There was some foreboding irony in a movie shot in Elora back in the late 1970s.
An American Christmas Carol, starring Henry Winkler as Benedict Slade (Scrooge), gave a cinematic glimpse of what this little village looked like back then (perhaps The Gorge Cinema could show that movie this holiday season).
As the adaptation concludes, Slade takes a troubled orphan to a local factory that old timers will remember as the Kiddie Kar factory across from the Elora Mill. There he talks with his pending apprentice about what he imagines when he sees a charred stick of lumber. The pair begin to whittle away and muse “what are you going to make?”
It’s a great moment in the film, where imagination and hope are encouraged.
We started this column off suggesting foreboding irony. Much has happened since that time long ago. The new bridge over the gorge on Wellington Road 7 allowed transit to improve and encouraged transport trucks off the main drag.
New businesses came and went. The arts community flourished and tourism steadily improved. Latterly, catering to visitors has reached a fevered pitch.
In the past 45 years, successive rounds of politicians entered and exited five-plus council chambers, reduced through amalgamation in 1999 to one such office in the heart of Elora. The inconvenience of running motions through numerous local jurisdictions to develop a consensus on regional planning between Fergus, Elora and the townships around them was just too great.
Centre Wellington was heralded as the moment that council would finally have a handle on local planning. The great promise of that union has not proven itself since Centre Wellington was incorporated a quarter century ago.
Transportation and traffic woes have amplified. Discussions dating from before the township formed until now have yielded nothing in the way of solutions. In fact, planning decisions have worsened the situation, by adding more entrances and traffic onto thoroughfares.
Subdivisions and housing developments on a grand scale have focused on the commuter crowd, rather than striving for a housing mix that would address needs across the spectrum of prospective tenants and homeowners.
Water and sewer, another key component to smart, sustainable growth, has lost focus. A recent report indicates key segments of the sewer system require an upgrade, but that seldom comes up as a reason to slow down growth.
Support for sustainable agriculture and a call to reducing consumption of farmland for development this past week ring hollow, considering the township has purchased over 120 acres of virgin farmland itself in recent years.
A drone shot of the 20-acre parcel at 965 Gartshore, where new offices and a works garage are to be located, is on page 19 this week.
There are numerous other planning foibles in the making.
The development of the old Moore’s site and the L&M plaza property are prime examples of where highest and best use could be achieved but will be stymied by planning rules and an absence of imagination. Multi-unit, mixed density, mixed zoning – there are ways to turn those sites into positive additions to the community. Instead, residents will see a mix of the same old, same old, courtesy of developers turning a dollar, rather than building a community.
The declaration of surplus property to accommodate expansion of the Catholic school was eventually rescinded. We still scratch our head on that one – it was surplus, then it wasn’t.
In keeping with the Slade character noted above, “what are you going to make?” Let’s modify that to “what do you see?” What do residents see as progress in their urban centres?
The former Groves hospital site, entrusted to the Town of Fergus for its residents under the proviso of providing health care to the community, was handed off to the new Groves hospital and Ministry of Health. The money made from the sale of the old site will solely go to Groves, or so we are led to believe. The County of Wellington stepped up with a site and funds years ago to get the new hospital project underway.
The former site, central to downtown, lends itself to a multi-unit complex. Elevations would permit underground parking; it has access on three streets for multiple points of ingress and egress; the neighbourhood and streetscape would accommodate numerous floors. The back parking lot, sheltered from a busy street, would be ideal for a dementia care facility. Shared kitchen facilities could easily handle what might be required for a non-profit day care should that opportunity come about.
It has been explained to us that Dr. Groves’ initial gift of the hospital site came with a stipulation that it shall remain health-related, but current administrators are content they are meeting that bequest with the new site, several kilometres away. That is a monumental stretch to us. See the former site on page 19 this week.
Prior to handing off the site, with details known to a slim few, the township was fully in the driver’s seat to insist on a project that would be health-related and special for the community. There are so many needs and so few legitimate planning opportunities.
Looking forward, what do you see? It’s a question all residents need to start asking in earnest.
