.”
Ainslie said Kingston Road has been on an upswing.
“I can point to a number of different properties throughout that strip where the strip motels, car lots and gas stations have left,” he said.
“Kingston Road’s biggest problem is the economy needs to recover and the neighbourhood needs the economy to recover.”
He added there are six or seven low-rise condominium applications that are ready to go.
“Right now the property owners are sitting on the property because they don’t think they can sell the units so they’re waiting. Once the economy improves – three or four years down the road – you’re going to walk down Kingston Road and see a world of difference. Kingston Road is really going to be someplace for people to go.”
No Comments »Scarborough Mirror: New setbacks for offshore wind projects may quash wind farm proposal
Scarborough Mirror: New setbacks for offshore wind projects may quash wind farm proposal
Danielle Milley
Recently released provincial setbacks for offshore wind projects could quash Toronto Hydro’s wind farm proposal, but Guildwood residents aren’t giving up their fight.
In an announcement Friday, June 25, the provincial government released proposed regulations for offshore wind projects that would require a minimum setback of five kilometres from the shoreline.
The Toronto Hydro project has always been talked about as being two to four kilometres offshore as Lake Ontario drops off around the five kilometre mark, which could substantially increase the cost of the project.
But, John Laforet doesn’t believe these regulations would stop turbines from being erected off the Scarborough Bluffs.
“I have absolutely no faith that the provincial proposed regulations will stop the Toronto Hydro project,” he said.
“Toronto Hydro is not saying this project is dead.”
Laforet is the president of Wind Concerns Ontario, a Guildwood resident and a candidate for municipal council in Scarborough East.
He believes the proposals are just a way of placating a community where many residents are upset about the possibility of a wind farm of up to 60 turbines that would stretch from Ajax to the Leslie Street Spit.
Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, had been in discussion with Toronto Hydro about the proposed regulations.
“From what I’ve heard from Toronto Hydro this does put the project at risk,” he said.
Toronto Hydro said Monday it is still reviewing the regulations and wouldn’t have a comment before The Mirror’s press deadline.
On June 10, in an interview during a press tour to see the anemometer, which is currently testing wind speeds in the lake, Joyce McLean of Toronto Hydro said she believed if the project went ahead it would conform to any provincial standards.
“We’re not concerned because we believe what we’re proposing is a reasonable distance from shore,” she said.
Duguid said the five kilometres setback is in line with other North American jurisdictions.
“We looked at a number of different priorities,” he said. “We wanted something that was in synch with other jurisdictions in the Great Lakes.”
Ohio, New York and Michigan all have a five kilometre setback in place, he said.
As well, Duguid said the government looked at the environmental and ecological impacts of allowing wind turbines closer to shore.
“There can be impacts to drinking water with stirring up the lake bed,” he said.
Sherri Lange thinks that should be a concern for putting a turbine anywhere in bodies of water used as drinking water.
“We’re very firm that we don’t want turbines in the lake,” she said.
Lange is the founding director of Toronto Wind Action.
“We’re disappointed the minute someone has a setback announcement, it means they’re willing to put turbines in the lake and that’s not acceptable,” she said.
Just like Laforet she doesn’t believe this announcement kills Toronto Hydro’s project either.
“There’s no white flag that I can sense,” Lange said. “Our battles with Toronto Hydro are certainly not over.”
Duguid thought these regulations would ease worries of Ontario’s residents, especially those in Guildwood, but it seems it hasn’t provided that reassurance.
“This should be viewed as a positive step forward in terms of bringing stability in the process of offshore wind,” he said.
He did admit applications could be approved that don’t conform with the regulations.
“I’m not positive that there wouldn’t be opportunities to make exceptions,” Duguid said.
In addition to the setback, another proposed rule would require turbine developers to complete a comprehensive application process. This would include addressing potential impacts to endangered and threatened species and their habitat, significant wildlife habitats, users of Crown land, flooding and erosion.
At the same time, the Ministry of Natural Resources is undertaking a review of Ontario’s current process for making Crown land available for off-shore wind projects. This review will include consideration of where, when and how the government makes Crown land available. The area in Lake Ontario is Crown land.
The province is seeking comments on the proposals for the next 60 days, accessible through the province’s environmental registry (registry number 011-0089). Public and industry consultation sessions will also be held starting in the fall.
Dates and locations will be available soon at www.ontario.ca
No Comments »Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
I was very happy to see the Federal and Provincial governments commit the significant sum of nearly $5.4 million dollars to community recreation infrastructure spending in Scarborough Guildwood last week. The Federal and Provincial governments will each spend a total of $2.6 million dollars on six projects to benefit residents of Scarborough Guildwood.
Money for community recreation infrastructure is important because it will allow for either the expansion of physical space or improvement of existing space, which in turn will allow for enhanced community use and a greater capacity for recipients to enhance their positive impact on the community they serve.
I look forward to seeing the good work that the community organizations and facilities do be expanding will have on the Scarborough Guildwood community and think both the Ontario Liberals and Federal Conservatives each found themselves on the right track by allocating funding to support community based organizations like these.
I especially look forward to seeing the East Scarborough Boys and Girls expansion. It’s hard for people I think who aren’t from Scarborough to truly appreciate the impact that the East Scarborough Boys and Girls has on the Galloway and Kingston road community especially. In many ways the East Scarborough Boys and Girls is the very example of community based, supportive programming that is required in at-risk and lower income communities.
With the funding that Cedar Ridge will receive, it is my hope it will assist the City in ensuring that that beautiful structure which serves so many great community purposes is better preserved than the Guild Inn has been.
Below is the link to Minister Best’s Press Release on the funding.
Scarborough-Guildwood Organizations to Receive Funding For Recreational Upgrades
Below is the link to the Scarborough Mirror’s story on the annoucement. Government funding to help create more recreation space in East Scarborough
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