town of milton

More Construction Notices – Hydro One

Mike Cluett

The town of Milton received a notice from Hydro One about some upcoming constrcution to the transmission corridor along James Snow Parkway from Steeles to Main Street.  As you will read the construction will take a number of weeks with the goal of being finished by mid-May.

Reisdents will see helicoptors flying around and there will be some loud bangs from the use of implosive devices to fuse wires together…so dont be alarmed.  The notice I’m posting here will be sent to area residents and businesses, sent to the local papers, and local police & fire services.

Here is a link to the notice & a copy of the letter to residents/businesses.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Bruce to Milton Project Construction Activities

April 28, 2011

Dear Residents,

Hydro One would like to inform you about some upcoming construction activities in the Town of Milton associated with our Bruce to Milton Transmission Reinforcement Project. 

Over the next several weeks our contractor, Valard Construction, will be installing conductor (wire) on the Hydro One right-of-way east of James Snow Parkway, between Main Street and north of Steeles Ave (see map on reverse). In order to string conductor onto the new towers, helicopters will be used and will be required to make short stops at each tower.

In order to fuse the conductor together, our contractor will be using implosive devices. This process makes a loud banging sound similar to that of a firearm discharging, so please do not be alarmed when you hear it.

These activities are scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 30, and will continue periodically, throughout the area until mid May, 2011. Crews will be working seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We expect several implosive connections will be made each day.

Hydro One will be notifying residents and businesses within one kilometre of the work sites.  In addition, we will be notifying nearby schools, local police, ambulance and fire departments to ensure they are aware of the work.

We apologize in advance for the noise and any inconvenience this work may cause.  We thank you for your patience while Hydro One and its contractor complete this critical 500 kilovolt transmission line that will add 3000 megawatts of transmission capability to Ontario’s grid.

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Marty Dendekker, Construction

Contact Officer at (519)873-0331, or our Community Relations Line toll-free at

1-877-345-6799, or by email at Community.Relations@HydroOne.com.

****

Dear Mayor Krantz,

This weekend, Hydro One’s contractor Valard Construction will begin stringing the conductor (wire) along the new Bruce to Milton transmission towers in the Town of Milton.  The area affected is along the transmission corridor, east of James Snow Parkway and between Main Street and north of Steeles Avenue (see attached notice and map). We expect this work will be completed by mid May.

Helicopters will be used to install the new wires.  Following this, implosive devices will be used to fuse the wires together. These implosive devises make a loud bang, similar to a firearm discharging.  The attached notice will be distributed to homes and businesses in the area through the Milton Canadian Champion and Georgetown Independent, so people are aware of the process and won’t be alarmed if they hear the occasional bang. We have also notified local Police and Fire Services.

In addition, to string this section of line,  helicopters will need to fly over Highway 401 at James Snow Parkway tentatively this weekend and next (May 7 and 8).  As a precautionary measure, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will slow down traffic on Highway 401 in the vicinity of James Snow Parkway to ensure that this work can be completed safely.  We expect there will be eight slow-downs of traffic over the two weekends for about 5 minutes each time.  The exact timing will be determined by Valard Construction and the OPP on site.

If weather conditions allow, this work could be completed in less time, and traffic slow downs may not be required on both weekends.  

Please do not hesitate to call me or Marylena Stea, Community Relations Officer at 416-345-5706 if you have any questions.

Regards,

Enza Cancilla
Manager, Public Affairs
Corporate Communications
Hydro One Networks

Road Closure at 4th Line & Britannia Extended to May 31 2011

Mike Cluett

UPDATE 3:15pm:  I did get a chance to speak with the Region of Halton regarding the reasoning behind the delay.  Mainly the delay is due to weather conditions being too wet with all the rain we’ve been having.  It makes it difficult to continue to dig along the road side, install the water pipes and pour concrete.  Their number one priority right now is to get that intersection open to help alleviate the congestion along Britannia during the rush hours.  More information to come and letters will be sent out tomorrow to area residents.  Of course, stay tuned here for more updates as construction progresses.

If you recall a couple of months ago, I reported on the road closure at Fourth Line and Britannia.  The approximate date of completion was set to be the end of April, but there have been a number of delays with weather being one of the factors. 

I recently received a notification from the Region of Halton that the intersection of 4th Line and Britannia Road will continue to be closed until May 31, 2011.

This is a one month extension of the previous deadline of April 30th.

“The road closure will be extended to the end of May 2011 from the original completion date of April 29, 2011.  There will be no access across Britannia Road at Fourth Line.  Access to Fourth Line, north of Britannia Road still remains Louis St Laurent Avenue and Fourth Line south of Britannia Road via Lower Base Line.”

As soon as I hear more about a possible completion date, I’ll update the blog.

Trees For Watershed Health – Conservation Halton

Mike Cluett

At our last council meeting on Monday there was a report from the Halton Regional Police Service and they updated town council on their endeavours to keep the residents in the town informed of programs and initiatives.  I was very happy to hear this and I have been impressed by their communication plans and urged the Town of Milton to do what we can to help “spread the word” 

This not only goes for the Halton Police Services but for all aspects in the town’s business and programs.

In that light the Town of Milton has announced on its website some information about a Conservation Halton event called the “Trees for Watershed Health” where residents can get involved in planting trees.  Councillor Cindy Lunau also brought this up during the last council meeting and urged Miltonians to get involved in this venture.  This year they will be planting 4,000 trees by Kelso Park.

Here is some information from the Conservation Halton website that has details on how you can get involved on Saturday April 30th, rain or shine to help plant trees and help improve the area.

You can register by clicking HERE.

Each year Conservation Halton hosts a public tree planting event on or around Earth Day as part of its Trees for Watershed Health Program. All watershed residents regardless of age or skill level can participate and help our local environment. So whether you are a veteran tree planter or just starting out, this program has something for everyone.

The 2011 tree planting event is in partnership with the Town of Milton and takes place Saturday, April 30, 2011, starting at 9 a.m. at the Kelso Quarry Park, which is located in Milton. Conservation Halton needs over 400 volunteers to come out and plant approximately 4,000 trees, rain or shine.

Volunteers need to bring their own shovel and ensure they are dressed appropriately for the weather – hat, shoes or boots (no sandals),  sunscreen (if necessary). Following the planting a delicious barbecue lunch will be provided.

This is an excellent opportunity for you, as a volunteer, to see a unique and picturesque section of the Halton watershed and lend a hand in its renaturalization for the enjoyment of our children and grandchildren. Volunteer and community service hours are available for high school students who register and participate in the event. Volunteers are asked to register by Tuesday, April 26. 

Registration for the 2011 Tree Planting Event is now OPEN. 

Conservation Halton is partnering with the Town of Milton on Trees for Watershed Health for the next two years. The Town received a two-year grant through Hydro One’s Biodiversity Initiative to enhance Milton’s natural habitat. The Town of Milton chose to partner with Conservation Halton to hold a volunteer tree planting event as part of its focus on environmental and sustainability initiatives. Trees for Watershed Health supports the Town’s goal to provide a thriving natural environment that is a valued community asset to be protected, maintained and enjoyed.

The forests of Conservation Halton’s watershed provide habitat for a myriad of wildlife species. They also provide ecosystem functions such as cleaning the air, purifying water and storing carbon along with providing places of unparalleled beauty for us all to enjoy. Protecting existing forests and increasing forest cover is an important aspect of sustaining the health of the watershed. 

The Trees for Watershed Health planting event provides an opportunity for watershed residents to take part in the transformation of marginal parklands into an area with healthy and abundant forest cover. This will help to offset the negative impacts of climate change in our watershed, while increasing biodiversity in the park. The site is ideally located adjacent to Kelso Conservation Area. The Quarry is a fantastic location to continue our public tree planting program and provides important green space for both Conservation Halton and the Town of Milton.

Town Council Meeting April 18 2011

Mike Cluett

Tonight is a full meeting of council.  The agenda for the meeting can be found here.

There will be a presentation from the Halton Regional Police Services, a recommendation for the company eSolutions Group as the company in charge of the website for the Milton Centre for the Arts, and a 2010 financial update from KPMG .

I’ll also be providing council an update on the ward 6 Milton Makeover team from last Friday and the all important update of the Grow Milton Rally from Saturday, which despite the weather was a great success.

As always you can view the meeting online by going to the WATCH ONLINE link at the right.  Hope to “see” you there.  If you have any questions on the items included in the agenda, feel free to email me mike@mikecluett.ca