GUELPH POLITICAST #117 - Regional Transit

If you don't have a car in Guelph, how do you get to Cambridge? Well, you can get the Greyhound to Kitchener at one of the few times a day it departs and then transfer to Grand River Transit at Sportsworld Drive. You can also take the GO Bus to the Aberfoyle "Park and Ride", wait an hour and get the bus to Kitchener from there. Either way, you could probably walk to Cambridge faster...

LIVE BLOG: Mayor Guthrie's Transit Town Hall

Mayor Cam Guthrie wants to know to know what's wrong with Guelph Transit, and he's gathering people at City Hall tonight to ask directly about it. You can follow the action on Twitter, or through the link below. 

The Year of Transit: A ReView from the Bus

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... That line from A Tale of Two Cities seems apt to describe this year of Guelph Transit news. There seemed to be a renewed focus and urgency on improving Transit services, but the results seemed to leave a lot to be desired according to the people on the ground, or in the bus.

Metrolinx Building New Bus Storage in Kitchener, But What Else?

Today Metrolinx and the Ontario government announced that it was building a new bus storage and maintenance facility to "improve transit service for commuters in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, and help meet current and future growth." The new space will house 20 single and double-decker GO buses, and will replace the current leased bus storage space in K-W, but you know what we could really use in the area? More bus service to and from Guelph.

Nightlife and Safe Semester a "Evolution of the Process" Says Guelph Police

Following up on last week's Guelph Politicast podcast, I sought out the perspective of someone that represents one of the most important members of the Nightlife Task Force, the Guelph Police Service. Garry Male, an inspector with the Guelph Police Service, has been a part of the Nightlife Task Force off and on for five years, and he thinks that as compared to how things used to be handled downtown on bar nights, there's been a big improvement over the last several years.

This Week in Press Releases - March 14-18, 2016

Every week, the City of Guelph and other groups send out notices to announce new events, imperatives, and information that you need to know. Here is this week in press releases.

GUELPH POLITICAST #31 - Michael Druker, TriTAG

Transit in Guelph is always a struggle. Every budget year, public transit somehow makes into the first round of cuts proposed; sometimes public pressure gets them taken off the table, and sometimes the fare goes up and holiday service is cut down to an hour. Still, looking at the transit situation throughout our general area, it's not all bad news. So this week, the Guelph Politicast will look to Waterloo Region, where not only is bus service expanding, but they're building a train down the main street.

Family Day Will Mark Beginning of One Hour Holiday Transit Service

Back in December during budget deliberations, city council passed a motion to make stat holiday service run on a one-hour schedule for the 2016 calendar year. That schedule will go into effect for the first time on Family Day, February 15, and Guelph Transit is hustling to get the word out so that everyone can make the transition in time for the holiday a week from Monday.

Transit Will Now Let You Know Where You're Getting Off

If you've been on the bus lately, you will have noticed a new feature in the form of a bright LED sign at the front of a bus. Right this minute, all most of them do is announce when someone pushes the stop button, but over the next month, they will start calling out the stop, and thus make it easier to get around if you've never taken a particular bus route before.

Is Uber Coming to Waterloo Region? And Can Guelph be Too Far Behind?

If you've not heard of Uber, then you're missing something that crosses the new frontier of social media, mobile communications and on-demand service. A service in more than 200 cities and growing, Uber aims to connect people who need rides with people who have rides, be they licensed taxis, driving services or private citizens in their own car, and it seems that Kitchener may be the next branch office. Yesterday, Uber held two information sessions for potential drivers, and it's unclear how much interest was expressed. What's also unclear? Whether or not the Region of Waterloo will let it happen if the interest is, indeed, there.

Martin Collier (Ward 2) - Candidate Questionnaire

Martin Collier says he could have moved anywhere in the world with his wife Mary, but they decided to settle in Guelph for its "progressive municipal government, unique and historic downtown, multitude of sports and cultural activities, array of wellness practitioners and programs, proximity to nature and, especially, the friendly people." In 2006, Collier established Healthy Transport Consulting, a group dedicated to providing government, private sector and non-profit organizations with sustainable transportation policy, planning, research and project/event management services whose clients have included the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Metrolinx/York Region Transit, the Niagara Escarpment Commission,  and Pollution Probe. Collier's other activities include co-founding the Toronto and Guelph chapters of the Centre for Active Transportation, being the first manager of  Ontario Smart Growth Network, being a project manager for Transportation Options, working as an Ontario Development Officer at the Nature Conservancy of Canada and being the first manager of the ReinCARnate Vehicle Recycling Project at the Recycling Council of Ontario. And now, we wants to represent Ward 2 saying, "I am fortunate that my diverse career, civic advocacy and volunteering, along with my education and love of music, has enabled me to make a difference to the livability of cities for people and other species." Here are Collier's responses to the candidate questionnaire.

Guelph Politicast #4.3 - Andrew Donovan, Mayoral Candidate

Andrew Donovan has the distinction of being the youngest person in the Guelph Mayoral race, and although others in the race may certainly seem that way in terms of platform, he's also the race's only avowed libertarian. Entering the race late in August, Donovan, who graduated from the University of Guelph just this past spring, aimed to shed some light on issues other than the ones getting the most air this campaign, which is mostly tied to Urbacon and whether or not Guelph is overspent, and overtaxed.

Mark MacKinnon (Ward 6) - Candidate Questionnaire

Ward 6 is only one of two wards in the city of Guelph where both incumbents are running for re-election, and Mark MacKinnon hopes that there's room for an upset in his backyard. MacKinnon has a diverse business interest, he owns the Guelph-based board game publisher Dyskami, and he's a real estate broker with Peak Precision Realty and mortgage broker with Mortgage Alliance – Bildwell Financial. As for public service, he's been a member of the Upper Grand District School Board’s Parent Involvement Committee (PIC), member and former playground committee chair of Westminster Wood Pubic School’s Parent Council, board member of the Westminster Woods Mutual Use Committee (MUC), Wellington Common Element Condominium Corporation (WCEC) 155 board president (and former WCEC 112 board president), board member Guelph Spoken Word and Creative Director of Guelph’s $10,000 Ontario International Poetry Slam competition festival. MacKinnon's made his home in Ward 6 for the last decade with his wife Karen and his two sons.

Karl Wettstein (Ward 6) - Candidate Questionnaire

Karl Wettstein has been a city concillor in Ward 6 for 11 years, and while some people might look at over a decade of public service as  a job well done, Wettstein is looking to bank four more.Wettstein has been a Guelph resident for over 30 years, and during his time on council he's beem Chair of Finance and Audit committees, one of the executive on the Corporate Strategic Planning, Human Resources, Real state Management/Development committees and sat on Governance, Community Services, PBBE, River Run, Guelph Junction Railway and many more. He's sat on the boards for Downtown Board of Management, Chamber of Commerce, Meridian Credit Union, Guelph & Wellington Credit Union, Cooperators Dev. Corp. Ltd. and volunteered with the Rotary Club of Guelph, the United Way and Guelph Minor Baseball and Hockey. Now, he wants to make a case for his re-election to city council.

Todd Dennis (Ward 6) - Candidate Questionnaire

Todd Dennis first came to city council in 2010, and he's hoping that the people in Ward 6 liked what he did so much over the last four years that they give him their vote again. A graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland with a Bachelor of Science degree, Dennis has made a 25 year career in the transportation industry. When not working, Dennis is actively involved in several community, professional and volunteer organizations, or spending time with his wife of 11 years Lynda and his two step-children. He loves to travel and is an avid runner of the exercise variety, and he's hoping that he finishes this political in either first or second place.

Guelph Politicast #4.1 - John Legere, Mayoral Candidate

The election season officially gets underway on Guelph Politico today with the launch of season four of the Guelph Politicast. This season will deal with the 2014 Municipal Election, and will predominately focus on interviews with the candidates running for Mayor of Guelph. At bat first is John Legere, a local businessman and family man who was one of the first ones in the race this past January. Legere's main issue is the promotion of transparency in government, and creating what he calls a "a truly representative government," and he's launched a grassroots campaign to test the waters for his idea.

With VIDEO - Farbridge Launches Campaign with Broadsides Against Front-runner

Being ushered to the train station on the corner of Carden and Wyndham Streets by a brass quartet, one might be confused as to whether or not Mayor Karen Farbridge was kicking off her campaign with a joyful tone or with a New Orleans-style funeral procession. When she began to speak, however, there was no doubt that Farbridge is in it to win it. Ferociously defensive of her leadership-style and he vision as mayor, Farbridge made it perfectly clear that she's out to secure her fourth term in office despite the polls or the perceptions of the pundit class.

EDITORIAL - Council Leadership Pitiful During Lockout

Since last Friday, Guelphites from Watson Parkway to Elmira Road, from Woodlawn to Claire, have all enjoyed the renewed freedom of movement and cost efficiency of riding Guelph Transit. Both the Guelph City Council and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1189 moved quickly last Tuesday to ratify the negotiated agreement, and city hall offered a small token of peace to transit users by making buses free for a week. So to quote the song from a popular animated movie, "Everything is Awesome," right?

Well let's ask Ray Sheppard, who had to spend $50 in cab fare per day to get to and from work. Or Jackie Mahony, who spend $40 in cabs everyday to visit loved ones in the hospital. Or personal support worker June Loughed who put $400 in the coffers of Canadian Cab, Red Top and Guelph Taxi. Jonathan Ridgeway doesn't think it's awesome, as he had to shell out cab fare so that his employees could make it to work to assist fewer customers, since walk-in traffic took a hit with fewer than normal people moving around. Poor Ryan Fowler wishes his boss was altruistic enough to give out cab fare, he lost his job when the two hour walk to and from work proved cumbersome.

Those were the five people featured in the Guelph Tribune's weekly streeter and asked the question how they coped with the transit lockout. I have a feeling that these five are a small sample of the thousands who had similar struggles for nearly three weeks in the Royal City when the sour negotiations with transit workers took an even more sour turn with the threat, revoking and implementation of the lockout. The question is though, will Ray, Jackie, June, Jonathan and Ryan make city council pay for it at the ballot box on October 27? I don't know if they will, but I can think of a compelling case why they should think about it.

Council Candidate Wants to Rally Riders

Instantaneously showing more leadership than many of the people already on city council, Ward 6 candidate Keith Poore is organizing a rally meant to encourage both sides of the transit lockout - the City of Guelph and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1189 - to get back to the negotiating table so that 14,000 daily transit users can get back on their bus.

Familiar Faces, New to the 2014 Race

The post-provincial election launch of municipal campaigns marches on with two new nominations filed yesterday, one an incumbent councillor and the other an incumbent candidate. June Hofland joins an already busy race in Ward 3 in a bid to keep her job. Meanwhile, Karolyne Pickett will try again to gain one of the Ward 1 seats after her fourth place finish in 2010.