Category Archives: The Class EA

It IS an All-Consuming Monster

Graph of Parkway Costs over time adjusted for inflation to 2013 dollars showing increase in cost from $23 million in 2003 to $79 million in 2013When we ran our hallowe’en advertisement on the Parkway, that used a bad horror movie theme to critique the Parkway proposals, we got some negative comments that suggested we were taking the issue too flippantly. In our defense, we just wanted to inject a lighter tone into the discussion—a different tack than the usual logic arguments. It turns out, however, the idea of the Parkway being an all-consuming monster, hungry for more and more resources, wasn’t far off the mark. Continue reading

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Our Open Message to City Council

PtboFlagOn Wednesday, November 6th, members of the Peterborough Greenspace Coalition delivered its message to City Council for inclusion in the briefing packages councillors will receive ahead of their deliberations next week.

Here is what we said. Continue reading

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It’s a Glorified Sidewalk, Not a Trail

image of City Trail before Medical DriveOne of the main points AECOM is putting forward in their efforts to reduce opposition to their proposals to pave the Parkway is that a trail can still be accommodated beside the Parkway road. For trail users, it is possibly the one part of the proposals that makes the least sense. A trail beside a road does not equal a trail through greenspace. Continue reading

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What Does the “E” in EA Mean, Anyway?

The environment as one of eight criteria for evaluationThe City’s Parkway Corridor Proposals are being prepared under a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process (usually called EA for short). This sounds like a nice, impartial and balanced process designed to protect the environment. But is it? When you look at it in more detail, protecting the environment is a small part of the EA process. We worry City Council is going to use what looks like a “protect the environment” study to justify doing exactly the opposite: destroy our greenways and one of our most precious parks. The EA process is ignoring many of the wider costs; the costs that matter most to many Peterborough citizens. Continue reading

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