For those Oakvillians who did not attend the June 24th “Oakville Cultural Hub Review”, I wanted to notify you that you missed out on some fireworks...and I don't mean the July 1st fireworks celebrating Canada Day.
The Mayor and the Cultural Hub Planning committee members presented three Options for consideration for the re-development of the lands where our existing Downtown Library, Pool and Performing Arts Centre are located.
Preferred Option #3 consists of:
- demolishing all 3 existing "public" buildings and replacing them with 1 larger "public" Performing Arts Centre (which would also have a restaurant with a view to the Creek and some Meeting rooms as well)
- a very large "Private" 8 Storey Residential Mix Building. The Plan also incorporates another 12 Storey "Private" Residential building to be built where the existing Fire Station is located at the corner of Randall and Navy Streets.
- a Library and an Art Gallery to be located in the current Post Office building on Church Street.
To see plans for not one, but 2 more high rise Residential buildings in our Downtown area by Sixteen Mile Creek, completely surprised me. I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers the "Sharkey's Debacle" of not that many years ago. We have precious little waterfront in Oakville that is "Public" and the acceptance of this Plan would be yet another blow to Oakvillians who want to ensure that the VIEW to the Creek from "Public" buildings, is a VIEW FOR ALL, not just a VIEW for a Few who reside in such Residential Buildings. I feel strongly that these waterfront lands should be designated for Public facilities only and we should say NO to any suggestion of a Residential facility facing the Creek.
Unlike Burlington, where planning for the Public Use of waterfront lands has always been a priority over Private Use, Oakville has had a history of mainly Private land development along its shoreline. We have minimal public waterfront lands compared to the long expanse of Public shoreline lands in Downtown Burlington and the wonderful Waterfront Trail along the sand spits where crowds of people enjoy walking, cycling and roller blading along the paved roads along the sandy shoreline under the Skyway Bridge. Let's save what little waterfront we have left in Oakville, for Public Use.
Mayor Burton encouraged everyone to contact their Town Council Representative and voice their opinion about these three Options. If you are not in agreement to the Preferred Option 3, which will be presented to Council some time this Fall 2015 for its review, please ensure you make your voice heard by phoning 905-338-4173 and/or emailing the Mayor at [email protected] and also contact your Ward Town Councillors. Please also ensure this is an agenda topic at your next local Residents' Association Meeting. Silence is consent and we don't want to be silent on this important issue.
In closing a Performing Arts Centre, with a Creek-view restaurant sounds delightful! Maybe we could plan for a kind of "Hugh's Room" musical dining experience, where a variety of musical options could be enjoyed by all age groups and it would present itself as a very unique dining experience in Oakville. If income from the building of Residential building is required to offset the expense of these new developments, why not re-purpose the Post Office as a Residential building. An Art Gallery adjacent to a Performing Arts Centre with a Creek-view also makes sense as well.
The planning of Libraries adjacent to Recreation complexes (as we see in Iroquois Shore and Glen Abbey Recreation Complexes) just makes so much sense......with that in mind, I propose the relocation of the Central Public Library to the OTMH Lands Study, where it can be planned in conjunction with Southeast Oakville's first Aquatic, Recreation Complex, Seniors Centre and hopefully a Health Hub as well.
We will soon be losing our existing Hospital when the new Hospital on Dundas opens later this year. Meetings with our local LHIN are in process and lots of exciting options are being discussed for the inclusion of some basic health care services in the planning of these Old Hospital Lands.
I feel very Blessed to live in this wonderful Town of Oakville....let's ensure we plan wisely for generations to come.
Jan Dobson, Oakville