During the last election, I heard clearly from residents across the city about the need to enhance pedestrian safety, particularly for children and youth heading to and from school. Recognizing this priority, City Council is moving forward with a new pilot program to introduce photo radar here in Kingston. As a first step towards improving…
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Kingston is facing a critical need for more rental housing. Right now, the City’s rental vacancy rate is just 0.8 per cent, well below the three per cent threshold that reflects a healthy rental market. That means that for every 1000 rental units in the city, only eight are available right now. This pressure leads…
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A few months ago, the City agreed to purchase the Extendicare property here at the corner of Bath and Queen Mary Road. Extendicare will be moving to their new long-term care home over by the Rio Can Centre later this year, and there’s lots of interest from the community to know what the plans are for…
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With the growth we’ve seen in Kingston over the last few years, there is now a significant need for more aquatic facilities in our community. A shortage of pool space results in a challenge to book swimming lessons for your kids or access other aquatics programs. Our first step to address this need came several…
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When it comes to the proposed new downtown conference centre, the goal is to see shovels in the ground before the end of this Council term in 2026. We already know there are lots of meetings and conferences that would love to come to Kingston. These conferences will bring more visitors into the core of…
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To address the current housing affordability crisis, it’s important not only to build more housing but also to find ways of constructing different kinds of housing. One innovation that’s gaining momentum provincially is smaller-scale, modular housing. The idea is to have studio or one-bedroom houses fully constructed at a manufacturing facility and then transported to…
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City Council met over several days to discuss and debate the 2024 City Budget. The goal of this year’s budget is to make targeted investments in key areas like housing, roads and parks, while maintaining existing City services, and at the same time keeping the annual property tax increase as low as possible. To that…
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At the Dec. 5 Council meeting, one of the big topics of discussion was the high population growth we expect to see in Kingston in the coming years. The City’s population is projected to reach almost 150 000 by 2026, or close to 170 000 if we include all post-secondary students. This level of growth…
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Over the last year, Kingston has seen a significant increase in the theft of copper and other stolen metals. It’s a major issue across the province. Phone lines and fiber optic cables are being cut by individuals looking for a high value copper that they can convert into cash at a salvage yard. This leaves…
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One of the best ways to increase housing is to encourage the redevelopment of underutilized properties in the city’s core that are in need of revitalization. A perfect example at the Frontenac Mall. Over the coming years, this property will be slowly transformed through multiple phases of development into new housing that Kingston desperately needs.…
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