Dear Residents,

I hope you and your family are doing well and staying healthy. I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to the families that have been affected directly by this crisis, either by health reasons, loss of loved ones or financial difficulties.  

A Big thank you to all of you who are continuing to follow the guidelines of social distancing. The battle against this virus is not over yet and we need to continue to break the chain of transmission. Masks are not mandatory in public at this time but as we start to open up, many stores are requiring you to wear some kind of face covering in order to enter into the premises. All paper masks should be thrown into the garbage after use. Fabric masks should be washed after each use. Gloves, used napkins and kleenex should be put into the garbage at this time and not in the green bin to protect our waste workers.

The City of Markham is taking a thoughtful and measured approach to reopening some of its outdoor facilities, while ensuring that community safety comes first. Our two-stage approach will see the following outdoor spaces and amenities reopen to the public, as of May 28, 2020: 

  - Outdoor tennis courts 

  - Sports fields including soccer and baseball 

  - Skateboard parks 

  - Off-leash dog parks 

  - Park benches, park shelters and picnic tables 

Other facilities to reopen on June 5, 2020: 

  - Community gardens 

  - Recycling depots

All City of Markham Community Centres, Libraries, the Markham Museum, the Varley Art Gallery and the Flato Markham Theatre remain closed. Summer camps and programs are cancelled. All large-scale city supported events are cancelled until August 31, 2020. For full details, please see the City News Release.

Many events scheduled for 2020 are being canceled or modified. Markham’s Canada Day celebrations will continue in 2020 as a virtual experience that unites our diverse community. Learn more at Markham.ca/CanadaDay. All City hosted events have now been cancelled up until August 31st 2020. 

Markham Village Music Festival June 19th & June 20th - Since the street version of the Markham Village Music Festival is not possible this year, the organizers have decided to go fully online in the first ever virtual version of the festival. There will be more than 50 amazing music and dance performances that cross the span of genre and cultures. Plus there will be local business profiles, a Virtual Vendor Village, historic Markham moments, a Beat-Box battle and much more! Visit http://www.markhamfestival.com for more information.

This season, the City of Markham Life magazine is going to be available online only.  Due to COVID-19, the Summer 2020 Digital Edition of Markham Life has been delayed. Sign up for eNews alerts and be the first to know when it’s available.

Lately, residents have spotted an increase of wildlife wandering in our neighbourhoods – deers, foxes, and even a black bear!  Please remember to wild proof your property! It is especially important to not leave garbage accessible and never feed the wildlife. 

I have received an increase in calls on when yard waste is to be picked up or that someone had thought that Miller forgot to pick up regular garbage.
Check out our online tool waste schedule and get reminders on your pick up day.

Thank you and be safe! 

Regards,

Karen 

On May 15 #NightforNurses - a beautiful tribute at the Markham Civic Centre showing our appreciation to our #HealthCareHeroes during #NationalNursingWeek. Thank you to Jim Motton for helping us with this  #MarkhamCares

Thank you to our dedicated Nurses for all you do for us!

Markham Multi-Use Pathway - MUP

Spring is here and I hope you are enjoying our great pathways!
A special reminder that the MUP is for everyone to enjoy – Cyclists need to SLOW DOWN, this is not a cycle path only. Remember that you are sharing the pathway with pedestrians, including many seniors and children. 
According to the Highway Traffic Act, every bicycle " shall be equipped with an alarm bell, gong or horn, which shall be kept in good working order and sounded whenever it is reasonably necessary to notify pedestrians or others of its approach."

Construction Alert:  Tannery Boardwalk will be temporary fenced off and closed to the public, starting Monday, June 1, 2020 to install a second railing, as recommended by an independent consulting firm during a condition assessment audit. Signage will be placed to reflect this closure. We understand that our trail systems are heavily used during these times and we will work with our contractor to minimize the amount of time the boardwalk is closed. Our contractor has advised that the work will take approximately one week.

My previous COVID-19 updates and newsletters can be accessed at my City's portal page. 
Here are the links to the last ones:

• March 17, 2020 — COVID-19 update
• March 30, 2020 — COVID-19 update
• April 10, 2020 — COVID-19 update

A list of important contact information was included in these e-newsletters 

City's updates at COVID-19 Affected City Services 

Looking for additional support?  Call 2-1-1 - Supporting communities during COVID-19

211 Central wants people in the GTA to know that help is available 24/7 for those who need it during the Covid-19 pandemic.

211 Central connects people living in Peel, York, Toronto and Durham to over 4,000 services such as financial help, mental health support, food, housing, shelters and childcare. It offers a free, 24/7 confidential service in 150 languages, including online, text and chat services. 

YR Road Improvement - Ninth Line

Finally the Region is making the necessary road improvements to Ninth Line which includes:

Intersection improvements at Fincham Avenue and at Tiers Gate/White’s Hill Avenue, including:
* New left-turn lanes
* Upgrading crosswalks to meet Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act requirements including pavement markings, accessible pedestrian signal and curb ramps for easier access for pedestrian with mobility devices
* Repaving with new asphalt
* Installing new curbs and catch basins on the east side of Ninth Line
Road work will be completed between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

Ninth Line will remain open to traffic during construction, and access to residences and businesses will be maintained. To accommodate construction, the closure of one northbound lane may occur between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday.

Please note, some work may be rescheduled due to weather or delays related to COVID-19 Public Health guidelines.

York Region approved a two-year pilot project to operate a mobile Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) unit in community safety zones across the region. The goal of this pilot project is to improve safety and influence driving behaviour, specially in school areas. YR staff will quantify the number of charges and its impacts on Courts, and assess the technology.

This summer, Markham will see the new portable speed cameras placed on Hwy#7 by St. Patrick elementary school. It will remain in place for 3 months and then will be relocated to another location in york region.

-  May 7 Agenda from the Markham Sub-Committee meeting including the presentation

Visioning Exercise for Highway 48 Markham/Stouffville

The Visioning exercise will identify a preferred growth scenario to guide future planning and development within the study area under the context of the current policy. The project is being led by the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville and there is additional information and documents about the project on this website: https://www.cometogetherws.ca/highway48. An online community workshop was held April 30 for input on various high level land use options.
An online survey has just been posted and I encourage Markham residents to particpate in this process, what happens north affects all of us, especially in our heritage area of Main St. - click here for the SURVEY
Contact the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville planner at zahrah.khan@townofws.ca for more information.

Council Updates:

Roadside Ditch Policy - Properties are graded to ensure the flow of water to avoid unnecessary pooling and potential flooding. You may want a flat lawn in your front or rear yards, but filling in the ditches that many of us have can create flooding issues for others. Please do not alter your property grading. This policy will allow the City to restore road side ditches or enforce the property owner to restore. 

Bill 108 - City of Markham comments on proposed changes by the Province. This will have significant financial implications on how we deliver services, parks and community facilities going forward. 
- REPORT 
- Council Resolution

28 Main St - Request for 47 Story building - this application has been deferred for the developer to work with staff to try and look at alternate ideas to the increased height. Report Item 9 

Private Plumbing Protection Program has been extended for an additional 2 years in high prone areas of flooding. See Bylaw for more information.

Covid Financial Impact update - May 19th Presentation

Our Public statutory meetings will be starting on June 2nd at 7pm. We have just approved for the Committee of Adjustment to resume, once all details have been worked out to ensure that public participation continues. 

June 8th - Committee members will review a policy to allow extended patios (where possible) in order to help with social distancing once restaurants are allowed to open up.

The other item that may be of interest is that staff are recommending that we implement a temporary expansion of the cycling network where warranted, to fill gaps in the current cycling network. In ward 4, the suggestion is to close one lane each way along Bullock Dr from Laidlaw Blvd to Austin Dr as a bike lane. The other location is along Enterprise Blvd between Warden and Main St Unionville. The cost is $23000 a month and these temporary bike lanes would be in place until October 31st 2020. 
I would be interested in hearing your perspective on this:
Do you support taking Bullock Dr to 2 lanes to accomodate temporary bike lanes?
Report Item 9.2

Waste Department Update
York Region’s Household Hazardous Waste depot (on Rodick Road) is now accepting e-waste (electronic waste). The Community Environmental Centres and Georgina Transfer Station are accepting metal/appliances. York Region’s Waste Depots continue to be open during their regular scheduled hours of operation.
Markham Village Community Centre Depot will open on June 5th.
 

Operations - Parks 

Our Spring litter clean-up has started! Operations Parks and Roads staff are working to ensure City parks, public spaces (trails, pathways, streets) are litter free. Do your part to keep Markham clean and safe.

Our Parks staff provided us with this information below that might answer some of your questions:

- The Region of York is responsible for maintaining grass and collecting litter on all regional roads within the City. For concerns regarding Regional roads call Access York at 905-830-4444 ext 79000 or accessyork@york.ca

- Frequency of grass maintenance in parks, facilities, City boulevards and cemeteries - occurs on a 12-14 day Council approved schedule. 

- The spring growth cycle of yellow dandelions lasts about 4-5 weeks and once the cycle is over they will be visibly gone.

- City staff and contractors alike are assigned their own responsibilities based on the type of work, equipment, and expertise - the ones that cut the grass on the side of the road might not be the same that cuts the grass in the park.

- Only properly trained staff are permitted to pick garbage on our trails and parks this year due to COVID-19. Our staff can respond quickly to all areas of concern. Please call the Contact Centre to report it and we will send our staff - 905.477.5530 or customerservice@markham.ca 

Watch an overview of the 2020 Spring Maintenance activities in this video:  https://youtu.be/MLmBU8kihvM

Keep Markham Beautiful By-law 

Residents are responsible for maintaining their boulevard

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Province has extended construction hours for essential construction projects to 24 hours a day. Construction projects deemed essential are now able to continue any time of the night or day in order to help accelerate the construction and enable employers to take additional steps to protect the health and safety of workers on these job sites.

The Province has also temporarily limited local noise by-laws from applying to essential construction activities. This began on April 7, 2020. Extending hours for essential construction gives worksite managers more flexibility to stagger shifts, limit the number of people in one place, and take reasonable precautions to keep workers safe and healthy under the recent physical distancing guidelines issued by Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer for construction sites.

Among a lengthy list of others, “Construction projects and services required to ensure safe and reliable operations of, or to provide new capacity in, critical provincial infrastructure, including transit, transportation, energy and justice sectors beyond the day-to-day maintenance” have been deemed essential. However, this does not include home renovations and infill construction. 

Unfortunately, the City has no jurisdiction or ability to curtail this type of construction activity as stipulated by Provincial Order at the current time and until such time that the Province repeals them.  

We ask for your patience and understanding during this unusual times.

The City is undertaking a review of all municipal facilities for opportunities to eliminate or reduce non-essential single use plastic (“SUP”) products and collaborate with the appropriate staff to source alternative products. A community-wide education program will be implemented to raise awareness of the SUP issue and provide options for SUP reduction. 
Do you have any ideas to share with us?  Send me a message!

New effective on Oct 20th - non-food packaging styrofoam will be banned from curbside collection.  Residents will need to bring them to one of the City depots - for example, the large pieces of styrofoam that electronics and appliances are packaged in.  
Check the May 19 report for full information
Single Use Plastic Reduction Strategy - Presentation

Electricity Rate Temporary Emergency Relief Extended 

The Government of Ontario extended temporary emergency relief until May 31, 2020 to support Ontarians during the COVID-19 outbreak. During this time, households, farms and small businesses who pay time-of-use electricity rates will be charged the off-peak rate of 10.1¢/kWh, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about how Alectra is responding to COVID-19 and relief programs available to customers, visit AlectraUtilities.com/COVID19. We are hoping that the off-peak rates will be continued as many of us are still working from home. 

  Did you know?

City’s parking bylaw prohibits vehicles from parking in front of, or obstructing a community mailbox. 
      No signs are required for this to be enforced. 
 

Markham Food Bank needs our help. For donations, please follow this link:  https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/markham-food-bank/