Happy Earth Day Centennial!
By Kathy Rowe
Community Earth Day Event
The melting of the snow unfortunately reveals the litter in our neighbourhood. On Earth Day, April 23, please visit the Port Union Community Centre and pitch in! Garbage bags and gloves will be provided to all volunteers who participate in the community clean-up. Students can earn volunteer hours. There will be something for everyone at this event.
Port Union Waterfront Festival
I’m excited to announce that this popular summer festival is returning to our community on June 25. As in past years, the CCRA will be a part of it. The planning committee is currently working on what promises to be a fantastic family event. Stay tuned for details yet to come.
Port Union Skate Park
The melting of the snow also reveals the wear and tear on our community skate park. CCRA will advocate the needed repairs to the skate park this spring. In the coming weeks, Councillor Jennifer McKelvie will be arranging a site walk with Parks staff and CCRA executive members.
This site meeting will be the jumping off point for the CCRA to engage in further talks with the city regarding future upgrades to the skate park. Councillor McKelvie has told us that city funding for upgrades to the skate park will not be available in the near future . That being said, CCRA fundraising for the cause is certainly an option. Stay tuned for more details on repairs and plans for our skate park.
Centennial News Gets Action
Denise Bacon’s recent article on the traffic “danger zone” in front of Charlottetown Junior Public School has brought positive results. TDSB Trustee Anu Sriskandarajah announced that Charlottetown has been selected to take part in the Traffic Safety Program for the 2022/23 school year. See page 1 for more details.
Port Union and Bridgend Street Concerns
The CCRA has been in touch with Councillor McKelvie in recent weeks as we have advocated for improved signage for vehicle traffic driving south on Port Union Rd. As many residents know, the speed limit along Port Union Rd. southbound reduces substantially below Lawrence. The speed limit goes from 50 km to 30 km. The speed limit sign south of Lawrence was recently placed in a more visible location for the benefit of southbound traffic.
We are also advocating for a sign north of Lawrence that warns of the speed reduction. The city does not usually place signs indicating a speed change, but they will do a visit to the area to ensure the existing sign can be seen and see what can be done about the speed change to make it safer.
Bridgend St. is an east/west road that runs from the roundabout (south end of Port Union Rd.) west to the bottom of Shoalhaven Dr. The street is quite wide, which unfortunately tempts drivers to speed as they approach the GO Train station. We have raised our concerns to Councillor McKelvie. There are no plans to modify this roadway within the next five years, but project manager Sidra Rahimzada has made suggestions to improve safety. The safety measures put forward for Bridgend include:
- Adding a yellow centre line
- Adding a white edge line on each side
- Adding pedestrian delineation at the intersections
- Adding an additional line on side streets leading to Bridgend
- Indicators where people can and cannot park
These pavement markings will narrow the roadway and make it less attractive to speeders. There is no timeline commitment as these proposals will go into the queue and be prioritized.