July 28, 2011

Accepting an invitation from Kevin Thomason, earlier this week I headed out with my spouse, Kate Daley, to the west side of Waterloo to get local perspective on the developments of late and over the last several years.

It was a perfect evening for a walk through the Schneider and McNally lands.

As a Waterlooian without a car, this is an area I don’t get to see very often, and even then only briefly from the road at 50 km/h. At that speed, one can hardly get the true sense of how easily water passes through the sandy surface and into the aquifer below. In the latest battle of words with Wilmot township over their unpublicized decision to tar and chip part of their Wilmot line adjacent to Waterloo, much has been said about Waterloo’s decision many councils ago to build just to the east.

It is important to remember that since that fateful decision, Waterloo has done everything it reasonably can, working with that developer and concerned citizens, to mitigate the impacts it will have on the infiltration of water into our aquifer. We have also done everything we can to keep traffic away from the Wilmot line – a road with a dangerous steep hill and blind turns. The road cannot be safer overall through paving, as paving feeds the impression that the city-adjacent road is of urban quality and much safer to drive at speed than it actually is. All of that is besides the negative impact additional salting will have on the quality of water infiltrating into the aquifer.

Council is waiting for a staff report to understand the situation better and take appropriate action, which we will need to do at our August meeting.

In all of this, of course, what is missing most is an account of vast natural and naturalizing areas on our doorstep, including the Waterloo-owned former McNally lands. We may not have huge mountains or large beaches, but we have fantastic vistas, great hiking and cross-country skiing, all within a short cycle of our city. The long term conversation – after the Wilmot line and the west-side subdivisions issues settle – is how to live in and next to nature in a way that sustains both it and us. What trail connections and maintenance should we make, what and how should we promote these gems, and how do we encourage the forest and meadow’s new neighbours to be as sensitive and nurturing to the area as many living on the edge of our great city already have been doing.

Thank you to Kevin Thomason for the invitation and, also, to Robert Fleming, Deb Swidrovich, and Dianne Ensing for the company and the conversation. Kate and I were pleased to have the opportunity.