City Services Over Easter Weekend In The City of Peterborough
/Over the Easter weekend, many City facilities and services will be operating under holiday hours between April 7 and April 10.
file photo.
Peterborough Blogs
Street Sweeping in The City of Peterborough
/The City of Peterborough has started its annual spring street sweeping program.
photo courtesy of the city of peterborough.
The street sweeping program protects the environment by removing pollutants from road surfaces, reducing urban runoff through the storm water system to downstream water bodies. Street sweeping also improves the cleanliness and aesthetics of City streets and parking lots by removing residual salt and sand used during winter operations.
City street sweepers will clean all 958 lane kilometres of roadway as well as all City-owned sidewalks, trails, and parking lots during the months of April and May, once temperatures are continuously about freezing. Many areas receive a secondary sweep as required based on the amount of residue on the surface. The work typically takes seven weeks to complete, depending on weather conditions.
Each year, crews start street sweeping at a different area of the City. This year operations will start in the City’s south end, followed by the east, north and west ends.
Residents are asked to keep streets clear to improve the overall effectiveness of the street sweeping program. By removing sports nets, placing garbage and recycling containers on the lawn or driveway and not parking on the street, residents can ensure sweeping equipment can reach the full street surface.
When approaching street sweeping vehicles, proceed with caution and allow for plenty of room for safe operations.
Peterborough County Launches Nine Hubs For Greater Access to Social and Health Services in Rural Areas
/Peterborough County Hubs Program has launched nine hubs to improve access to social and health services in rural communities in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Community Care office in Havelock on Monday morning.
Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.
The project is through a partnership between Peterborough County, Townships, the City of Peterborough and partner agencies.
The hubs are to provide convenient access to social and health services in rural areas since most services are primarily located in Peterborough according to a press release.
The hubs provide free office and meeting space for agencies that deliver services in the County. The Hubs are meant to improve the ability for agencies to deliver services with people and families living in rural and remote locations as stated by the press release. Agency staff can meet with clients in a private office and reduce their burden to find transportation into the City.
"The Peterborough County Hubs program is an essential step towards the equitable delivery of social services for our rural residents," said Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark.
The Hub locations are:
Apsley, at the Community Care office, 126 Burleigh St.
Douro, at the Douro Public Library, 435 Douro 4th Line
Keene, at the Otonabee-South Monaghan Township Office, 20 Third St.
Havelock, at the Community Care office, 17 Smith Dr.
Lakefield, at the Agilec office, 14 Queen St.
Millbrook, at the Old Millbrook School,1 Dufferin St.
Norwood, at the Asphodel-Norwood Township office, 2357 County Rd. 45
Norwood, at the Norwood Public Library, 2363 County Rd. 45
Warsaw, at the Douro-Dummer Township office, 894 South St.
Access to services at the hubs is by-appointment. Details on the services available at each hub and on how to access the services are posted online.
“I believe that by working together on the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan as a group, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen will better serve people in our area in so many ways,” said Jim Martin, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Mayor. “When it comes to housing, homelessness, transportation and connectivity issues, it can be a real problem for our rural areas to access programs. By offering some of the programs locally in HBM, one aspect it will eliminate is the transportation barriers that many experienced by having to commute to the City.”
Some of the Hubs are able to hold virtual meetings that can be arranged between an agency and the client.
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City of Peterborough Warning Residents of Potential Sewer Line and Storm Fraud Attempts
/The City of Peterborough warns of a potential fraud attempt after receiving reports that residents have been contacted by a business claiming to be contracted by the City to clean sewer lines or address storm water prevention.
Stock Photo.
The current scam involves several concerning elements:
asking residents whether they will be home within a certain time period
coming to residents’ doors asking to check their basements and yards
pressuring residents to sign contracts and pay upwards of $3,000 under the guise that the government will reimburse them
showing fake credentials, names and phone numbers
targeting seniors who have home phone lines
Residents are reminded to never provide personal information to unsolicited callers or people knocking at their door without verifying their identity and the validity of their business.
Residents can report scam calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or visit Peterborough Police Services Fraud page https://www.peterboroughpolice.com/en/learn/fraud.aspx for more information.
Local victims of fraud should contact the Peterborough Police non-emergency number 705-876-1122.
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Peterborough Winter Parking Restrictions Lifted Beginning April 1
/Winter parking restrictions for road maintenance within Peterborough are being lifted on April 1.
File Photo.
This includes prohibited parking all City streets from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. The fine for a violation is $25.
During snow-clearing operations, vehicles cannot park or stop on any City street as it typically takes place between midnight and 8 a.m.
Vehicles must be removed from city streets throughout the day and/or evening during snowstorms. Free overnight parking is available in municipal parking garages and surface lots. Drivers can use the parking garage entrance ticket for a free ride home on Peterborough Transit.
The fine for a violation is $80 and the vehicle will be towed to one of two locations;
vehicles parked north of Parkhill Road will be towed to Milroy Park, 242 Milroy Dr.
vehicles south of Parkhill Road will be towed to Morrow Park, 171 Lansdowne St. W.
Vehicles must be picked up within 24 hours. All unclaimed vehicles will be towed to an impound yard at the owner’s expense.
City of Peterborough Launches Interactive MyAddress Verification Tool
/The City of Peterborough has launched an interactive online tool, myAddress Verification, to quickly verify officially recognized addresses in Peterborough announced on Tuesday.
The myAddress Verification tool was created by the City of Peterborough’s Geomatics/Mapping Division. Photo by Keegan Beekers.
The addresses are used by first responders to locate people quickly and accurately for emergency calls.
Residents can go online and use the tool to verify a property address and ensure that additional units at a single address are accounted for.
Data collected is also being provided to external service providers like 911 Emergency Services, Canada Post and Hydro One according to the City.
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Green Bins, Clear Bags and Garbage Collection Plan in The City of Peterborough
/With the start of the weekly Green Bin program for household organic waste collection on Oct. 31, the City of Peterborough will at the same time shift to every-other-week garbage collection and requiring the use of clear bags for curbside garbage collection.
photo courtesy of the city of peterborough.
City Council approved the waste management service changes as part of the Waste Management Master Plan Update on Feb. 27.
Collection for household organic waste (Green Bin program) and recycling (Blue Bin program) will be provided weekly, which will greatly reduce the amount of waste that goes into the garbage. Garbage amounts are expected to reduce by between 40 per cent and 50 per cent, which will allow garbage collection to shift to an every-other-week schedule that is common in other communities that have Green Bin programs.
The use of clear bags for garbage will support waste diversion efforts and improve worker safety for garbage collectors by helping to avoid incidents with sharp objects in garbage bags.
Together, the waste management service changes are expected to bolster the community’s waste diversion rate from about 52 per cent currently to between 76 per cent and 83 per cent by 2030. Increasing the waste diversion rate to 75 per cent will add another five to six years of life to the landfill.
Public education and awareness activities will be taking place over the next eight months leading up to the start of the Green Bin program and the other changes for waste management services.
Information on how to participate will be shared through local television, radio, newspaper, and online media sources as well as on the City website at peterborough.ca/ReduceWaste. Program education resources will include pamphlets, a waste management calendar, a what’s-in-what’s-out sheet that details what organic waste can go in the Green Bin, and other helpful resources, including the City’s waste management app “City Waste“ that features a collection calendar and a tool for what goes where when you sorting garbage, recyclables and, beginning Oct. 31, organic waste.
To kick off the program, informational material will be distributed along with Green Bins to all eligible properties starting in September.
The Downtown Business Improvement Area, apartment buildings, and private road serviced developments are not included in this phase of the program implementation.
Green Bin program
As part of the launch of the Green Bin program, a Green Bin for curbside collection and a smaller container for use in the kitchen will be delivered to all eligible households. The program is being rolled out to most residential properties, except for multi-residential and condominium properties that receive private waste collection services.
The Green Bin for curbside collection is a heavy-duty pest-proof cart with a locking mechanism on the lid.
Delivery of Green Bins to eligible properties will begin in September and is expected to be completed by mid-October. After receiving their Green Bins, residents are encouraged to wait until about Oct. 20 before starting to use them to store food waste for collection.
Weekly curbside Green Bin collection will start Oct. 31.
About 40 per cent to 50 per cent of current garbage material is organic waste that will be diverted from the garbage stream with the introduction of organic waste collection.
Every-other-week garbage collection
Taking out 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the current garbage generated by households and diverting it to the new weekly Green Bin program starting Oct. 31 will mean garbage collection can shift to an every-other-week schedule.
Along with being less garbage, the waste that remains in the garbage stream for collection will no longer include the food waste and pet waste – removing most of the smelly materials from the garbage can.
Every-other-week garbage collection is common in communities that have Green Bin programs, such as:
Barrie
Durham
Guelph
Niagara Region
Ottawa
Peel
Simcoe County
Toronto
Waterloo
A waste management calendar with a map illustrating collection zones and clearly marked collection dates for each zone will be provided to each eligible household before the changes start on Oct. 31. The online tool at peterborough.ca/ReduceWaste and the City’s Waste Management App will be updated to reflect the new collection schedules.
It is expected that the number of garbage bags that each household can put out for collection every other week will be set at four bags from the current limit of two lifts.
Garbage collection in the Downtown Business Improvement Area will not be affected by the waste management service changes, including schedules and requirements for putting out garbage for collection.
Clear bags for garbage
The City is requiring the use of clear bags for curbside garbage collection to improve worker safety. Clear bags help protect garbage collectors from sharp objects that are hidden when inside opaque bags.
Using clear bags also supports waste diversion efforts. The City will accept garbage bags that have some recyclable materials in the garbage – a reasonable approach will be taken to encourage diverting waste from garbage – but using clear bags will allow for education efforts if there is clearly no attempt at sorting out materials for recycling.
Residents will still be able to use a small opaque bag, such as a grocery bag, as a “privacy bag” that could be put into the larger clear bag. The privacy bag could be used for items such as medical prescription containers and other confidential items that a resident may wish to prevent from being seen when the garbage bag is placed at the curbside for collection.
Switching to clear garbage bags has been shown to increase the amount of waste diverted through recycling and composting programs. Waste audits in Peterborough in 2020-2021 found that about 10 per cent of material in curbside garbage bags was recyclable material.
Residents can switch to using clear garbage bags at any time before the official change on Oct. 31. Residents are encouraged to use up their supply of existing opaque garbage bags over the next eight months before the change is required.
All eight townships in Peterborough County already require clear bags for garbage collection. Clear bag garbage supplies should be available in local stores. The City will be contacting suppliers and sharing information for stores ahead of the waste management service changes.
Recycling collection
There are no changes planned to the current weekly recycling collection program, which will continue to be provided on a weekly basis.
The Material Recycling Facility at 390 Pido Rd. has an area for dropping off materials that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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One Roof Community Centre Extends Service Hours Feb. 23 to 25 Due to Weather Forecast
/One Roof Community Centre is extending its hours of service to 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. beginning Thursday until Saturday, Feb. 25 due to cold temperatures and a winter storm in the forecast for the area.
file photo.
One Roof Community Centre, which provides warming room services on behalf of the City and County of Peterborough, is located at 99 Brock St. A meal is provided between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. A full description of meals and other services that One Roof provides is online.
Information about how to protect yourself from extreme cold is available on the Peterborough Public Health website.
Emergency shelters are open and available to people experiencing homelessness who require emergency overnight shelter. If shelter capacity is full, temporary alternative accommodations for overnight stays may be made available. Please contact the shelters first for space:
YES Shelter for Youth and Families (705-748-3851), 196 Brock St.
Brock Mission Men’s Shelter (705-748-4766), 217 Murray St.
Cameron House Women’s Shelter (705-748-4766) – 738 Chemong Rd.
Overflow Shelter at 210 Wolfe St. (705-748-4766 – press 0 for Overflow Shelter)
Emergency After Hours Services related to emergency shelter are available through the Social Services by calling 705-926-0096. The Peterborough Social Services website has full details.
City Council Approves Changes To Garbage Pickup; Clear Bags and Bi-Weekly Trash Pickup
/City Council has endorsed adopting the clear bags and bi-weekly trash pickup as part of an the Waste Management Master Plan Update during a meeting on Monday night.
File Photo.
The summary of changes in waste management services are the following:
Requiring the use of clear garbage bags for waste collection
Moving to every-other-week residential garbage collection starting Oct. 31 at the same time as the introduction of weekly Green Bin (household organic waste) collection service that will reduce the bulk of current garbage material
Preparing for the provincially-directed switch to producer-responsible recycling program delivery, instead of it being a municipal service, starting Jan. 1
Bringing a report to Council in the future to amend the Waste Collection Enforcement By-law to include new definitions of the waste stream, collection requirements, and penalties for non-compliance as an option if public education efforts are not effective in changing disposal behaviours
The changes would result in garbage collection would shift to every other week while Green Bin and Blue Bin collection would be provided weekly.
A ‘clear bag’ program refers to the use of a garbage bag that is transparent or see-through. According to the City, use of clear bags for garbage encourages waste diversion in several ways:
Clear bag Programs improves worker safety and allows Transfer Station attendants the ability to conduct a quick assessment of the contents within the clear bag(s) to ensure that no recyclable or hazardous items are in the bag.
Clear bags can serve as a reminder if people forget to separate out these materials from their garbage, as the clear bag allows residents to see what is being thrown out.
Clear bags prompt people to reflect on their waste disposal habits and encourage them to consider waste diversion options.
Clear bags can assist in with the enforcing of municipal material disposal bans by allowing waste collectors to monitor for compliance and reject any bags containing banned items.
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One Roof Community Centre Extends Service Hours From Tuesday Until Saturday Due to Weather Forecast
/One Roof Community Centre’s warming room is extending its hours of service starting at 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday until Saturday due to cold temperatures in the Peterborough forecast announced on Monday.
File Photo.
Meal service runs from 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Emergency shelters are open and available to people experiencing homelessness who require emergency overnight shelter.
YES Shelter for Youth and Families, 705-748-3851, 196 Brock St.
Brock Mission men’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 120 Murray St.
Cameron House women’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 739 Chemong Rd.
Overflow Shelter at 210 Wolfe St., overnight phone 705-761-1875
