Dear Candidate:
During the forthcoming municipal election campaign, I will be a one-issue voter and that one issue will be my neighbourhood of Wellington Heights:
• Phillips Road south to Croft Street
• Ontario Street east to Rose Glen Road.
Wellington Street is the backbone of our neighbourhood.
A friend of mine, recently visiting me from across the river on Brown Street, remarked that the area she saw walking up Wellington Street looked like what must be the slum of Port Hope. “There is nothing like it on our side of the River,” she said. Compared with other neighbourhoods in Port Hope, Wellington Heights seemed to her to have been overlooked and underserved. I agree.
For example, the Town recent undertook a “traffic calming” revamp of Dorset Street West. During both planning and construction of that project, discussions were held between the municipality and representatives of the “70-some odd” Dorset Street residents.
In contrast, the removal of the STOP at the Wellington/Rosevear intersection and its replacement with a COURTESY X-WALK involved no such discussions with representatives of the many hundreds of Wellington Heights residents. Yet, if there is one street in Port Hope that needs “traffic calming” because it must not be allowed to turn into a racetrack, it is Wellington Street.
The many people who daily walk up and down Wellington Street, so many of whom are children, need their health and safety to be important to you. As a start, they need a commitment from you that the consultation model used for the Dorset Street revamp will be extended to changes that affect the health and safety of the residents of Wellington Heights.
Regards and good luck in the campaign,
William Hayes
