Jason Hammond

Thanks to the Working Centre for their leadership in presenting the Regional Council debate for Kitchener last night.

Head over to The Working Centre’s All Candidate Meetings site for the audio from our debate, as well as two other recordings for city candidates in Wards 9 and 10. Click on the player to hear your candidates, or use the download link to see a page that breaks down the timeline of the debate for each question.

Here are the time points for the recording that will allow you to hear what I had to say in about twenty minutes. If you do have time to listen to all the candidates (just under two hours), please do so!
Preamble 14:00-14:44
Intro 14:44-17:06
Why Light Rail Transit matters 25:38-27:15
LRT for lower taxes 34:37-36:13
GO buses and other transit issues 44:49-45:59
Our water supply 51:45-53:22
Role of schools in the community 1:07:30-1:09:00
Other cities’ successes 1:13:29-1:14:45
Out of the Cold & transportation 1:19:05-1:20:14
Open Data 1:25:59-1:26:59
Tax increases 1:31:34-1:33:02
Closing remarks 1:38:50-1:40:15

As you may know, there was also a televised debate on Rogers TV (20), but there are no current plans to put that online or rebroadcast it. So, I am very thankful for the chance to encourage voters throughout Kitchener to listen to last night’s event.

Here is another look at my contribution to the Waterloo Region Record’s Community Editorial Board, printed August 16th:

(http://news.therecord.com/article/761197)

“The region has to be ready for the green economy

August 16, 2010

By Jason Hammond

At least once a year, I try to get a canoe in the water and put in some quality time paddling. I had the pleasure of doing so recently, keeping it local with a few hours on the Grand River. While I enjoyed the chance to see fish, herons and countless geese, the wildlife that got me thinking most were the cyclists and golfers.

You see, I’ve become a fan of Richard Florida and his popular series of books about what he calls the creative class. I’m sure that in his mind, the ability to stay in the city while cycling on a long-distance trail, golfing beside or paddling down a major river, or taking in an afternoon of downhill skiing is just the kind of amenity that attracts the creative class. These activities, as well as the presence of three leading post-secondary educational institutions, the planned light rail transit, and so many other quality-of-life enhancers, encourage people who can live and work anywhere to happily make their home right here. This is fundamental to keeping our community prosperous.

That prosperity has taken a few hits lately. This newspaper has recently reported that while more people are at work in the region than ever before, there are still some 20,000 or more who are struggling to find employment. While many local businesses are creating jobs, the talents offered by these job seekers simply don’t match up. I’ve heard just such a scenario predicted by distinguished University of Waterloo economist Larry Smith: the dreaded skills gap.

Of course, the current economic bruising is also an opportunity for us to reinvent our community as we recover. In Florida’s most recent book, The Great Reset, he shows that previous significant downturns have been “the eras that ushered in new economic and social models and whole new ways of living and working.”

For example, his first chapter notes the recent surge in car-sharing. In our own local experience, Grand River CarShare has certainly felt the effects of a shifting economy. While we provided just one permanent full-time position two years ago, recent growth allows us to employ three dedicated staff today. With hundreds of members saving thousands of dollars, the urgency of financial relief for households has joined with the original social and environmental goals to create a whole new motivation for change.

As our community struggles to create employment for so many jobless citizens, I believe that the power of green enterprise is ready to be harnessed. After all, waste is the enemy of ecologist and capitalist alike. We know that many of our neighbours are highly skilled at the manufacturing work that built our local thriving cities. While some may want to retrain for new careers, we should also attract the manufacturers of the next economy: the green economy.

We already have the beginnings of a green employment cluster, with several solar technology firms as just a small sample. When one of them, ARISE, opened a new factory a few years ago, the necessary incentives were not available here, and Germany was rewarded with the investment. By doing more to make our region the best choice for green manufacturers, we can regain our pride in making what is needed most.

Once it was leather for our soldiers in the trenches of the Great War. Tomorrow it could be solar cells, wind turbines, smart meters, and other efficiency tools. If we are to enjoy a green and prosperous future, many such things must be made. We have thousands of people desperate to be making them. Let’s get to work.

Jason Hammond of Kitchener is the president of Grand River CarShare.”

Less than a week to go until election day, so it’s that time of the campaign: the invitation to the party!

Come out and join the team for a celebration of the past six weeks. We’ve been sharing a vision of green prosperity for Waterloo Region, and have had great support from electors across the city, and from all sorts of diverse backgrounds. As the polls close on Monday, it will be time to share some quality time and some tasty appetizers.

We’ll be gathering at Crabby Joe’s (King and Frederick, Downtown Kitchener) from 7:00pm to 11:00pm on Election Day (Monday, Oct. 25th, 2010). Some appetizers and soft drinks will be provided, and you are welcome to support our hosts by purchasing your own meals and other drinks. We will have our own space with live television coverage of the results.

Of course, our work is not done. We are running at full speed, with a variety of campaign activities every day. If you can help in any way at any time, we have a job to suggest and great people to work with!

Please RSVP so that we can plan for the right number of guests (email jason@jasonhammond.ca). I look forward to seeing you there and thanking you in person for your support!

Just imagine what would be possible if we went beyond simply keeping up with the good practices of other municipalities. I believe we have the capacity to become an exemplary community that will inspire leaders throughout Ontario and across Canada. Wouldn’t it be great to force people distraught with the general state of our health, wealth, and ecology to add “except Waterloo Region” to the end of their exasperation?

“Ontario has terrible air quality in the summer, except Waterloo Region.”
“No major Canadian city has been able to eat mostly local foods in season, except Waterloo Region.”
“North Americans are so darned addicted to their cars, except Waterloo Region.”
“If Ontario gets another recession soon, it’s going to hit employment very hard across the province, except Waterloo Region.”

Sounds nice, doesn’t it? What can we expect if we stand out among other municipalities? We’ll be able to attract even more highly talented neighbours, and their employers. The value of living here will be reflected in the value of our homes, and in the increased capacity for quality municipal services. In all the many ways we can measure quality of life, we can imagine improvements that are possible when we have the proof of living in the finest community around.

More importantly, the allure of these benefits will engender a spirit of friendly competition among our peers, and bring other governments to follow our lead. We can leverage our own success in becoming a green, healthy, and comfortable community, and bring our province and country along for the ride.

That’s the kind of community where I want to live.

Since moving here ten years ago, I have been a regular cyclist on the Iron Horse Trail. This is a critical piece of infrastructure for our local sustainable transportation system, and so is a frequent target of complaints from trail users. It needs to be wider. It needs to be marked for pedestrians on half, and cyclists on the other, to better serve both users. The connections at either end (Ottawa Street in Kitchener and Caroline Street in Waterloo) need to flow more easily and safely onto other cycling routes. Perhaps most perplexing, though, is that for a trip along the whole length of the trail during a weekday, a cyclist can expect to spend half their time waiting for motorised cross-traffic at major roads. Here are two suggestions for relief that could make us all feel a little more sunny side up, and a little less burned.

Scrambled

The intersection of Courtland and Stirling is a perfect place for a Pedestrian Scramble. StreetsWiki has a good description (with images) of this signal innovation from traffic engineer Henry Barnes. The traffic would flow in one direction (along Courtland), followed by a signal to allow pedestrian and cyclist crossings in all directions (including diagonally), then the other motorised traffic flow (on Stirling), and another scramble crossing.

The reason this works so well is that most pedestrian and cyclist activity at the intersection is diagonal. The trail terminates at two opposite corners, and the other two corners are home to the GRT bus stops.

For a great time lapse photo of the scramble signal in action at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, check out the Spacing site.

Over Easy

I think the argument could be made for pedestrian signals at trail crossings, as well as more use of pedestrian islands so that trail users only have to cross one direction of traffic at a time. Signals could even be timed for a comfortable cycling speed, so that a non-stop trip could be made along the length of the trail.

What is called for at first is a pilot project using crossing guards in the summer. For a few months between one school year and the next, we could employ a handful of crossing guards, with all of their existing training and experience, to shepherd cyclists and pedestrians across the major trail intersections with no more than a twenty second delay. If it works, increasing the use of the trail, then we can make the investment in signals and crossing islands.

Here is another look at my contribution to the Waterloo Region Record’s Community Editorial Board, printed June 18th:

(http://news.therecord.com/article/730072)

“Driving to work may cause planning problems

June 18, 2010

By Jason Hammond

When my friends and I pass a major construction site, one of us will often remark, “Oh look, they’re installing a mess!”

Development is messy. Bring in heavy equipment, and before long all sorts of dirt and dust end up floating away on the breeze and choking passersby. Sometimes, as in the recent dispute over the Lang Tannery demolition proposal, it is the politics of development that is messiest of all.

The debate at Kitchener city council meetings and in this newspaper has had the positive effect of bringing many citizens, including myself, to a deeper engagement with our urban heritage. We learned about the past of the Lang Tannery, the present of the adaptive reuse being implemented by the developers, and the future of both parking provision and the pedestrian experience in our downtown.

It appeared at first to be a simple issue of heritage versus parking. We would knock down historical buildings, put up a gravel parking lot, and lose our recent momentum toward a more vibrant, sustainable and dynamic downtown. Of course, projects guided by public policy and millions of dollars are rarely so simple, and assignment of blame for the situation quickly became hard to pin down.

The first suspect was the developer, Cadan Inc, who has transformed the first site of the Tannery from a dilapidated complex of factory buildings to a rediscovered space that will focus the working lives of hundreds into a key area along the region’s central corridor. The tragedy is that they believe, likely in concert with many of their prospective tenants, that a lack of immediately available free parking would be the automatic termination of success for the project. So, the result is that the second site is sacrificed to bring the first site a better outlook for survival.

Of course, I wouldn’t be excited about knocking the buildings of the second site down in favour of parking if I owned the property, but I do not. It appears that the necessary steps have been taken to satisfy the official processes that would guide the development, so we are introduced to the second suspect: the city.

After extended public engagement to develop the official plan, we have a document that captures a common vision for the evolution of our community. Our neighbours have given their opinion, with the hope that the end product will prevent our urban changes from heading in the wrong direction. Among the assertions available in the document: protect heritage buildings, and avoid surface parking. Whoops!

Unfortunately, it is not this citizen-driven vision that directs staff as they process requests for such projects. The “applicable law,” as it is known, is the zoning bylaw. These bylaws do not always reflect the official plan, a consistency challenge that is likely unmet by a great number of communities across the province.

What to do? It seems that everyone is just doing their job. Perhaps a core problem is how we get to those jobs. Most of us drive to work alone, and much like the development approval system, it just seems to be the way things went yesterday and will likely go tomorrow.

Municipal staff, elected officials, developers and employers all have key roles in shaping our community. By combining their efforts with adherence to new priorities, we can allow the latent radical shift in commuting behaviour that awaits improved options. As the dominance of parking demand in the Tannery project has shown, how we are able to find our way into a neighbourhood has one of the greatest impacts on how it looks when we get there.

Jason Hammond of Kitchener is the president of Grand River CarShare.”