It may not be the most scientific or the most accurate polling method known to humankind, but ‘sticky’ feedback can’t be ignored.
At Tuesday night’s open house to discuss Essa Township’s transportation and trails master plan, feedback via sticky notes clearly showed local residents cared about two things above all else: speed limits and the trail network.
Of the numerous display boards arranged around the room at the Thornton Community Centre, those two took centre stage, much to the surprise of no one.
On the display board dedicated to speed limits, the comments were liberally, and respectfully, applied.
One person's blue note said 40 km/h was too slow.
Another said that speed limit was "OK" for a school zone, their note politely stuck on top, positioned so the original comment was still visible.
“Enforcement is non-existent east of County 56,” chimed in another.
“Road safety is certainly one of our top priorities,” said Sam Haniff, manager of planning for Essa Township. “We hear about it from all residents, but it’s growing in Angus. As the community gets bigger, it becomes a bigger concern.”
Over on the proposed trails network board, another robin’s egg blue sticky note stood out from the sea of yellow stickies.
“Connect along rail (parallel) to keep pedestrians safe,” it read.
“Please separate snowmobilers and walkers,” read yet another, with two arrows added to illustrate two separate lanes.
While slightly unorthodox, the ‘sticky’ feedback serves an important function — it affords residents unfettered input that is short and succinct. It also provided a permanent notice of concerns that could be added to the anecdotal tales told to Essa Mayor Sandie Macdonald and other members of council who attended the open house and spoke to residents about their concerns.
About a year ago, Essa Township started the process of developing a transportation and trails master plan — a vision that will help inform and guide infrastructure investments, policies and strategies for the municipality's transportation network over the next 20 years and beyond.
At the time, the township held an open house at the Angus Recreation Centre and invited the public to visit and tell them what works well and what doesn’t when it comes to local roads, trails and active transportation networks.
That feedback became part of the plan and Tuesday night’s open house presented recommendations for roads, active transportation, trails and parks.
Additionally, there was information on potential pedestrian crossover locations, traffic-calming measures and parking.
“This is the first transportation master plan that the township has ever undertaken,” said Michael Mikael, Essa's interim chief administrative officer. “It’s basically to plan for short-, medium- and long-term growth.”
Mikael said the transportation master plan is based on the township’s Official Plan and takes into consideration many factors including new growth in settlement areas, road upgrades across the township and the recreational needs of residents.
“What we try to do is look at our rec facilities and ensure there is a fair distribution across the township,” he said. “We’re working to ensure there is a proper circulation plan and connectivity between different trails and pathways to ensure there’s an active transportation network that works for residents.”
