INSIDE AURORA: Burning Questions 2015

March 4, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Scott Johnston

It’s time for another look at some burning questions about life in Aurora, such as:

What will we all talk about when the weather warms up and we don’t have the cold temperatures we’ve experienced so far this year to complain about?
Apart from, presumably, the torch relay, will there be any other Pan Am Games-related activities in Town this summer?
Of the Aurora, regional and education portions of our property tax bills, why are the annual percentage increases associated with Aurora always so much higher than the other two?
Why did Councillors express dismay about project cost overruns and completion date delays for the Aurora Family Leisure Complex renovations, but then at the same council meeting express reluctance at hiring someone to manage and mitigate these for the far more expensive Joint Operations Centre project?
Are all of the Aurorans whose names appear on the cenotaph represented by a local street name, or have some been missed?
With no action in sight with respect to the Town initiating any of the proposed Yonge Street Promenade upgrades, is it more likely that the first improvement we’ll see along this stretch is the reconstruction of the Aurora United Church?
How many hockey nets abandoned on the frozen pond in Case Woodlot end up on the bottom of that body of water when the ice melts?
With the repairs on the celebrated ship’s replacement out on the East Coast continuing to drag on, should the painting of the Bluenose on the Larter Wall be modified to show it not at sea, but in dry dock?
Will the eventual all day GO train service encourage that many more people to take the train, or just spread out those who are taking it now?
And if more people do decide to take the train, where are they going to park?
Will companies large enough to occupy the former Rona and Target locations ever be found, or will those sites have to be demolished for new development, like the Reebok building was?
Of all our major streets, did it not seem that Wellington was particularly poorly cleared of snow over the past winter?
Apart from the tree that’s split in half and fenced within its own compound on the southwest corner of Wellington and Leslie known for many years as “The Inspiration”, are there any other “named” trees in Town?
Are the Lions ever going to bring back their annual late winter outdoor pancake breakfast?*
Why does the Town have such well-defined borders on three sides in the form of Bloomington, Bathurst and Highway 404, but such a vague northern boundary that lies somewhere north of St John’s Sideroad?
And are there any properties that overlap that boundary with Newmarket, and how do they deal with taxes, and municipal services?
Is it saying anything in that Aurora has only one library, but three LCBOs?
What happened to the re-elected Councillor’s commitment last fall to introduce legislation in December proposing a reduction in the number of Councillors to six?**

How many more traffic lights need to be installed on Industrial Parkway before it officially stops being a “bypass” of Yonge Street, and becomes just another local street featuring an equally frustrating number of delays?
Is there an annual municipal event that’s more weather dependent than the Arctic Adventure?
With a Habitat for Humanity House built last year, and a Youth Centre finally now established (sort of), what’s the next long-outstanding project to be addressed in Town?
How long will it be before we all start universally complaining about how hot it is, and start looking forward to next winter?***

Feel free to e-mail Scott at: machellscorners@gmail.com

*(Editor’s note: This year.)
** (Editor’s Note: This is slated to be discussed at this week’s General Committee meeting)
*** (Editor’s Note: May 8.)