Dear Residents,
The snow surprised us this week, but it is still a great time to get outdoors to see the fall colours. You can take some beautiful pictures in Milne and along the MUP.  
As we enter the second wave of Covid-19, the City has cancelled all of its events this year. Unfortunately, the usual in-person Remembrance Day parade and ceremony hosted by MDVA has had to be cancelled. There will be a wreath(s) placed at the cenotaph by members of the MDVA on November 7th and will be left there until November 14th. Anyone wishing to leave a poppy at the cenotaph between these dates can do so. The City, in partnership with the Markham District Veteran’s Association (MDVA), is hosting once again the Veterans’ Memorial Banners Program. This year, 56 commemorative banners featuring the picture, name and details of both former and active service members, have been stalled on the street poles in Markham Village. Even though we will not meet in person this year, we can each take a moment to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made by others, so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today.  
One thing that has not changed during Covid-19 are the number of people that are still speeding on our local roads. Moving violations are covered under the Hwy Traffic Act and are under the jurisdiction of YRP. We encourage all residents to use Road Watch - YRP to report unsafe driving or to put in a general complaint for YRP to monitor. I am just as frustrated as everyone else about the lack of respect from

some individuals that drive on our roads. How do you change driver behaviour? Should the Province bring back photo radar? A longer discussion and there are arguments on both sides. Whether it is the young person with a noisy muffler that seems to think he is on a racetrack or the parent that is in a rush...Slow Down, you are putting all of our lives at risk!
The other item I wanted to touch on is Fire Safety. More of us are now working from home yet we continue to see fires happening across the City. The garage has become one of the most common rooms of origin in the fires our firefighters respond to. Please make sure you do not have anything flammable in the garage. Many of us are cooking more and we need to ensure that we do not leave items cooking on a stove unattended.

You can access some helpful tips in the below link and you will also find some delicious recipes from some of our local restaurants. 
- Fire Prevention

- Garage Fire Safe
As always, please reach out to Mylene or myself with any questions and concerns. 

Please stay safe and stay healthy.

Regards,

Karen 

Construction Update - 16th Avenue between Mingay Avenue and Williamson Avenue

York Region continues to make improvements to sections of the York-Durham Sewage System on along this area of 16th Avenue in the City of Markham. 

The first 1.5 kilometres of the planned three kilometres of sewer rehabilitation on 16th Avenue was completed in October 2019. The remaining 1.5 kilometres of planned sewer rehabilitation is starting this Fall and the work is anticipated to be completed in Summer 2022.

Residents, businesses and interested groups can add their names to the project mailing list to receive updates by visiting york.ca/waterconstruction.
See attached construction update notification.

Tree Pruning - City Wide Project

The City owns approximately 100,000 street trees. This 3-year capital program will address proactive street tree pruning of approximately 70,000 trees through contracted services to improve storm damage resistance and reduce resident complaints. 
For 2021, the Ward 4 areas break down are:

• Block G5 – McCowan Road to Main Street east/west and Highway 7 to 16^th Avenue -north/south
• Block H6 – Main Street to 9^th Line east/west and Highway 7 to Highway 407 north south – roughly 50% of the block
• Block G4 – McCowan Road to Main Street east/west and 16^th Avenue to Bur Oak north south – roughly 50% of the block

Please see the below map which overlays Ward 4 on the three year plan with all blocks (the highest number of resident complaints) completed by the end of year 2.

I have been receiving calls from some residents concerned about the pile of leaves that have been blown onto the street, either from residents or private landscaping companies. Please be advised that our “Keep Markham Beautiful” By-law prohibits anyone from blowing and leaving leaves on City property or anyone else’s property. Leaves can be mulched, composted or placed in lawn bags for pick up by Miller. Leaves not picked up will eventually end up on your neighbour’s lawn and can also end up in the storm drain, clogging pipes which could cause street flooding.

If you have contributed to the leaves on your street, please remove or have your lawn company remove them immediately and place in appropriate yard waste bags for pick up. We have now started weekly pick up of yard waste/leaves for approximately 6 weeks. The street cleaner only sweeps City streets 2 times per year, once in the fall and once in the spring. We ask all residents to help keep our streets clean of debris and leaves. 

Pathway winter maintenance - Pilot Project

Staff are implementing a City-wide pilot project for pathway winter maintenance. The pilot program identified one pathway in each ward to receive winter maintenance with a similar service level as sidewalks for the 2020/2021 winter season.  A subsequent evaluation will be carried out to assess the merits of the pilot which will include resident feedback, path usage, environmental impacts, winter operations, spring repair/maintenance, and cost implication.

The pathway in Ward 4 will be Robinson Park from Lincoln Green Dr to Robinson St.

In addition to the Ward specific pilot, staff will also pilot a gravel pathway winter maintenance program at Milne Dam Conservation Park. This location would roughly run from the park shop inside the McCowan Road gate to the east end of the parking lot as shown on the attached map.

Signage will be installed at all these pilot pathways to inform residents of the program and with contact information to seek public feedback.

Please note that the City is not able to provide maintenance on any pathway leading into school property.

As in previous years, during snow events, you will be able to track the progress of our plows by following this link to our Markham Winter Maintenance map .

Parking - between November 15 and April 15, you can only park on the ODD numbered side of the street (unless existing parking signs state otherwise). However, all parking, including permitted parking, on all streets is not allowed during snow clearance operations - so watch the weather and plan accordingly. You will be fined $150 for blocking or interfering with snow removal. Our plows cannot effectively plow the streets when cars are on the road and can also make access by firefighters and emergency personnel very difficult. 
I would like to remind you that you cannot park on Markham streets between the hours of 2:30 AM and 6 AM at any time of the year. The City can make exceptions for driveway repairs and out of town overnight guests. For more information visit Overnight Street Parking Request page.
If you have any winter related inquiry, please send an email to customerservice@markham.ca

or call 905.477.5530. Our Operations staff can investigate and address your concerns.

York Region and the City initiated a process which shares on-call rotations and contact numbers amongst front line supervisors and 24/7 patrol staff. Please see below contact numbers:

• York Region - 1.877.464.9675 (after-hours dial ext 75200) | accessyork@york.ca 
• City of Toronto - 311 | 311@toronto.ca
• Ministry of Transportation - 511 | mtoinfo@ontario.ca

Waste Management

COVID-19 related PPE (single-use masks, gloves and wipes) should not be placed in curbside blue boxes as this will result in health and safety concerns for both collectors and the processing staff who manually pick the gloves and masks off the sorting line. 

Since October 6, Miller Waste started stickering and leaving behind blue boxes that contain masks, gloves and wipes. The new sticker instructs residents to remove all PPE from the blue box and place in clear bag garbage.
Effective October 19, Styrofoam Packaging will no longer be collected at the curb - these items need to be dropped off at recycling depot. Styrofoam food containers such as meat trays, and take out containers can still go in clear bag garbage, never in the blue box or green bin. They can also be dropped off at a recycling depot as long as they are cleaned and rinsed before dropping them off.

- Coffee cups - the plastic coating inside coffee cups is essential to seal the cup, rendering the paper product itself essentially non-recyclable. However, because these cups, like the pizza boxes, are also fibrous they will break down in the Green Bin allowing the thin plastic coating to separate from the cup and be screened out in the Green Bin recycling process (anaerobic digestion.)

Try our search tool What Goes Where -Type the name of an item and we'll tell you how to recycle or dispose of it. 

Stay home and support ending youth homelessness.

On Thursday, November 19th, 360ºkids proudly invites you to their Annual Every Kid Matters Virtual Gala!  

For the first time, the signature fundraising event will unite their guests via Zoom, to share in a fun evening of gourmet food & drink, fantastic auction items and entertainment. The show will include live and recorded speakers and performers plus much more!

For more information, please visit the 

360Kids website

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