HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Development - 2001-11-28 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
November 28, 2001
'1 '1:00 am - '1:00 pm
Conestoga Room, Main Floor, Kitchener City Hall
Attendance: Glenn Scheels Councillor, Christina Weylie
Shawky Fahel Lawrence Bingeman
Peter Benninger Hans Pottkamper
Scott Baird Henrik Noesgaard
Jeff Willmer Steve van De Keere, Region
Staff: George Borovilos Sandy Curzon
Brock Stanley
Regrets: Manfred Conrad Ray Robinson
Jane Jantzi Councillor, Berry Vrbanovic
Councillor, John Smola Mayor, Carl Zehr
Mike Sully Peter Cook
1. Approval of Minutes of October 24th, 2001
Minutes of October 24th, 2001 were approved as written.
Moved by Scott Baird
Seconded by Hans Pottkamper
Carried
Scott Baird informed Committee that the Regional Municipal Affairs Committee
accepted the existing Terms of Reference for Kitchener's Economic Development
Advisory Committee and suggested that minutes of EDAC be forwarded to their
Chair.
Action: Mary Sue Fitzpatrick, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce receive
EDAC minutes for distribution.
2. Victoria Street Widening
Steve van de Keere, Sr. Project Manager, Transportation & Environmental Services
Department for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo presented Committee with an
overview of the Victoria Street improvement project. This project is examining
roadway improvements for Victoria Street South, from King Street to Lawrence
Avenue in the City of Kitchener. Victoria Street South is an urban arterial roadway,
which is operating with traffic levels above its present capacity during peak periods.
The improvements are intended to address traffic congestion on Victoria Street
South and on adjacent corridors such as Queen and Glasgow Streets. They are
also intended to address objectives of the Region's Transportation and Cycling
Policy Master Plans.
Various design concepts have been presented to the public for their review and
comment. Two preliminary design concepts have been chosen for further
comments, which will be made at a public forum at Regional Council on December
4, 2001.
The immediate impact to property owners on Victoria Street is:
· Increase noise
· Pollution
· Less front yard
· Decrease in property value
· Increase in traffic
· Larger driveway slopes
It was noted that traffic would increase 20-40% regardless if the road is widened or
not. This is due mainly to the expected increase in office workers in the Warehouse
District between King and Joseph Streets.
The positive impacts on widening Victoria Street are:
· Attract traffic away from other arterial roads such as Glasgow and Queen Streets
· Improve traffic flow for vehicle, pedestrian, cyclists and transit
After a lengthy discussion committee agreed
Recommendation:
That the Kitchener Economic Development Advisory Committee strongly
supports the widening of Victoria Street from King Street to Lawrence
Street to four lanes.
Moved by: Shawky Fahel
Seconded by: Henrik Noesgaard
Carried
Action: On behalf of Committee, Glenn Scheels will present the above
recommendation at Regional Council on December 4th.
EDAC Minutes
November 28, 2001
3. CTT Land Task Force Study
George Borovilos provided Committee with a copy of Canada's Technology
Triangle Land Task Force Study dated November 6, 2001, which has been
approved by CTT Board of Directors. This report will be tabled at Regional
Council on November 28th; therefore today's discussion focused on points of
interest within the report.
Committee felt that the report did not address long-term concerns and that it
should have included the airport lands.
Action: A Working Group consisting of Scott Baird; Jeff Willmer; Lawrence
Bingeman; Hans Pottkamper and Henrik Noesgaard will be established to
work in conjunction with members of the Regional & Municipal Affairs
Committee of the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.
4. New Business
a) Leadership Resource Group:
George Borovilos has been seconded as the Project Leader for the Downtown
Leadership Resource Group. Purpose of this group is to:
· Focus efforts in alignment with the strategic direction for Kitchener Downtown
· Co-ordinate and deliver initiatives
· Ensure the use of municipal resources to fulfil already defined objectives for
the Downtown
The Resource Group will examine 35+ projects currently on the go in the
downtown, which are divided into six areas, identified as:
· Downtown Planning - lead by Tim Fox
· Market Block-lead by Frank Pizzuto
· Centre Block-lead by George Borovilos
· Downtown Initiatives-lead by David Corks
· Downtown Operations-lead by Frank Pizzuto
· Downtown Relations-lead by Catherine Heal
b) Downtown Workshop:
· City Centre workshops will be conducted in February 2002 to examine
redevelopment opportunities in the Centre area.
c) Benchmarking:
· Will be tabled at the December 19th meeting
EDAC Minutes
November 28, 2001
d) December Meeting:
· Set for Wednesday, December 19th
Motion to Adjourn: Hans Pottkamper
Second: Scott Baird
Carried
Meeting adjourned at 1:10p.m.
Sandy Curzon, Recording Secretary
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 19th, 2001
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Heritage Room, Ist Floor, City Hall
EDAC Minutes
November 28, 2001