Survey Update

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting just about everyone in the Glengarry neighbourhood.   We have now received 38 completed surveys.  Details of the analysis will be presented at the community meeting tomorrow, and will be posted on the blog here.

Reminder:  the community meeting will be at 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 1st, at the offices of Public Works on Ontario St.

Thanks to everyone who has submitted a survey.

Berm Options

On Friday, August 28, the construction crew started building the berm according to the current plan.  We are told that this is only to "store soil until a final decision on the berm design has been reached".  However, the crew has done an excellent job of showing how the proposed berm will look.

Here is the completed berm in profile:

This berm is 5 feet high and roughly 15 to 20 feet wide.

This is how the berm looks when viewed from the property line - you can see how close it comes and leaves no opportunity for passive use of the land.

This is a view from a backyard into the berm - nice huh?  Imagine the run off from this berm into the back yard?  Furthermore, since the main living space is on the second floor, this berm does not create privacy at higher elevations.

As an alternative, here is the border of trees and shrubs behind 742, 744, 746, 748 Glengarry.

This demonstrates how we can create privacy and allow passive use of the space.

Here is a photo of the same trees from where the sidewalk will be.

This demonstrates that with creative use of trees and shrubs we can accommodate the needs of the neighbourhood, public use of the sidewalk and maintain passive use of the space.  With cut-ins spaced every 500 feet or so, we can also ensure access to the rear.  This alternative also alleviates run-off and drainage and water management is enhanced.

Feel free to leave your comments.

Map of the roadway and berm

Map of Courtalds Road Development at Glengarry Blvd.
To see the PDF version of the map, click on the link below:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B9sv--Ft4f_2M2I3NjdhZTctZDhhZi00MTJiLWE1NTgtZDBlOTc3Y2M0ZDFj&hl=en_GB

Kudos to City of Cornwall Engineering Department

Just a quick note to express my thanks to Steve Wintle and the C of C Engineering Department.  They have been very open with copies of reports, maps, photocopies and information.  The level of co-operation is a strong indication of of their willingness to interact with Glengarry residents.

Thumbs up.

Coming tomorrow - a summary of the Acoustic Consultants report.

FAQ: What is a Berm?

This afternoon when I was distributing the update letter, one neighbour asked me what a berm really is?  A berm is a natural barrier made up of dirt, rocks and vegetation like trees and shrubs.  The purpose of a berm is to create a more "natural" barrier than a fence or a wall.  Here are some samples taken from Google Images.

Berm Fundamentals

A berm with trees and plants:

This is a rock garden berm:

This is a berm with plants, shrubs and mulch:

If you have any more questions, leave them in the comments section and we will get the answers.

Wednesday August 26th

Updates for today.  An e-mail account has been created, it is glengarryblvd@gmail.com   Feel free to send comments or questions to the e-mail account.

Upcoming posts will include:

• extracts and commentary on the acoustic consultants report
• comments on the berm alternatives
• updates on communications from the City of Cornwall Engineering Department.
• with luck: photos and a copy of the detailed map

A letter to neighbours will be finalized today and distributed.  I will be following up with face to face conversations with neighbours over the next few days.  

Last week the surveyor stakes went into the ground outlining where the berm between our homes and the new road would be.  The inner toe of the berm is approximately four feet from our back property line.  For those of us who have been tending to the space and enjoy using it this is not on the cards.  I took the opportunity of contacting City of Cornwall Engineering to see what options we have.  No decision has been made on how the berm will ultimately look and the City is open to input.

This afternoon (Tuesday, August 25th, 2009) I met with representatives from the City of Cornwall Engineering Department.  We have received a copy of the plan, I hope to have a pdf version posted to the blog in the next few days.  They have also suggested a community meeting on Tuesday, September 1st.  Details will be confirmed shortly.  A number of options are open to us.  I will post details of the options over the next few days.

If you have any comments, please post below.

My name is Francis Loughheed and I live on Glengarry Blvd. This blog has been established as a forum for discussion on issues affecting Glengarry Blvd. in Cornwall, Ontario Canada. In particular, the construction of the arterial road on the former Cortaulds Right of Way behind our homes. This forum will post comments, photos and other items of interest to this discussion.

The first item of business is the proposed berm that will end approximately four (4) feet from our property line, destroying the green space we have enjoyed for so long. Please feel free to post your comments.