Home / Blogs / Bulyea's blog
Bulyea Heights Community Blog
There was some talk of changing the signs in the front and the new one at the south end of our community to read Bulyea Heights rather than Brookview. Brookview was the name given to this neighbourhood because the developers thought it would sell more homes than Bulyea Heights. It was thought that Bulyea Heights would add some character to the community, but many people were not too interested in change. Change would have been good change. Most references to our area from the City make little or no reference to Brookview. Bulyea Heights is the official City name.
In the forum named FTHBP, it is suggested that this website was created because of the need for better communications between our neighbours. It's not only the FTHBP that we need to talk about. Earlier in 2008, there was a rash of crime activity in Brookview. Small things like house eggings and open garage thefts. We began using an e-mail group that was initially setup for the FTHBP for the circulation of these crime alerts. People really started to like this new found awareness of the community. It wasn't that there was more crime in Brookview, but the people were now hearing about it and they liked it alot.
Later in the year of 2008, we started to really have a problem with traffic in Brookview. This wasn't new, but it appeared to be worse than ever before. People started to e-mail their complaints to the e-mail group as well and this was a very good thing as well. People hated the long moring lineups and waits and they really hated those that sped past the lines to make an illegal right hand turn at the lights. Ideas for solving the problem were shared and we became aware of how many people actually were affected by this problem. Through that e-mail group we contacted the Police and one fine morning they setup a trap to ticket those people making illegal right turns onto Terwillegar.
While this e-mail group was working out quite nicely for those that were in the group, 75% of the community was not in on the group and were not being informed of all the interesting stuff that was going on. That's were the idea of this new website came to be. Let's hope we actually use it to our advantage. The beauty of this website is that once you register, you will be e-mailed when ever there is an update to the site, either a change or addition to this blog or an additions to the forums.
- Bulyea's blog
- Login or register to post comments
With the Province announcing that all school surplus land will be released and used for things such as fire halls, libraries and even affordable housing, it becomes inevitable that Brookview will eventually lose it's 2 surplus school sites. Our only hope is that we have some choice in what actually does get built on the sites. Don Ivenson is hoping that with the lose of interest and/or demand for the FTHBP, he would like to propose senior housing. As the aging population finds itself living in houses that are too big once the children have moved out and are forced to consider leaving the neighbourhood that they have called home for decades in order to find a home that is more suited to their age and lifestyle. Back in November 2007 one resident wrote the following:
As Brookview has been chosen as one of the sites for the First-Time Home Buyers program, it brings up several areas of concern for us - three of which are:
- Commuter traffic congestion
- A full school already
- There is only one playground in Brookview that must be used by both preschoolers, the local daycare, and all of George H. Luck school
I propose that the surplus school land in Brookview being designated for the First-Time Home Buyers program be used for affordable housing for seniors. Here is why:
- It would not add to our commuter traffic
- It would not impact our school enrolment
- It would not impact use of our playground
- It would bring a specific demographic to our neighborhood that is lacking
- It would provide opportunities for the seniors to enjoy affordable housing in an established neighborhood, with walking trails, green space, proximity to the library, grocery stores, doctors, and public transit
- It would allow the seniors access to the new community centre we are building for use as a meeting centre, to hold classes, etc. which would also be useful to the community as it would make use of the facility
- It would provide opportunities for the school to link with the seniors by way of having them share their stories with students, come in as guest readers, help with the outdoor classroom, and be invited in to hear the choir or other student performances (and many other opportunities such as building a community garden, etc.)
- It would allow Brookview to support the affordable housing initiative while enriching our community
I believe this idea could be presented to the city as a formal proposal. There are many people in Brookview who could give valid, credible letters of support - people who know more about all this than I do such as land developers, real estate people, those who work with seniors
Maybe we can convince the city to use our land for a purpose that will add vibrancy and life to our community rather than add to our problems while still fulfilling their mandate to create more affordable housing.
Yours truly,
Not a bad alternative...
Let's make Brookview Great