When I speak to the residents in Morgan’s Grant, I hear about how excited they are to see the hydro corridor brilliantly used for community and ecological benefits. They waited patiently for their new dog park! They love the community gardens, the butterfly gardens, the walking paths, the informative and educational signs, and the connection to pathways and trails from the South March Highlands, through the Hydro Corridor right to the Richcraft Centre. They love their Richcraft Centre and its indoor and outdoor facilities, but there aren’t enough swimming lessons to meet the demand. When I meet with the Kanata North Recreation Committee and the Briarbrook Brookside Morgan’s Grant Community Association, I hear repeatedly that residents intimately understand the “live, work, play, learn and innovate” motto of the Kanata North Business Association. They are watching the Nokia development and see the numbers of companies in the Tech Park expanding. So many people in Morgan’s Grant work in high tech and see how it will continue to prosper as we continue to build neighbourhoods and natural places that attract talent and families to Morgan’s Grant.
People want, however, their March Road to be less congested. They see the neighbourhoods being built on either side of March Road. They continually advocated for the new traffic lights that are finally being built. The thought that the widening of March Road might not come until 2038 is unacceptable to them. The need for Bus Rapid Transit up March Road is now! They do not want to stop the development of The Tech Park with housing, shops, university and college campuses and residences, but they want the traffic challenges to be addressed. They have continually advocated for more bus routes, bus routes closer to their houses, and direct bus routes to Tunney’s Pasture/downtown. They want more traffic calming and more police circulating to ticket the speeders and the cars with loud mufflers. They want taxes to be kept low. They see the rise in interest rates and the rising cost of gas and groceries and want to see a City Council that connects fiscal challenges to real people and their financial realities. I get that.
We have made some progress over the last five years in the Morgan’s Grant area. I will work hard to keep the momentum going.
