The idea of the Livingston Avenue Extension that threatened the sanctity of Grimsby’s Irish Woodlot is one step closer to being relegated to the history books.
This past Wednesday, the Region’s Transportation Steering Committee unanimously passed a motion to “Remove any reference to the proposed extension of Livingston Ave from the Region’s Transportation Multi-Modal Master Plan.”
The motion was put forth by Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn, being seconded by Councillor Joyce Morocco of Niagara Falls and supported by Alderman Dave Wilson of Grimsby. This is a great step forward for our friends at Save The Woodlot.
Bruce McKenzie, who led the Save The Woodlot delegation stated:
“We bring our strongest objection to you today or we will hear later on that the public was advised as part of the Master Plan exercise and no voice in opposition was heard. We recommend to this committee that any reference to the proposed extension of Livingston Ave be removed from the plan. The need has not been proven and the costs, environmentally, socially and economically have not been evaluated. The public has not been consulted.”
The motion still has another hurdle to pass, the Niagara Region Public Works Committee, which will be in session on May 30th. Both Grimsby Mayor Bob Bentley and Regional Councillor Tony Quirk are members of the Public Works Committee and residents are urged to contact them to voice their support for the motion and protection of the Irish Woodlot.
Contact information for our Mayor and Regional Councillor can be found at this link and this link, respectively.
If you haven’t already visited, you can read more on the Irish Woodlot at the Save The Woodlot Facebook Page.