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Home My WebLink AboutWD-20-89 e TOWN OF NEWCASTLE REPORT �5 r File # °I l •1� ' Res. # ��R By-Law # MEETING: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION MEETING DATE: JANUARY 23, 1989 REPORT #: WD-20-89 FILE #: SU&JECT: CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED FROM MR. I. MACIVER. RE: TOWN IDENTIFICATION ROAD SIGNS RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report WD-22-89 be received; and 2. THAT provision be made in the 1989 Current Budget, for Council's consideration, for the installation of Town identification signs at an estimated cost $13,600 and as illustrated on Attachment No.3 to this report, on Region of Durham roads,, Town of Newcastle roads and on Highway #2 at the east and west entrances to Bowmanville; and 3. THAT a copy of this report be forwarded to the Bowmanville, Newcastle and Orono Business Improvement Areas and that they be requested to forward any suggestions that they may have for the signing on Highway 401 for tourist attractions as outlined in the correspondence from the Honourable Ed Fulton, M.P.P., Minister of Transportation; and 4. THAT a copy of this report be forwarded to Mr. I Maciver, 7 Hetherington Drive, Bowmanville, Ontario, L1C 3P9; and further 5. THAT Mr. Maciver be thanked for his suggestions with regard to Town Identification Signing. . . .2 Page 2 WD-22-89 1.0 ATTACHMENTS No.l : Letter dated May 4, 1988 Mr. Iain Maciver suggesting Town Identification signs be erected in the Town. No.2 : Letter dated July 21, 1988 to the Ministry of Transportation requesting their help in implementing Mr. Maciver's suggestion on Highway 401. No.3 : Letter dated September 21, 1988 from Mr. Victor Ozymtchak, Traffic Analyst, regarding the Town's request for Town Idendfication Signing on Highway 401. No.4 : Letter from the Honourable Ed Fulton, M.P.P. , Minister of Transportation, advising of a new tourism signing policy on Provincial highways. No.5 : Drawing showing proposed Town Identification Signs. 2.0 BACKGROUND 2.1 At a meeting held on Monday, May 3, 1988, Council passed the following resolution: "THAT the communication dated May 4, 1988, from Mr. I. Maciver, 7 Hetherington Drive, Bowmanville, Ontario, L1C 3P9, regarding town indentification road signs, be received and referred to the Director of Public Works for review and report; AND FURTHER THAT Mr. Maciver be advised of Council's decision." 3.0 REVIEW AND COMMENT 3.1 Request Made To Ministry of Transportation On July 21, 1988 a letter was sent to the Ministry of Transportation requesting their help in implementing Mr. Maciver's suggestion on Highway 401 (Attachment N0.2) . . . .3 Page 3 WD-20-89 3.2 Reply From Ministry Of Transportation A response was received on September 21, 1988 from Mr. Victor Ozymtchak, Traffic Analyst, Ministry of Transportation (Attachment No.3) . In his letter Mr. Ozymtchak stated that he believes "That the signing which exists on Highway 401 is sufficient. Departing from accepted Ministry standards is undesirable." Mr. Ozymtchak goes on to suggest that "If desired the Town of Newcastle may erect signs as suggested within the connecting link portion of Highway #2 in Bowmanville.11 3.4 Signing on Region of Durham Roads The signing proposal was discussed with staff of the Region who indicated that they did not think that Regional approval would be a problem, providing the Town paid the cost of the installation and maintenance of the signs. 3.5 Cost The estimated cost for the purchase and erection of the signs as illustrated on Attachment No.5 is $200 per sign. There are 32 Town of Newcastle roads, 34 Region of Durham roads and the east and west limits of Highway #2 in Bowmanville where the signs could be erected. Therefore, the estimated cost to implement Mr. Maciver's suggestion is $13,600. 3.6 Tourism sign During a discussion with Councillor Diane Hamre of the reponse received from the Ministry of Transportation refusing to provide the signing request, I was advised that about two years ago the Town received a letter from the Ministry of Transportation advising of a change of policy with regard to signs on Kings Highway, including Highway 401 (Attachment No.4) . This letter deals with signing for tourist attractions and does not deal with the type of signing suggested by Mr. Maciver. However, the Town should take action to take advantage of the new policy with respect to signs on Kings Highway for tourist attractions in the Town of Newcastle. —4 Page 4 WD-20®89 4.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 In light of the above, it is recommended that provision be made in the 1989 Current Budget, for Council's consideration, for $13,600 to implement Mr. Maciver's suggestion on Town of Newcastle roads, Region of Durham roads, and on Highway #2 at the east and west limits of Bowmanville. 4.2 That a copy of this report be forwarded to the Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono Business Improvement areas and further that they be requested to provide suggestions to the Town to provide signing on Highway 401 for tourist attractions in the Town. Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation to the Committee, r d ) Walter A. Evans, P. Eng., Lawren e . Kotseff, Director of Public Works. Chief Adm r istrative Officer. ;llv January 9, 1988 10( x) a 7 Hcl;-ri.;gton Dr. Bowmanvitle, ON. L1C 3P9 � May 4th., 1988. Mayor& Council COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTION Town of Newcastle 40 Temperance St ' Bowmanville, ON. L1 C 3A6 Ladies& Gentlemen; i Re:Town Identification Road Sians The saga of the name for our community has been going on for some time. Occassionally the paper runs a coupon asking residents to fill it in and return it indicating the respondents'position; Bowmanville, (or Tyrone or Orono, etc)vs the Town of Newcastle. Usually there are quite a few replies, even after more than 10 years. I believe that there is a way to placate a larger percentage of the residents than the current practise. The idea is to have a common format. It would have a coloured picture of the Apple Blossom in the top left hand corner and the layout for the names would be consistant. There would be two sign types, a main sign and a local sign.The Main Sign would be used to identify the entrance of the Town.The Local Sign would be used within the Town to identify the communities within the Town. In the following drawings I have excluded mandatory data (population, etc) as these sketches are only attempts to illustrate the idea or concept Town of Newcastle Bowmanville A Town of Newcastle Community oe T n. r i �► A Town of Newcastle Community , CYour4incer ' . ATTACHMENT N0,1 j WD- 20-30 i (OW �J ( CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE 40 TEMPERANCE STREET BOWMANVILLE ONT RIO fi LIC 3A6 TELEPHONE 623-3319 July 21, 1988 ter: Ministry of Transportation , and Communications / 138 Hope Street North P.O. Box 150 Port Hope, Ontario L1A 3W3 Attention: Mr. Bob Arbuckle Dear Mr. Arbuckle RE: TOWN IDENTIFICATION ROAD SIGNS At a meeting held on Monday, May 30, 1988, the Council of the Town of Newcastle passed the following resolution: "THAT the communication dated May 4, 1988, from Mr. I. Maciver, 7 Hetherington Drive, Bowmanville, Ontario, L1C 3P9, regarding town identification road signs, be received and referred to the Director of Public Works for review and report; AND FURTHER THAT Mr. Maciver be advised of Council' s decision." Attached is a copy of the letter from Mr. I. Maciver referred to in the resolution. The problem referred to in the correspondence is still a sore point with many residents of the Town of Newcastle. As an example, only recently the Mayor of the Town of Newcastle was dealing with a Committee of Metropolitan Toronto Council on a very contentious issue (garbage disposal) and it was obvious that some members of Metro Council thought they were dealing with the Mayor of what is now referred to as the "former Village of Newcastle" I am sure that I could obtain many such examples. I would appreciate receiving your help in implementing Mr. Maciver' s suggestion on Highway 401. Yours very truly ATTACHMENT N0, 2 Walter A. Evans, P. Eng. WD-20-39 Director of Public Works WAE:Ily 10(b) ( - Ministry Ministere of des Transportation Transports Ontario i ( 416 ) 224-7437 September 21 , 1988 Central Region , Traffic Section , 5000 Yonge Street, Willowdale , Ontario M2N 6E9 Walter A. Evans, Director of Public Works , The Corporation of the Town of Newcastle, 40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3A6 i Dear Mr. Evans: This office has been asked to respond to your letter of July 21 , 1988 , regarding Mr . Maciver ' s signing suggestions for the Town of Newcastle . The objective of highway guide and destination signing I is to provide the motorist with essential information necessary for route selection . The Ministry, in its efforts to achieve this objective , has developed guidelines and standards to maintain simplicity and uniformity in the design of , and application of it' s signing. In view of this , it should be noted that the municipality signing existing on Highway 401 for the Town of Newcastle presently conforms to Ministry standards. Although I can appreciate your concerns about the public' s unfamiliarity with the Town of Newcastle, I believe that the signing which exists on Highway 401 is sufficient. Departing from accepted Ministry standards is undesirable. If desired the Town of Newcastle may erect signs as suggested within the connecting link portion of Highway 2 in Bowmanville . I trust I have clarified the Ministry ' s position in this regard and I regret that Mr . Maciver ' s signing suggestion cannot be considered . Yours truly , ._ -- F• '::cTl '(? -='"�"s` ""_ ictor Ozymtchak , VO/vn -- -"` v f NiPitf• r1 f.;vf —� raff i c Anal yst i N �� 988 Note b �elu n q k� U)P�F:. In .�,: PF ��r; ATTACHMENT id0 3 = 1 PvPC/c Wr�RKs --- -- , bJ� 0 —39 !.kr l.�7:C,•'/Ali Arl v/n )LPl3316 ----- =-- I i Ut,�e o' the Ministry of .Ferguson Block Kim.5ter Transportation and Queens Paq Toronto. Ontario Communications 4i6/965.2101 May 26, 1986 Dear I was pleased to announce in the Legislature today, a new policy for signing tourist attractions on provincial highways. As you may be aware, our previous policy restricted such signs to certain high attendance attractions; and signs were erected only on freeways. Under the new policy, the attendance criteria have been greatly reduced; the distinction between public and private attractions has been eliminated; and qualified attractions may now be signed from major and secondary highways in addition to freeways. Special consideration is being given to those attractions located in northern Ontario. The cost of fabricating, erecting and maintaining the signs will be recovered through an equitable annual fee, based on the number of signs installed. Since it will take time to install all of the signs which qualify under the new policy, the new program will be phased in by the ministry. First priority will be given to signing those qualified attractions which have no highway signs at the present time. Those major tourist attractions which are signed under previous policy will be 'grandfathered' into the new j arrangements in a timely fashion. _ If you are interested in participating in this program, and you believe your tourist attraction may qualify under the definition contained in the attached extract from the policy, I invite you to apply at your local MTC district office where further details will soon be available. Yours sincerely, ATTACHMENT NO A Ed Fulton 'WD-20-89 minister I STATEMENT IN THE LEGISLATURE BY i THE HONOURABLE ED FULTON MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TOURISM SIGNING POLICY ON PROVINCIAL HIGHWAYS MR . SPEAKER : I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM HONOURABLE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT'S LATEST EFFORT TO ASSIST ONTARIO' S TOURISM INDUSTRY . WE WANT TO MAKE ONTARIO' S TOURIST ATTRACTIONS MORE VISIBLE, SO WE ARE INTRODUCING A NEW POLICY FOR TOURIST SIGNS ON ONTARIO HIGHWAYS . OUR NEW POLICY REFLECTS THIS GOVERNMENT ' S STRONG COMMITMENT TO THE TOURISM INDUSTRY. IT IS A POLICY DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT SYSTEM BY RELAXING TOURISM SIGNING CRITERIA. IN ESSENCE, WE ARE COUPLING TOURISM WITH OUR FIRST-RATE ONTARIO HIGHWAY SYSTEM. WE ARE CONVINCED. . .AS IS THE INDUSTRY. . .THAT WE CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE POTENTIAL FOR OUR PROVINCE . WE WANT TO ATTRACT MORE TOURISTS . . . BE THEY CANADIAN, AMERICAN OR VISITORS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES . WORKING IN CLOSE CONSULTATION WITH THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, WE ARE ANNOUNCING THAT MORE ATTRACTIONS AND FACILITIES CAN BE NOW SIGNED OFF PROVINCIAL HIGHWAYS . . . IN ADDITION TO FREEWAYS AND STAGED FREEWAYS . WE UNDERSCORE THIS CHANGE BY REDUCING THE ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR ATTRACTIONS ELIGIBLE FOR SIGNING. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ATTRACTIONS HAVE ALSO BEEN BROUGHT INTO LINE . . . . . ./2 ATTACHI ENT NO.4 A 'SID-20-89 1 0(b) - 2 - IN ADDITION, ALL QUALIFIED ATTRACTIONS CAN BE SIGNED FROM A DISTANCE OF 10 KM . . .UP TO 30 KM IN SOME CASES . . . BASED ON ATTENDANCE . THE COSTS OF NEW SIGNING WILL BE RECOVERED THROUGH AN EQUITABLE FEE STRUCTURE . IN TANDEM WITH THIS POLICY, MR. SPEAKER, WE ARE CONTINUING TO INVESTIGATE THE USE OF HIGHWAY SIGNS IN OTHER WAYS . . . SUCH AS THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM IN THOSE MUNICIPALITIES WHERE THERE IS A POTENTIAL TO HIGHLIGHT LOCALLY KNOWN ATTRACTIONS. . . AND THE CREATION OF MORE PICNIC AND REST AREAS, COUPLED WITH THE UPGRADING OF EXISTING AREAS, IN THE NORTH AND ON FREEWAYS . BY ENSURING THAT ALL THOSE USING OUR HIGHWAYS ARE AWARE OF ONTARIO ' S HOLIDAY AREAS, WE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO MAKING THEIR EXPERIENCE TRULY "ONTARIO/INCREDIBLE : " THANK YOU, MR . SPEAKER . - 30 - 26/05/86 ATTACHIENT NO.4 B WD-2O-80 Ministry of 17 Transportation and news release Communications -Ontario FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 26/05/86 Fulton announces new tourism sign policy TORONTO -- Ontario ' s tourism industry will receive a boost from the Ministry of Transportation and ? Communications in the form of a new highway signing policy, Minister Ed Fulton said today. "The new system is designed to expand on, and improve, the current signage as well as achieve a controlled relaxation of the criteria involved 'in tourism signing, " Fulton said. "Under it, tourist attractions can be signed from provincial highways, in addition to freeways and staged freeways as the current system allows, " added Fulton. "We are making highway-based tourism a reality, " Fulton said. "By coupling tourism with our excellent provincial highway system, we can double the potential for our province to attract more tourists, be they from Canada, U. S. or other countries. " _ "We are bolstering this effort by equipping our emergency patrol vehicles with free travel information kits which contain a highway map, traveller' s encyclopedia, Metro Toronto guide pamphlet, plus a letter i of welcome, " added Fulton. "What better way to let tourists know Ontario really is happy to see them. " i . . . . ./2 ATTACHMENT NO A c WD-20-89 1 0 (6) "We have also lowered the attendance requirements to qualify for tc::rist attractions signs . All qualified attractions can 'ce now signed from a distance of 10 km, even up to 30 km in some instances , based on attendance figures . " Cost of the new signing will be recovered through an equitable fee structure. "Other tourism initiatives being investigated by my ministry include the promotion of tourism in those municipalities where there is a potential to exploit . locally known attractions , " said Fulton, "and the creation of more picnic and rest areas, as well as the upgrading of existing ones, in the north and on freeways. "With this policy, my ministry and this government, is keeping a promise to Ontario ' s tourism industry to help it maintain a high profile through increasing its visibility to the travelling public. " 30 - From: Public and Safety Information Branch 1201 Wilson Avenue DOWNSVIEW, Ontario M3M 1J8 Telephone: (416) 248-3501 ATTACHVIEN T N0 .4 n WD-20-39 i i Bow m a nv ® I Ile , _I f� Al, TOWLl nF N t WCA`.,TLE C.oMMUN W? j I e I i I ATTACHE 1ENT NO , 5 WD-2o-89 i