BarrieToday invited members of city council to write a year-end column for 2024. The following is from Clare Riepma, who represents Ward 1 in Barrie.
The year 2024 was a busy one for construction in Ward 1. Grove, Nelson, Duckworth and Blake street, as well as Penetanguishene Road, were all under construction during the summer of 2024.
More needs to be done to catch up with the aging infrastructure in our area. We are setting up to do work on Codrington Street, Puget Street and Orchard Drive in the near future.
For 2025, we will finish final paving on Grove and Duckworth streets and start work on improvements to the North Shore Trail. The Eastview Park playground will also get a major upgrade.
Speed cameras were introduced to the city in 2024 and have been very effective in reducing speeds. A speed camera is now operating on Blake Street, at Johnson Street, and coming to other streets in Barrie. Please watch your speed.
We also just passed a new budget for 2025 with a zero per cent increase in the operating budget.
This budget also includes initial work on a new performing arts centre to be located in the area of the current Sea Cadets building. The Sea Cadets will be moving to the Southshore Centre.
Homelessness and encampments have been a concern in the past year for Ward 1, with tents in a number of parks and along the waterfront.
The County of Simcoe has purchased the former Coates site on Blake Street and has moved the modular units from Rose Street. These will be used to accommodate about 14 seniors who are currently homeless, thereby relieving some of the pressure on the shelter system. People will live there for about three months until permanent housing for them can be found.
Lakehead University will be starting a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) campus in downtown Barrie. This facility will be located in the bus terminal; it will be renovated after the buses move to the new Allandale terminal, which is now under construction.
The Provincial Facilitator’s Office is working with the city and county, as well as Oro-Medonte and Springwater townships, to determine future land needs for the city. Lands east of Penetanguishene Road in Oro-Medonte have been suggested.
A consultant’s report was recently received indicating the case for more industrial land was relatively weak. The work is ongoing and will still take some time to complete. If land in Oro-Medonte was annexed into the city, there would be an impact on Ward 1.
The year 2024 has also seen progress on the city’s new zoning bylaw. The third draft of the new bylaw received a lot of feedback this past fall, especially on the as-of-right four-storey provisions.
An amended draft will be considered in the near future, with the completion of the new bylaw sometime in 2025.
