Hi Aurora Citizens,

Isn’t it nice that now, past November 15th – with the overnight parking not allowed for the winter on municipal roads, we do not have to do the slalom between parked cars and trucks all over our neighbourhoods.

If the same people who permanently leave their cars on the road during the summer can, somehow, find parking for 6 months of the year,  they should be able to make it though the full 12 months. Think of what advantage would make if these cars wouldn’t be parked on Yonge and/or Wellington – we might be able to use 2 lanes at the same time! The buses would go faster.

Even in quiet neighbourhoods, at times it is difficult to get one’s car out of the driveway because trucks are parked all over the street.

What I suggest is to have a bylaw similar to Oakville and other Ontario municipalities,  a maximum of 3 hrs street parking any time of the year.   The roads will be clear,  there will be more revenue in the city coffers and our property taxes should be spared a little.

I wondered whether anyone else noticed the absence of the coffee truck at the Aurora GO Train station this morning (Wednesday December 8th)? Or perhaps he was parked somewhere else, but I could not find him.

To give a little background, I believe the truck has been coming to the GO station for several years. In my experience, the man who runs it is courteous, friendly and helpful — as was the lady who ran it previously.

I am not a coffee drinker myself, although I know many who find the coffee well worth it. But I do enjoy the tea, and the food I have eaten on occasion has been excellent as well. The truck has many loyal customers, and has been a great option for those who would like a coffee/tea/etc. but don’t have the time or motivation to prepare it in the morning, or don’t want to have to stop on the way to the station.

Yesterday, the man running the truck informed us that GO has asked him to no longer park on GO property. I thought he was going to park in a different spot, but we could not find him this morning, so I don’t know if he will come back at all, even off GO property.

I believe the reason for this is that a new Gateway stand has opened up inside the station, selling hot drinks, muffins, pastries, etc., so the truck is now competition.

I understand that GO is within their rights to do this, however, I can’t help but feel that it is a bit unfair of GO to attempt to corral all the former customers from the truck, leaving people with only the new option. I can see how the other side could be argued in this since it is well within GO’s rights. But I do feel a bit cheated.

Personally, I don’t plan to buy from the Gateway stand for the most part. I do not need the morning tea; I partly bought it to support the truck and for the pleasant morning exchange. I will also miss the option of hot breakfast sandwiches, which I don’t believe the new stand has.

I think that both could have co-existed. There would be people who would not have trekked over to the truck before, but may buy something now while waiting for the train in the climate-controlled house. And there are those like myself, loyal customers of the truck, who prefer the options there.

I am curious to hear other thoughts on this situation, especially from those who take the train (or buses).

Stephanie Allen

Another key issue in the Aurora community is the traffic woes and increasing volume due to new development both in Aurora and Newmarket. This topic has been the focus of considerable discussion over the years — but the situation continues to get worse. Over the years we have seen initiatives that include;

• traffic studies
• traffic calming in 1 select neighbourhood
• addition of stop signs and no left turn signs
• speed limit changes
• use of advance signals
• road widening (Bathurst)
• attempts to re-direct traffic
• redevelopment of roads (i.e. St Johns)

Yet in spite of all these initiatives (and more we couldn’t remember) traffic problems continue to affect our community — although when compared to a 2+ hour commute from downtown, some might say we have it pretty good.

A readers shared this experience

Here is a pet peeve of mine that is starting to become a problem for me and others.

If you are driving south on Bathurst in the morning around 7:45am, as you approach Bloomington there are cars pulled over in the right turn lane (where there is a bus stop). Turns out that these cars are driven by parents of kids that are taking a bus. Rather than let the poor kids stand outside, they sit in the cars – idling – blocking the turn lane to turn right onto Bloomington. Not only are they blocking the turn lane, on more than one occasion I have seen a car trying to pull into the turn lane at a higher than normal speed and had to slam on the brakes to avoid running into a car stopped there.

Are we raising our kids to be such babies that they can’t stand at a bus stop? Surely it is against the HTA to stop there?

We would expect that at some point (incoming) Council will have this before them. So what suggestions do we have for them?

How will the downtown be best served by the traffic initiatives — including parking/no parking initiatives? What about safety concerns?

Who has the priority to the roads — pedestrians, vehicles, business owners (parking?). How do these issues impact traffic flow? Do we want it moving fast for convenience or slow for safety and shopping?

Lots of questions — and lots of answers.

We may not have all the answers, but when you have lots of ideas — you have a much better chance of coming up with a great idea.

Share your thoughts and let’s give Council some help 🙂