City To Host Meeting To Highlight Transportation Needs On East Side Of Peterborough

Planning for how people travel around the City and planning for transportation needs on the east side of the City will be the subject of public information meetings being held at noon and 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 3.

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

The meetings are being held as part of the development of the new city-wide Transportation Master Plan and the separate Eastside Transportation Study for the area east of the Otonabee River and north of Lansdowne Street East. The meetings will include a presentation about future transportation projects that could be recommended in the two studies as well as a question-and-answer period.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the public information meeting is being held online. People who cannot participate online can join by phone. To register, visit www.connectptbo.ca/moveptbo or call 705-742-7777 x 1749.

The presentation materials will be available for review and comment on the study websites at www.connectptbo.ca starting Jan. 28.

The new Transportation Master Plan will include recommendations for all modes of travel to accommodate population and employment growth to the year 2051.

The City Council-approved vision of the Transportation Master Plan is: As the City grows, Peterborough’s transportation network will be enhanced to create a low emissions, responsive system where people of all ages and abilities can move safely, sustainably and efficiently, no matter how they choose to travel, today and in the future.

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Extended Hours for One Roof Community Centre On Sunday and Monday

One Roof Community Centre will be open for extended hours of service on Sunday and Monday due to temperatures anticipated to drop below -15C for the Peterborough area.

One Roof Community Centre began extended hours on select days this year on Jan. 2. Photo courtesy of One Roof Community Centre.

They are open from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 3:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with the to-go meal provided between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. The following day will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

The Centre is closed to drop-in service from noon to 3:00 p.m. for the meal preparation and pickup period to protect the health and safety of the public, volunteers and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emergency shelters are open and available to people experiencing homelessness who require emergency overnight shelter:

• YES Shelter for Youth and Families, 705-748-3851, 196 Brock St.

• Brock Mission men’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 120 Murray St.

• Cameron House women’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 739 Chemong Rd.

• Overflow Shelter at 210 Wolfe St., overnight phone 705-761-1875

Emergency After Hours Services related to the emergency shelter is available through Social Services by calling 705-926-0096. Please visit the Social Services website for information regarding the After Hours program.

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Peterborough Tool Library To Move To Habitat For Humanity

The Peterborough Tool Library will soon be under the management of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, moving from its current home at the Endeavour Centre.

File Photo.

The Tool Library was started in May 2006 by a group of volunteers and has been housed and run by The Endeavour Centre since it was founded. The Tool Library is a community resource that allows members to borrow unlimited tools all year round for a low annual membership fee.

The decision to find a new home for the Tool Library was made after the Endeavour Centre, a sustainable building school, needed to reorganize after two years of navigating the pandemic. Finding a new home where the Tool Library and its vibrant hub of volunteers could continue to grow and expand was important to the Endeavour team.

“We are really excited to see the Tool Library move under the Habitat umbrella. We couldn’t think of a more suitable organization to run the library and continue the mission of growing the sharing economy while providing affordable access to tools. There could really not be a better fit,” said Jen Feigin, Director of Operations at Endeavour and founding member of the Tool Library.

The Tool Library will be closing for the month of February and will reopen at its new location inside the Peterborough North ReStore located at 300 Milroy Dr in Peterborough on March 1. New expanded hours for the Tool Library’s services will be announced in February.

“The community will now be able to go shop for their gently used building materials, furniture, appliances, and home décor items, and borrow the tools they need while they are at it. Both shopping second hand and participating in a community tool library is a great way to lower your carbon footprint,” said Nikki-Ann Murray, the Tool Library’s Volunteer Coordinator.

Tool Library Memberships can be purchased in early march.

For more information on the Habitat ReStore visit www.habitatpkr.ca/restores and for more information on the Tool Library please visit www.ptbotoollibrary.ca.

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Snow Plow Crews Still Working Around The Clock In Response To Monday's Storm

Snow clearing efforts continue and are progressing well following the significant snow storm in southern Ontario on Jan. 16-17, that dropped about 34 cm of snow on Peterborough.

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

City snow clearing crews have been working in shifts 24 hours a day since the night of Jan. 16. With the progress made on snow clearing, effective 7 p.m. on Thursday the City lifted the Significant Weather Event designation it put in place on Monday.

The majority of streets, sidewalks, and bus stops were clear by Thursday afternoon; crews continue to revisit some locations that require further clean-up.

“Thank you to residents for your patience and understanding as our community digs out of this big snowfall. A special thank you to everyone who helped a neighbour or community member after the storm. We are lucky to have exemplary Public Works crews that have been out there 24/7 to keep our community going,” Mayor Diane Therrien said. “Some other municipalities had to close facilities and services for several days due to this storm. While work is still happening, we’ve been able to minimize disruption while we either enjoy or curse the huge amount of snow.”

In addition to revisiting some locations of sidewalks and bus stops that need additional clean-up, the snow clearing work continued overnight on Thursday into Friday, with the focus on restoring roadway lane widths where snow banks have narrowed the roadways, removing snow on bridges to restore sidewalk widths, and continued maintenance on other locations such as dead-end streets and cul-de-sacs.

There are other locations, like the downtown, that require additional snow removal and work will continue until those locations are addressed.

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Peterborough Plans To Address Doctor Shortage In Area With New Committee

A new committee is being formed in Peterborough in hopes to plan and implement strategies for family physician recruitment and retention, announced last week.

Stock Photo.

This committee is being formed to address a shortage of doctors in Peterborough and Peterborough County.

Currently, it is estimated that about 11,000 people in the area lack a family doctor, and it would take nine new full-time physicians to fill the gap.

The committee was presented at Peterborough City Council last Wednesday, and is still in the early stages of development. It is recommending increased funding from the county.

At a Nov. 3 county council meeting, Maria Gomez, a committee member of the education department of the Canadian Association of Staff Physician Recruiters and director for the West Northumberland Physician Recruitment, spoke to council regarding the lack of physicians in the area.

Gomez said that 20 per cent of the population is at risk of not having the required health care services.

The county, city and the Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT) have a tri-party agreement for physician recruitment services, with the county contributing $14,980 annually and the city contributing $21,220 in 2021.

The November presentation recommended increasing their budgets to match competitive programs in other communities.

The city has since committed to funding $81,000 in 2022.

The funding request of $57,000 for the county in 2022 has been referred to the county 2022 budget.

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One Roof Community Centre Extending Hours For Friday and Saturday

One Roof Community Centre will be open for extended hours of service on Friday and Saturday due to temperatures anticipated to drop below -15C for the Peterborough area.

One Roof Community Centre began extended hours on select days this year on Jan. 2. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Extended hours are from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 3:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with the to-go meal provided between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. for both days.

The Centre is closed to drop-in service from noon to 3:00 p.m. for the meal preparation and pickup period to protect the health and safety of the public, volunteers and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emergency shelters are open and available to people experiencing homelessness who require emergency overnight shelter:

• YES Shelter for Youth and Families, 705-748-3851, 196 Brock St.

• Brock Mission men’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 120 Murray St.

• Cameron House women’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 739 Chemong Rd.

• Overflow Shelter at 210 Wolfe St., overnight phone 705-761-1875

Emergency After Hours Services related to emergency shelter are available through Social Services by calling 705-926-0096. Please visit the Social Services website for information regarding the After Hours program.

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One Roof Community Centre Extends Hours During Cold Spell

One Roof Community Centre will be open for extended hours of service on Monday and Tuesday due to temperatures anticipated to drop below -15C for the Peterborough area.

File Photo.

The centre will be open 8:30 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with the to-go meal provided between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on both Monday and Tuesday.

The Centre is closed to drop-in service from noon to 3 p.m. for the meal preparation and pickup period to protect the health and safety of the public, volunteers, and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For information about how to protect yourself from extreme cold, visit the Government of Canada website.

Emergency shelters are open and available to people experiencing homelessness who require emergency overnight shelter:

• YES Shelter for Youth and Families, 705-748-3851, 196 Brock St.

• Brock Mission men’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 120 Murray St.

• Cameron House women’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 739 Chemong Rd.

• Overflow Shelter at 210 Wolfe St., overnight phone 705-761-1875

Emergency After Hours Services related to emergency shelter are available through Social Services by calling 705-926-0096. Visit the Social Services website for information regarding the After Hours program.

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Update On Municipal Services And Facilities Effective Wednesday

The City of Peterborough provides the following update on municipal services and facilities affected by the new provincial regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic that come into effect on Wednesday and lasting until at least Jan. 26.

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

The City continues to encourage people to use online and phone options to access municipal services, where available, to reduce in-person interactions as part of efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Visit peterborough.ca for information on online services and contacts for by-phone services.

Services not listed below continue to operate under current conditions. For up-to-date information on municipal services affected by the COVID-19 pandemic visit peterborough.ca/covid19.

Arenas

As indoor recreation facilities, community arenas are closed effective January 5 under the provincial regulations.

COVID-19 vaccination clinics provided by Peterborough Public Health will remain operational at Healthy Planet Arena, 911 Monaghan Rd. To book a vaccine appointment, please visit ontario.ca/covid.

The provincial direction provides an exemption for select professional and elite amateur sport leagues. The City is seeking clarity on the provincial regulations in terms of what they mean for the operation of the Peterborough Memorial Centre for the Peterborough Petes.

Art Gallery of Peterborough

The Art Gallery of Peterborough would be required to close under the updated provincial regulations; however, the gallery is already closed in January to accommodate lighting improvements to the main gallery space and the installation of new exhibitions.

Online programming will continue on Facebook (@AGPtbo), Twitter (@AGPtbo_) and Instagram (@AGPtbo_). Visit the Art Gallery’s website at www.agp.on.ca for digital programming, news and updates.

Outdoor recreation facilities

The provincial regulations allow outdoor recreation facilities to remain open with certain restrictions and public health measures in place. The City is reviewing the provincial regulations and will be consulting with Peterborough Public Health on the operation of outdoor recreation facilities.

Municipally-operated child care services

The municipally-operated before- and after-school child care programs at Edmison Heights Public School and at Westmount Public School will not operate during the Province’s closure of schools for in-person learning starting January 5. Should the municipally-operated school-age programs get approved by the Province to operate emergency child care services for school-age children, families will be notified.

The municipally-operated child care programs at Pearson Child Care Centre and Peterborough Day Care Centre remain open.

Peterborough Museum and Archives

The Peterborough Museum and Archives will be closed effective Jan. 5 until at least Jan. 31.

The museum gift shop is open for curbside pickup.

For details visit www.peterboroughmuseumandarchives.ca or call 705-743-5180, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Peterborough Public Library

Under the provincial regulations, the capacity for visitors in the Peterborough Public Library will be limited to 50% effective Wednesday.

Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre

The Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre will be closed effective Wednesday.

Wellness Centre memberships will be placed on automatic hold beginning Wednesday. For further information regarding the Wellness Centre closure visit peterborough.ca/pswc.

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Changes To Transit Services During The New Year Holiday

Peterborough Transit holiday service changes will be in place until Jan. 7, 2022.

All routes:

• All late evening trips that depart after 11:30 p.m. are cancelled between the period until Jan. 7, 2022

• On Friday all routes end early with the last trip departing no later than 7:15 p.m. Extended New Year’s Eve service will not be offered this year.

• On Saturday there will be no service.

Additional changes:

• All weekday Route 11/11A Water trips will be cancelled until Friday, January 7, 2022.

• Friday the Route 2 Chemong trip departing from Rowberry at 7:15 p.m. will end at the Peterborough Terminal.

Transit Customer Service

The Customer Service desk at the Simcoe Street Terminal will operate with adjusted hours for the holiday period.

• Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Saturday: closed

Regular hours resume at the Simcoe Street Bus Terminal on Jan. 2, 2022.

For questions about Transit service, call Transit Operations at 705-745-0525 or by email at transitoperations@peterborough.ca.

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Local Rideshare Company URide is Offering Free Rides To Those In Need On Christmas Day

Local Rideshare company Uride is offering free rides to anyone in need this Christmas.

Photo courtesy of URide.

Anyone who is struggling financially and needs rides this Christmas can email “help” to support@uridetech.com and Uride will send them a code for two free rides, up to $15 each to use on Christmas day.

“This time of the year is tough for a lot of people. We don’t want anyone to worry about how they’ll afford a ride to Christmas dinner” said Cody Ruberto, Uride Founder and CEO.

Residents can get a ride by downloading the Uride app. Average pickup times are under 10 minutes, and may be a little longer than usual on holiday nights.

Uride was created to prevent impaired driving. They operate 24/7, and encourage residents to help keep our roads safe this holiday season.

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