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March Newsletter 2016

Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,
HOT ITEM!  HAVE A LOOK! https://twitter.com/PMStroud/status/705387680067145728

1) Inner Harbour Neighbourhood Meeting Sun. March 6, Ukrainian Church on Bagot, 1:30 pm
2) David Tran’s blog (designingcities.wordpress.com)on urban planning and the City of Kingston
3) Sammi King’s Vision for Kingston Facebook page
4) Jane’s Walks 2016
5) Waterfront Working Group report to be presented to Council March 22, 7:30 pm, City Hall
6) K&P Trail connecting Trans Canada Trail to the downtown
7) Toonies for Turtles – our major summer project for 2016
8) Call for volunteers to help update webpage
9) Portsmouth District’s new Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/pdca2015/?ref=ts&fref=ts

1) Sponsored by wellingtonx, discussion will focus on the Secondary Plan for the Old Industrial and Inner Harbour areas.  Sun. March 6, Ukranian Church on Bagot St. 1:30 pm.

2) David’s blog is really interesting.  https://designingcities.wordpress.com
He is an urban planner living in Kingston and he started this blog to record and share a collection of his  thoughts and opinions pertaining to planning and urban design in general as well as in Kingston specifically.

“Cities fascinate me. Cities are like living organisms: complex, unique in so many ways, and ever-changing. The more I read, the more I’m convinced that how we shape them also influences us more profoundly than we would ever think…. our cities, neighbourhoods, streets, and homes. What reasons brought us there …? Perhaps it’s sense of community, the proximity of our workplace, the excellent means of transportation, the beautiful streets, or because of the existence of places we love. Whatever the reasons might be, it is a collection of reasons related to our surroundings. Hence, we have to recognize the deep intricate influences of how we design our cities…”

3) Sammi King’s Vision For Kingston Facebook Page is based on recognizing the importance of Human Scale in future downtown development.  Visit the webpage for her current suggestions on what to do now.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1009085055828757/?ref=bookmarks
Suggestions for future actions are always welcome and can be posted directly to the page, or emailed to visionforkingston@gmail.com.

4) Jane’s Walk, May 78, 2016
Jane’s Walk is an annual international event, named for the late Jane Jacobs who was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. Here’s a 1957 quote from her when living in New York:
“No one can find what will work for our cities by … manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You’ve got to get out and walk.” 
She later moved to Toronto where she lived until her death in 2006.
“You’ve got to get out and walk” underpins the annual weekend event, held in early May to coincide with Jane Jacobs’s birthday. But “walk” is interpreted liberally, as Jane Jacobs meant that one had to get around under human power. So bicycles, tricycles, scooters and other human-moved wheels are also welcome on some of the Jane’s Walks that people create.
In 2015, there were 5 walks in Kingston on Jane’s Walk weekend. You can still see them on the Jane’s Walk website at http://janeswalk.org/canada/kingston/ even though they were held last year.
This year we are delighted that the Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour History Project will be unveiling a new app that builds on what was previously the Inner Harbour Heritage Tour. Thanks so very much to Laura Murray and her students!
Stay tuned! The website will be updated as further plans firm up.
But you don’t need to just wait for information from this e-newsletter or the website. Do you have an idea for a walk? Would you like to contribute to building community by creating a walk?

5) Waterfront Master Plan to be presented to Council, Tues. March 22, 7;30 pm, Council Chambers City Hall  This is a lengthy report completed after a huge amount of public outreach – commendable in many ways.  Kudos to both city staff and the consultants from thinc design. It outlines a number of projects to be completed over a 30 year period.  Our major concern remains the lack of identifiable trail path that could be shown as a line on the map connecting the various recommended park projects.  David McDonald of the Water Access Group is concerned that the city actually complete what is stated in the plan.  He is currently gathering community support for a new group that will try to ensure that these plans actually come to fruition.  More info? – dm23@queensu.ca

6) K&P Trail connecting the Trans Canada Trail to Kingston’s Downtown.  The conceptual plan has been completed and the detailed plan is underway.  Plans are to build this summer and next spring.  Grand opening on or before Canada’s 150th birthday on July 1, 2017.  A number of residents are  concerned about disruption of at-risk turtle species particularly on the section of trail around the Woolen Mill and in Doug Fluhrer Park.  We are informed by city staff and personnel at the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority that these problems will be worked out during the detailed design phase of the project.  We are waiting to hear about these plans.
https://www.cityofkingston.ca/city-hall/projects-construction/urban-kp-trail.

7) Toonies for Turtles – Summer Project 2016
A small group of keen FKIH individuals has been meeting to firm up plans for the summer.  As stated in the Feb update, Lesley Rudy is liaising between Ontario Nature and the City of Kingston.  Thanks so much Lesley!  This spring/summer the city will put up a plaque at the north end of Doug Fluhrer Park showcasing four major local species:  the Northern Map, Snapping, Painted and Blandings  turtles along with Ontario Nature contact information to record sightings and local contact information so that covers can be put on freshly laid eggs.  We are grateful to Luke Folwell in the city’s Recreation Department for his enthusiasm and help with this and to Michael SInclair at Living Rooms environmentally friendly building materials store at the National Grocer’s Building for agreeing to help store the nest covers and help with the nest covering.   If you live near Doug Fluhrer Park and would like to be involved this spring and summer, do contact inverarymary@yahoo.com.

8)  Help needed to update webpage!  We really need a couple of volunteers interested in helping update our webpage.  We suddenly realized that we have no information on 2015.  It is all in the monthly new updates but not elsewhere on the site!  If you are interested in helping and have the time we would really appreciate your help to write updates. Honestly, shouldn’t take a ton of time.  Ben Kelly has graciously volunteered to upload the updates.   THANKS SO MUCH BEN!
inverarymary@yahoo.com if you can help.

9) The Portsmouth District Association is looking for “Likes” for their new Facebook page.  We try to help out sister organizations when we can.  If you are on Facebook, do consider liking this page.
https://www.facebook.com/pdca2015/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Cheers,
Mary Farrar,
President,
Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour
www.friendsofinner