GuelphSouth

Knock knock

Posted by Phil Andrews

I have a hypothesis. I think Clairfields and Westminister Woods get canvassed by door to door solicitors more than anywhere else in Guelph. A fair proportion of those who come to my door -- three last night alone -- are not even from Guelph.

I suspect the tight clustering of homes, residences that typically house families with some disposable income, make the area a magnet. It doesn't hurt being close to highway access either for the out-of-town crew.

This week alone, I was front-doored by two reps of energy companies, two lawn care officios, a Toronto Sun seller -- I said no -- and World Vision, twice.

My kids are great for answering the door. That eliminates the pretend-you're-not-home strategy.

Off to the races

Photo by Tony Saxon

Off to the races

Photo by Tony Saxon.

Off to the races

More Bishop Mac action at the District 10 track meet today. Photo by Tony Saxon.

On the run

A Bishop Mac student takes part in the District 10 track and field championships, which continue today. The event kicked off yesterday at St. James. Photo by Ryan Pfeiffer for GuelphSouth.

Immunization clinics

The local public health unit is expecting to immunize some 500 kids over the next few days to battle a measles outbreak.
Clinics for children in the south end are today and May 21 at the public health office at 600 Southgate Dr., from 3 to 7 p.m.

Taking the GO train to TO

GO Transit decided last week to start a study of what it would take and how big the customer base would be.

There could eventually be a train every 20 minutes during rush hour -- heading to Toronto in the morning and back to Guelph and beyond in the evening -- and every hour outside of rush times.

But it would take years to get to that point. For now, GO Transit has hired engineering consultant R.J. Burnside to do an environmental assessment, which could take until early 2009.

Read the story here.

Taxes on the rise

Your taxes could be going up 6.5 per cent next year.

That's the number a committee of council recommended yesterday.

It's significantly higher than the 4.5 per cent increase in 2008. There will still be plenty of discussion and number-crunching before the city decides on a number early next year. But much of the increase comes from things the city has little ability to change.

Read the full story here.

GO train service in the future?

Reporter Magda Konieczna posted this interesting item on the Mercury's city hall blog, 59 Carden St.:

GO Transit is investigating what it would take to offer rail service between Kitchener and Toronto (via Guelph) every 20 minutes during rush hour, and hourly outside of rush hour.

I've heard people compare that to the service that was offered in the early 1990s. But it's not really comparable -- between 1990 and 1993, GO ran one train a day, each direction. At that rate, it's hard for people to rely on the service, explained Greg Ashbee, the manager of rail expansion programs at GO.

Of course, we're not going to have every-20-minute service tomorrow. They expect to phase it in over years or longer, starting perhaps with two trains into Toronto each morning and coming back at night. But for now, they're doing a study of what it would take to get that service, and the study itself could take up to a year. So don't hold your breath.

You can read more on this in the Merc tomorrow.

This space for rent

Posted by Phil Andrews

The departure of Paramount Sports in the No Frills mall seems an unfortunate development for all concerned.

The Source for Sports store catered to a fairly original niche for years -- more than 10. Its ski-focus in winter was a particular departure in the local market.

The traffic it generated was decent and it added a nice balance to a side of the mall that otherwise did little or no retail.

Apparently, a disagreement about rent led to the store's relocation. Too bad for the mall and its south-end clientele. Perhaps too bad for the store too. It will be interesting to see the tenant next to come to the same space.

Of interest, the store has been vacant for more than a month but the main signage remains up. I guess it's better to appear to be a no-vacancy mall.