When I think
of the past year, I think about how much we have been able to accomplish, but
also how much more we have to do going forward.
From the good work in crime prevention and reduction, to the closure of
Forster High School, we have had our share of ups and downs throughout the
year.
Let us take a
look at some of the key areas where progress has been made, where challenges
lay ahead and where we are going, together, as a community.
Crime Prevention and Reduction
The
Bridgeview Neighbourhood Watch team is operating in full speed. According to the group, they have
contributed, either directly or indirectly, to nine arrests in the
west-end. In addition, they have
provided Windsor Police with useful tips and information throughout the
year. In sum, they are doing great
work. I hope they receive more help in
the new year so they can expand their information sharing and further assist Windsor
Police. Moreover, earlier in the year,
the City installed a light (Willy's Light)
in North Merritt Park which alone has decreased the amount of illegal activity
in that park.
We hosted a
town hall with the help of residents on December 5th for the neighbourhoods
close to the Church of the Ascension in hopes of establishing neighbourhood
watches in that part of the west-end. I
will follow up with the Children’s Safety Village in the new year to see how
progress is coming along there.
Following our
town hall, several residents have asked about forming a neighbourhood watch in
their area of the west-end. I received
calls and emails from neighbours who live close to Mic Mac Park and Windsor
Regional Hospital just off of Prince Rd.
I will work with Children’s Safety Village and Windsor Police to
organize a few more town halls in the new year so that residents can get
organized and form their own neighbourhood watch groups.
A few months
back, CBC Windsor and Windsor Police hosted a community town hall where
residents asked Police Chief Al Frederick any questions or concerns they had
related to crime in our city. I was
featured on CBC as part of this initiative representing the west-end. I asked the Police Chief if there is a
specific strategy employed for the west-end regarding crime. We face a higher crime on person and on
property than the city average so it would make sense that we should have a
unique strategy to deal with our peculiar situation. I will keep pressing this issue forward as I
believe it is an important one not just for the residents in the west-end, but
for crime reduction in general.
A Strategy for the West-End
I proposed a
strategy for the west-end several months ago.
You can read my article about it here: West End Strategy.
Since that
time, I have met with out city councilor, administrators at city hall and
several stakeholders in the area. I have
been able to gather and analyze important data and statistics on the area and
just recently, myself, a local non-profit and other partners submitted an
application to receive funding for this initiative. We will hear sometime over the next few
months if we were successful (fingers crossed) and if so, we will be able to
aggressively move forward on this very important initiative.
Some pieces
of the strategy may be ripe to roll out sometime next year such as an important
development regarding the university area that I will propose in the spring of 2013.
Forster High School
Dr. Hanaka
said it best in his opinion column to the Windsor Star: “When the cause is
right, we will fight.” And that is
exactly what we did: West End Residents Fight for Forster High School. We fought long and hard to prevent the closure
of Forster. The Board of Trustees voted
in November to close Forster high school and amalgamate it with Century just
east of Huron Church on California Ave.
I was asked
to sit on a committee to fight the closure.
That same committee intends to reconvene in the new year to discuss the
options before us now that the board voted to close Forster. Whatever the committee asks of me I will do
and let me be clear, the fight to have a high school west of the bridge is not
over.
Awareness Surrounding the West End
The
ourwestend.com blog now has over 300 subscribers from the area. Folks are sharing information and working
together in ways not seen before. I
receive emails nearly every day from residents regarding issues in the
area. I see nothing but more of this
continuing in 2013. Let’s keep up the
good work of sharing information and working together for the common good.
Community Parks
Over the next
several years, City Council will be looking at closing community parks all
throughout the city. Five of the parks
on the chopping block are located in the bridgeview neighbourhood in the
west-end. Many residents in that
neighbourhood (myself included) are opposed to the park closure, but we must
not just oppose the idea, we must also come up with solutions to make these
parks viable. I touched a bit on this in
my article earlier this year: Community Parks in the West End.
I encourage
all of the residents interested in preserving our parks to really think outside
of the box about how these parks could be repurposed to better
reflect the needs of residents in the area.
I know personally there are families that have decided to move in an
area where there is a close-by park. We
want to attract more families to the west-end.
We must preserve our parks.
Other News
Many were
glad to see that finally something was being done to Grace Hospital. The eyesore will be no more by summer of
2013. What will be developed in its
place? We do not know, yet, but
hopefully something that complements the area and makes it more attractive,
especially to the residents who live in the surrounding neighbourhoods, they
deserve it.
I am keeping
my fingers crossed and hoping that good things come out of the talks between
the Mayor and the Ambassador Bridge. The
status quo is no longer an option for residents in the west-end: Status Quo Not an Option. Here’s to hoping there will be a resolution
that will see something being done to the boarded-up homes in 2013.
Myself and a
few volunteers dropped flyers in some of the neighbourhoods close to the
College Avenue Community Centre around the time when we were told that the
Sandwich Community Health Centre would not be moving there. According to good sources, there is good
reason to believe (fingers crossed again) that the deal may be revived. I heard overwhelmingly from residents that
they wanted to preserve the centre.
Let’s hope that good news flows from the second go around at saving the CACC.
Lastly, there
have been a lot of smaller developments that occurred throughout the year bringing
positive news for the area. Some of
these positive developments include: The repurposing of Blessed Sacrament Church,
residents coming together to eradicate graffiti in their neighbourhood and community churches coming
together to clean up local parks. I have
been fortunate to lecture to students at Forster and Assumption on civic
engagement and jobs. Check out some of
the great things these students are doing: Forster Youth Win Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Moving Forward
We have made
a lot of progress but there is still much more to do. As we move forward, I intend to work closely
with our city councilor, our elected representatives, local businesses,
community stakeholders and residents in making the west-end a better place to
live, work and play. It has been a
tremendous year and I look forward to everything that 2013 will bring.
Have a Merry
Christmas, Happy New Year and a relaxing holiday with family and friends.
My Warmest
Regards,
Fabio
Costante
