Cynthia King

Share the Road, Stratford Rd.

Cyclists across PEI have been trying to educate and activate governments, both municipally and provincially for decades. It is great to see the City of Charlottetown listening, learning and implementing plans for safer cycling.
Over here in Stratford, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal has included ‘share the road’ signage and wider shoulders for cyclists.
Progress is happening and those who have been working on this should be congratulated for the work done to date:
Cycling PEI, all of those cyclists who have called and emailed TIR and their towns and cities departments, the governments and planners themselves and of course, motorists for learning how to share the road better with cyclists.

As mentioned, TIR has been working in my district of Stratford-Kinlock to make things safer with signage and wide shoulders:

- 12 Share the Road signs in high traffic areas in Stratford.
- 1.5 metre shoulders on both sides of the Stratford Rd. between Barclay and the blue church.

The City of Charlottetown now has these two areas with official bike lanes which includes painted lines and bike stenciled logos:

- Belvedere Avenue, from Brackley Point Road to Mount Edward Road;
- Maple Avenue, from Belvedere Avenue to Ash Drive.

Immediate plans to create dedicated bike lanes are in the works for the following areas:

- Belvedere Avenue, from Mount Edward Road through the new roundabout to Queen Street.
- Queen Street. The road doesn’t have the necessary width for a dedicated bike lane so the city will be putting up ‘Share the Road’ signage.
- Oak Drive, from Brackley Point Road to Maple Avenue.
- Pine Drive, from Brackley Point Road to Maple Avenue.
- Mount Edward Road, from Belvedere Avenue to the roundabout. That section will also be completely resurfaced.
- Allen Street, from the roundabout to the Confederation Trail.
- Allen Street, from the trail to Queen Street will be designated with ‘Share the Road’ signs.
- Mount Edward Road, from Belvedere Avenue to Woodlawn Drive. Work is now taking place on the shoulder of the road.
- University Avenue, from Belvedere Avenue to Capital Drive.

Let’s keep those wheels turning and make PEI safer for cyclists! in fact, let’s get out there and ride our bikes and get some exercise, save money on gas and help reduce our carbon footprint!

PEI has a decent start to a Province-wide lawn pesticide ban. There is more work to do with the regulations, but for now let’s start learning about the safe ways to take care of our lawns.

Safe Lawns dot org is a great resource, and in fact, Paul Tukey, founder of Safe Lawns dot org, is traveling across PEI to help Islanders learn about organic lawn care. He is also giving a very comprehensive back story about the history of lawn pesticides and the public’s reaction to their use. He also provides some real practical solutions for those concerned about the look of their lawn. There was a great turnout at the Charlottetown session. The evening viewing of the film “Chemical Reaction” was a smaller crowd, but the film was available for sale, and I bought one, so let me know if you want to check it out. Fascinating piece of work and worth watching.

One of the ideas for applying organic fertilizer to your lawn is Compost Tea! Which includes steeping some compost for a certain amount of time and applying the liquid to your lawn. Luck for us here on PEI there is a new business starting up in Oyster Bed called “Oyster Bed Compost”. Owner, Sid Annema, is producing a high value compost tea available to the public very soon.

His contact info is:

Sid Annema
902-628-5845
sidney_annema@hotmailcom

Here is the contact info for the Department of Environment Energy and Forestry:

Left to right: Tom Hayward; Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour; Kevin Jenkins, Mayor of Stratford; Gerald MacDonald, PEI Soccer Assoc.; Cynthia Dunsford, MLA Stratford-Kinlock; Wayne Hooper, ACOA; Alan McIsaac, MLA Vernon River-Stratford.

Island soccer players now can hone their skills in any weather conditions as the province’s first indoor soccer facility has officially opened in Stratford.

Thanks to investments from the Government of Canada, the Province of Prince Edward Island, the Town of Stratford and the PEI Soccer Association, the new 46,500 square foot regional complex now provides an ideal location for competitions and high-performance training for players, coaches and referees.

“Our government is committed to working with our provincial and community partners to build the necessary infrastructure for Islanders and encourage participation in sport,” said the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency). “This project will create the potential for sports governing bodies to spur growth in soccer while also producing economic benefits through the hosting of regional events.”

The nearly $4 million facility, which is conveniently located adjacent to four existing outdoor soccer fields, is a clear span, self-supporting insulated steel structure, providing an obstruction-free interior and featuring an artificial turf playing surface.

Soccer has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years on Prince Edward Island. Demand for access to the complex is expected be high as there are currently 6,000 soccer players on PEI, and that number is expected to continue growing in the next few years.

“This new PEI Regional Indoor Soccer Facility is an investment in the health and well being of Islanders and will serve residents of our One Island Community for many years to come,” said Honourable Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour. “I am sure many Prince Edward Island soccer players are anxious to play on this beautiful artificial turf surface.”

“Everyone involved in the sport of soccer on PEI is going to be impressed with this facility,” said Gerald MacDonald, PEI Soccer Association President. “As a result of the tremendous cooperation among all levels of government and the support of our Island soccer players, it is now a reality and will serve players across the Island well into the future.”

The Government of Canada, the Province of Prince Edward Island and the PEI Soccer Association each contributed $1,328,600 to the project.

“We are very pleased and excited to have the new indoor soccer facility located in the Town of Stratford, where the largest soccer club in P.E.I. is located,” stated Mayor Kevin Jenkins “The Town of Stratford contributed the land, $150,000 and tax relief for five years to the facility to support our local soccer community and to generate economic activity in the Town.”

I had the privilege to attend part of a Town Youth Particiation Strategies conference this weekend in Charlottetown. The invite came from the Stratford Youth Can Do Facebook site.

Let me tell you about Stratford YCD.

On their website YCD is described as “a not-for-profit youth group open to Stratford youth between the grades of 5 and 12. YCD’s focus is to provide a safe drop-in centre for youth with plenty of volunteer activities in and around their town.

We are involved in dozens of volunteer projects including Canada Day, food drives, youth recreation programs, Stratford Days, and the Red Cross Red Shield Appeal. YCD also runs the canteen at the Stratford Business Park soccer fields.”

And all of this is true, but it is only a very small part of the bigger picture.

What the website does not say is how dedicated and enthusiastic their members are. Or how much fun they have and how YCD has helped the youth of Stratford grow into healthy, secure and contributing members of their community. What the website does not mention is that their incredible coordinator, Tanya Craig, has helped to create an organization that does so much good for our community of Stratford. That her insights and instincts have made a difference in the lives of young people.

YCD is engaged in helping to keep our community strong. They take part in everything that happens in Stratford. They have found a way to become sustainable by reaching out and developing relationships and partnerships that will last.

So what does this mean to the youth in Stratford?

It means that young people have a place to go and feel welcome no matter who they are. It means that young people will learn from each other and from leaders in their community. That they will have positive role models. It means being in a play or helping to organize a youth dance. Working alongside one another toward a goal and experiencing success and failure. It means having fun and making friends. It means healthier youth and healthier adults. It means that our young people will feel like they belong somewhere and will want to continue to contribute in the growth of their community.

Youth can do all that and more.