Peterborough Greenspace Coalition
PARKS NOT PARKWAYS
The Peterborough Greenspace
Coalition is an
alliance of four local citizens’ groups and numerous individuals, working to
protect and preserve greenspaces in the City of Peterborough, Ontario.
Our current
campaign — PARKS NOT PARKWAYS — comes out of a common belief that Peterborough
neither needs nor wants a new 4-lane, walled street through Jackson Park and
the beautiful Parkway Greenspace and Trail.
We believe
the Parkway is not a wise investment of over $66 Million of our tax dollars. We
can think of many improvements the city needs more than an expensive new road. You
may even want to keep your money in your pocket and not put the City further in
debt.
Citizens have
repeatedly said “NO” to the Parkway. The 1991 City Mayoral election was won on
a “NO Parkway!” campaign. When given a chance to vote on the Parkway in a 2003
referendum, we said "NO" by a wide margin. Council then instructed
City staff to remove the Parkway proposal from the City Plan, which was never
done!
The current
council has suddenly brought the issue back to life — spending over $1 Million on
a so-called Environmental Assessment proposal which will cut a swath through historic
Jackson Park. This would contravene an agreement with the Nicholls Trust, which
donated the park, and the City's own by-law. As well, it would replace one
of the City's most beautiful cycling and walking trails with a four-lane
arterial road, and 2.5 km of sound walls (not to mention multiple new
intersections slowing down traffic).
Our first
Indiegogo campaign allowed us to print and distribute over 3,500
pamphlets, 300 lawn signs, 500 buttons and produce a beautiful and informative
booth at the local GreenUp Expo. We
are about to launch the next phase of our campaign, to save Jackson Park and
the Parkway Greenspace and Trail from being destroyed forever. This is an
expensive proposition and we need your continued support.
Every dollar raised
in this campaign will be used for direct costs related to public awareness and community
mobilization, under the management of the Coalition’s volunteer leadership.
We do not
have City coffers to dip into to fund our message. Please join us with whatever
contribution you can make. For more information, to view alternatives to the
Parkway, and to contact us, visit parksnotparkways.ca
Please also order a sign, join our mailing list, come
out to the November 20th public meeting at the Evinrude Centre, and call
your Councillor to tell them what you think.
We do not want or need
a $66 million walled street!
Peterborough, it’s a natural!
Let’s keep it that way—green, natural, and beautiful.
