MINUTES. Cambridge Trails Advisory Committee Meeting of February 8, :00p.m. Erb Room A&B 3rd Floor City Hall 50 Dickson Street

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1 MINUTES Cambridge Trails Advisory Committee Meeting of February 8, :00p.m. Erb Room A&B 3rd Floor City Hall 50 Dickson Street Committee Members In Attendance: Chris Smith, Ron Dorombozi, Councillor Nicholas Ermeta, Linda Cooke in the Chair Staff Members in Attendance: Shane Taylor, Landscape Architect; Zita Tavares, Recording Secretary, Brian Geerts, Manager of Horticulture/Forestry Regrets: Stephanie Bangarth, Cristina Berry, Adam Metcalf Meeting Called to Order The regular meeting of the Cambridge Trails Advisory Committee of the City of Cambridge was held in the Erb rooms A & B, City Hall, 50 Dickson Street, Cambridge, Ontario. Linda Cooke welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. 1. Disclosure of Interest No disclosure of interest. 2. Delegations No delegations present for this meeting. 3. Approval of CTAC minutes of January 11, 2018 Motion #1 Seconded by: Nicholas Ermeta Correction to minutes addition of St Andrews Cemetery discussion THAT the CTAC minutes of January 11, 2018, be corrected as printed. St. Andrews Park: Ron suggested CTAC consider St Andrews park for increased trails connections. There are already some accesses between the park and St Andrews Street, but grades are steep and awkward in some places. St Andrews Park is in the process of being classified as a cemetery, and many of the grave sites are unmarked. Any development of trails has the potential of complications for archeological reasons.

2 2 Elections: Chair/Vice Chair Shane Taylor opened the floor for nominations for Chair. Chris Smith nominated Stephanie Bangarth. Stephanie accepted via , in absentia. There being no further nominations Stephanie was acclaimed and appointed Chair for the 2018 term. Shane Taylor opened the floor for nominations for Vice-Chair. Linda Smith nominated Ron Dorombozi and Ron accepted. There being no further nominations Ron was acclaimed and appointed Vice-Chair. 4. Follow-up from Previous Meeting Eagle Street lands acquisition There has been discussion regarding this stretch of track as a possible alternative route for LRT line. Councillor Ermeta shared that Council is aware of the land and will be waiting for the outcome of feasibility for future LRT track. MTO Franklin Blvd overpass Chris Smith updated the committee of his meeting with MTO, Region and City staff. MTO came to the meeting without any detailed drawings and were unable to provide clear response to the challenges presented. Chris said he believes MTO will tender the project as currently designed but believes there is still time for MTO to look at a revised design as requested by City Council. Active transportation committee discussion Discussion took place regarding the Active Transportation possible merge and name change. It was noted perhaps to have our March meeting more focused on further ideas and come to an agreement to present the final resolution to the Cambridge Cycling and Focus Group at the April 12 th joint meeting. Attendance of the Manager of Operations Chris Ziemski and Manager of Transportation Shannon Noonan was suggested. Shane will invite both mangers to attend the April joint CCFG-CTAC meeting. MTO Closure of Mill Run Trail at Highway 401 Shane followed up via with MTO about the ongoing closure of the Mill Run Trail under HWY 401. MTO is still targeting to have the trail re-opened early 2019 as previously forecasted. 5. City Updates Maintenance Report and Items Brian Geerts Brian noted his staff has been regularly doing general minor maintenance on trails, as well as keeping up with snow plowing and the beaver issues which now has a posted warning sign. Brian showed pictures of the Linear Bridge and explained that he was quite pleased that the bridge was holding up very well. Brian noted not a lot of items to report; his staff has been regularly doing general minor maintenance on trails. He also mentioned receiving a call requesting groomed trails for cross country skiing. He also discussed receiving requests that the City plow the woodlot trail between Grand Ridge Drive and Tait Street School property Brian reminded the committee that wood chip trails cannot be plowed. City Updates - Project Update and Schedule Shane Taylor Progress Update on 2018 Projects:

3 3 i. Bridge Replacement A on Mill Run Trail replace wooden pedestrian bridge on Mill Run Trail close to Speedsville Rd. RFP to be prepared, combining work with Soper Park bridge work. Committee discussed potentially postponing this bridge replacement if BB110 needs immediate replacement. ii. Soper Park Bridge Repairs look at simple structural solutions to ongoing rotting out problems with the two pedestrian bridges in Soper Park near tennis courts/play grounds. RFP to be prepared combining work with Bridge A. iii. Boxwood Trail and Dog Park Trail Improvements Committee discussed naming this the North Boxwood Trail, instead of Dog Park Trail. Creation of a dog-walking loop around storm ponds behind Dog Park, investigate future trails leading from storm ponds heading west and north; future pedestrian refuge island on Maplegrove in this location. Design phase to occur in February/March, tender in spring. iv. Fraser Woodlot new trail Blaze new trail to connect Culham Dr. and Grand Ridge Dr. through the Fraser Woodlot behind Tait Street School. Chris has spoken to the Tait Street School Vice-Principal and there appears to be interest to partner with one of the classes to mark the trail. Suggest a mid-week event, encourage CTAC members that are available to attend. v. Otto Klotz Park Trail new asphalt trail through Otto Klotz Park adjoining to existing trail off Montrose Street, also improvements to the trail entrance off Montrose St. Drawings to be prepared & tendered in spring. vi. Winston Blvd to Woodland Trail Improvements improvements to the Woodland trail entrance north of Winston Blvd and to the woodlot south of Winston Blvd. Lowest priority of projects only proceed with this work if budget allows in vii. Other Items (Ongoing as budget allows) Replacing u-channel signs with new timber signs; replacing old style p-gates with new style; installing new curb ramps and gates at trail roadway crossings and inaccessible areas; replacement of vandalized or worn out signage. Shane asked the group to keep an eye out and report any signs needing replacement, and also to identify some new locations for accessible ramp installations. viii. Bridge Replacement B on Mill Run Trail replace wooden pedestrian bridge on Mill Run Trail close to Sheffield Street parking lot. This project did not get funding in 2018, however the bridge has since been condemned. Barricades are currently in place at both ends of the bridge. Shane and Brian have a meeting with Engineering Monday to discuss cost sharing options.

4 4 ix. RARE link Environmental Assessment for new trail/pedestrian bridge Run Municipal Class EA for new trail and bridge. Funded by Region of Waterloo. Draft RFP document has been circulated to RARE, GRCA and RoW for comments. x. Wellington Street New Trail continue moving forward with the new section of trail at Concession St and Ainslie St up to the Wellington Street cul-desac. Shane to complete drawings and continue discussions with the Region of Waterloo. xi. Devil s Creek Retaining Wall Replacement continue moving forward with the replacement of Devil s Creek at the George Street underpass. Assemble tender in spring, GRCA approvals by June; construction must occur in window of July through September. xii. Trail connection at CanAmera/Conestoga short trail connecting into existing condo funded by developer, implemented by CTAC. Tender to be issued in spring. Motion #2 THAT CTAC approves moving budget allotted for bridge #116 to condemned bridge #110 Seconded by: Linda Smith Shane to check truck on bridge/check stairs 6. Events/Tasks Update Potential events for 2018 as mentioned in the Fraser Woodlot below. Fraser Woodlot event Chris updated the committee that he spoke with the school vice-principal and she was pleased to have CTAC reach out and request school involvement. There seemed to be interest in getting a class involved to help blaze the trail, then a contractor would follow along and grub out the trail and install woodchips. Further discussion is required with the school to work out logistics. Chris suggested Earth Week may be a good time to have the trailblazing event. Trails Day Hike - The Cambridge Trails Advisory Committee will be offering a guided historical walk in Downtown Cambridge (Galt) on International Trails Day, Saturday, June 2, More information to follow. Sites Tour The CTAC annual sites tour will be earlier this year due to budget deadlines. The committee discussed holding the event in May starting at 4:00 pm the evening of the regular May meeting, Thursday May 10, Itinerary to follow closer to the date; CTAC members are encouraged to submit suggestions

5 5 for site tour locations. Chris submitted a list of potential future projects for consideration (refer to attached). 7. Other Business Chris mentioned an article in The Record regarding safety worries for trail design on Cambridge new Franklin Bridge. Linda mentioned to the committee an advertisement regarding a Sharing Workshop being held on March 3 at the Puslinch Community Centre. The workshop will have a keynote speaker and the focus is to share ideas and experiences regarding environmental projects in the various communities. Shane shared that he will be attending Ontario Parks Association seminar on March 1st. He also noted that there was 1 spot available, if any committee member was interested in attending this full day seminar to contact him. Close of Meeting Seconded by: Ron Dorombozi THAT the Cambridge Trails Advisory Committee meeting does now adjourn at 9:15 pm. Chair CTAC Committee CTAC Recording Secretary Date Date