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June Newsletter

Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,
THREE HUGE HAPPENINGS:
1) TURTLE AWARENESS EVENING, June 7
2) CYCLING WITH MARK AND SOPHIE, June 10
3) 17 STORY HIGH RISE PROBLEMS – PLANNING MEETING, June 16
+ MORE:
4) PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING MEETINGS, JUNE 1
5) COMMUTER CHALLENGE AND CYCLING WEEK
6) THE FUTURE OF KING’S TOWN NORTH
7) TURTLE FENCING IN PARK: CITY ANNOUNCEMENT
8) STILL LOOKING FOR TURTLE VOLUNTEERS
9) SMART APP TOURS: CITY ANNOUNCEMENT
10) HEADS UP FOR JULY 7 BLANKET EXERCISE IN PARK

1) TURTLE AWARENESS EVENING, Tues, June 7
Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour welcomes the community to join Georgina Riel and Jolie Brant for an evening focusing on turtle awareness and looking at the importance of the turtle in indigenous cultures.  Free inter-generational, inter-cultural event.
Activities for all ages including adults!  Light refreshments provided.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1008164032593462/

2) JUNE 10: HALF HOUR CYCLING ADVENTURE WITH MP MARK GERRETSEN AND MPP SOPHIE KIWALA, on the to-be-built-this-summer K&P Trail.  Part of the Commuter Challenge.  All welcome!
Join us at 8 am at the intersection of Elliott and John Counter east of Division (parking available) to cycle to the downtown for a free Roll-In Breakfast at Market Square.  Rain or shine!  Here’s your chance to meet with them one-on-one to say what you think.
Show that we care about recreational off-road trails!

3) MATTER OF URGENT CONCERN: June 16, 6:30 pm  , Planning Meeting, Council Chambers, City Hall.
IN8 Design’s presentation to Planning about proposed 17 storey tower at the old downtown movie theatre.
Will dramatically alter the character of Kingston‘s Inner Harbour neighbourhood.

We are opposed for five reasons:
1) Precedent setting.  If an exception is made for IN8, the door is opened for Homestead’s two 20 storey towers at Wellington and Queen, and Abramsky’s 33 storey building at the old Blockbuster site.
2) Flagrant violation of human-scale heritage character of downtown.
3) Concentration of traffic congestion in a very few blocks.
Far better to encourage more smaller developments in more locations – especially given the over 60 vacant lots available for development -lots that might well remain vacant if the proposed high rises go ahead.
4) Investment problems.  IN8 is selling condos as investments.  Flipping properties for quick gain causing problems elsewhere.
5) Affordable housing.  No mention of including affordable housing in this project.

IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT FOR THE FUTURE OF KINGSTON?
COME TO THE MEETING AND EXPRESS YOUR THOUGHTS.
Thursday, June 16, 6:30 pm, Council Chambers, City Hall, Kingston

Other news:
4) JUNE 1:  Participatory Democracy and Budgeting in Kingston – Facebook event. 
Isabel Turner Library 12-4 pm.  Wilson Room, Downtown Library, 6:30-9 pm
Clearly we want to see more of city budget spent on parks, trails and waterfront. Here is our chance to effect that positive change.

5) JUNE 5-12:  Commuter Challenge and Cycling Week.
Do consider participating as an individual or with others in your workplace. Great prizes available. Always interesting to see how much green house gas emission you have blocked.  You can sign up as an individual or under the auspices of the organization Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour if you wish.  Here is the URL. http://app.commuterchallenge.ca/commuter/register/e8WjKP

For full schedule of cycling week events – from movies to rides:
http://www.cyclekingston.ca/cycling-week-2016.html  All fun!

6) The Future of North King’s Town: www.cityofkingston.ca/NorthKingsTown.
Full project and community consultation details, including additional input opportunities and visioning exercises, will be available at www.CityofKingston.ca/NorthKingsTown.
Project launch event was 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24 at the Royal Canadian Legion, Mtl St. Still time for your input:

Monday, June 20: Community Visioning Workshop
Portuguese Cultural Centre, 959 Division St.,

Wednesday, June 22:  BBQ co-hosted by the City and the Skeleton Park Arts Festival, Douglas R Fluhrer Park

Saturday, June 25 – Community information booth as part of the Skeleton Park Arts Festival, McBurney Park

7) Portion of Inner Harbour pathway closed temporarily
KINGSTON, ONT./May 25, 2016 – The City of Kingston has closed a portion of the waterfront trail along the Inner Harbour, south of Molly Brant Point and north of Doug Fluhrer Park, as part of preparations for the redevelopment of the waterfront pathway this fall. The project will include the construction of a paved pathway and turtle habitat improvements.

Pedestrians can bypass the closed section of trail on the lawn behind the retaining wall or, for a more accessible route and for cycling, travel to Doug Fluhrer Park from Cataraqui Street west of the Woolen Mill parking lot. This section of the trail will re-open in the spring of 2017.

Please note that the fencing installed now along a portion of the waterfront is to prevent turtles from laying eggs along what will be the new K&P Trail.

8) STILL LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS throughout June to help with our Turtle Tally in Doug Fluhrer Park.  Only requires a walk through the park looking in the water and along the retaining wall.  We need help!  Sign up for just once or a few times!
613-544-1246 for more info.

9) SMART APP CITY TOURS (CITY ANNOUNCEMENT):  Walking tours are an active and enriching way to enjoy the historic charm and beauty of Kingston. Share the app with your visitors this summer and plan to try one or more of the tours:
•      The architectural walking tours were written several years ago by Peter Gower and John Duerkop of the City of Kingston’s municipal heritage committee. They include tours of: Princess and Brock streets, Earl Street, Architects Coverdale and Newlands, Architects John and Joseph Power, Ontario Street, King Street East and Wellington Street.
•      Gower has also written a fascinating tour of the War of 1812 that takes visitors through buildings and sites as they existed on November 10, 1812.
•      “In Sir John A’s Footsteps,” a popular tour written by Arthur Milnes, was updated for the Sir John A. Macdonald Bicentennial and added to the mobile app.
•      Local historian and Queen’s University professor, Laura Murray, recently completed a new tour, “Life and Labour in the Inner Harbour.” This tour features photos, map, text and audio to help visitors imagine the area as it was in various times over the past 350 years.

The City of Kingston would like to offer a special thanks to Murray and her team at Queen’s University for all of their work on this exciting new tour and acknowledge Canadian Heritage for its support of this project.For more information please visit <http://www.CityofKingston.ca/explore/culture-history/history/walking-tours> (or search “walking tours” on the City’s website).

10) Heads up for July 7 evening Blanket Exercise in the Park. Save the date!  Powerful Peace and Reconciliation exercise!

Happy Springtime!
Mary