2011 President's Report:

North End Residents Association Society
DIRECTORS ANNUAL REPORT
December 2010-November 2011

The North End Residents Association (NERA) met 4 times through 2011.

A main priority for NERA is to keep the association viable while trying to increase membership and address issues. The executive approved a resolution to change our bylaws, decreasing the number of board members legally required to maintain our association. We approved this resolution, to decrease our board from 8 people to 3 people, so we can be assured our association will remain in place. We still hope to increase our membership and interest in NERA and will continue to strive for a well rounded Board of Directors.

The current Board of Directors are:

Heather Rice, President

Lisa Masini, Vice-President

Saskia Makela, Secretary

Maria Tokarchuk, Treasure

Cherie Hanson, Past President

Lorri Jones, Director

Ray Lewis, Director

Traci Savel, Director

NERA participated at a number of community events through-out the year. President Heather Rice attended the “Kelowna Community dialogue with local RCMP” in April and reported back to NERA. Past President Cherie Hanson represented NERA at the Downtown Charrette meetings held through the year. Heather, Cherie and Director Traci Savel attended meetings of the newly formed Coalition of Residents Associations. Traci arranged for City Councillor Michelle Rule to attend our May 26 th meeting which gave us an opportunity to share some of our concerns regarding issues in the North End. Vice-President Lisa Masini prepared a report on the proposed Dog Beach in the North End along Poplar Point.

On-going concerns for NERA include:

• parking issues related to; Sutherland Park boat launch, carriage homes and downtown events
• traffic issues including speeding down Ellis Street
• design of new carriage homes or renovation of existing homes to compliment the current architecture of neighbourhoods
• Sutherland Bay illegal moorage
• erosion along Poplar Point Dr.
• off-leash dogs
• bike lanes

Along with these ongoing issues is the concern for the continued vitality and support of NERA. As stated by Past President Cherie Hanson in her report for 2010 “The larger issues that NERA faces have to do with the role of the neighbourhood association in the lives of the members. Year after year the association has struggled to survive. Membership and participation are vital to keep an active organization”. We continue to have difficulty to coordinate and find sufficient time to implement and support ideas to increase membership and our public prominence. We have a core group of dedicated volunteers but need to continue to strive to gain more membership and more participation in NERA.

Respectfully submitted, The Directors: Cherie Hanson, Lorri Jones, Ray Lewis, Saskia Makela, Lisa Masini, Heather Rice, Traci Savel, Maria Tokarchuk

Graffiti Eradication: The following article was forwarded to NERA by the Graffiti Eradication & Prevention Coordinator:

Graffiti Eradication & Prevention Program

The City of Kelowna ’s new Graffiti Eradication & Prevention Coordinator is calling all citizens to assist in wiping out graffiti! The key to eradication efforts will be the community’s recognition that graffiti is a crime, which costs thousands of dollars every year to remove or cover up. With the help of residents and business owners, graffiti vandalism can be reduced, resulting safer and more inviting neighbourhoods!

Here is how you can help:

• If you see graffiti, report it! Report graffiti on private and public properties to the City of Kelowna Graffiti Hotline - 469-8600 or email a message to graffiti@kelowna.ca. Be sure to leave a detailed message noting the location of the vandalism, and whether it is on private or City-owned property.

• G.E.T. Motivated! Join the Graffiti Eradication Team. We are currently looking for volunteers for this new community policing initiative. Volunteers of the clean team will be trained and equipped to remove graffiti from “street furniture” throughout Kelowna . Street furniture includes mailboxes, lamp standards, transformers, garbage cans and other metal structures located on public and private property.

• Sign up for the Adopt-A-Spot program. Individuals, organizations and/or businesses are invited to adopt a street lamp, mailbox, utility transformer, or other “spot” and pledge to keep it graffiti free for a minimum of 6 months. As a member of the Adopt-A-Spot program, participants will receive a graffiti removal kit, complete with supplies that will assist participants as they take to the streets to wipe out graffiti!

For information regarding all Graffiti Eradication & Prevention initiatives, please contact Colleen Cornock, Graffiti Eradication & Prevention Coordinator at 215-2876 or by email ccornock@shawcable.com

Stockwell Avenue: Recently, Stockwell Avenue was reclassified as a major two lane collector in the 20-Year Major Road Network and Road Classification Plan. This reclassification could have serious consequences for Stockwell, and many other quiet residential streets in the Downtown neighbourhoods. This reclassification shows that the City is planning to increase through traffic within our neighbourhoods.

The following is an excerpt from an email received from the City, by a resident of Stockwell Avenue:

The City has a responsibility to ensure that traffic flows reasonably smoothly throughout the City, while endeavouring to allocate through traffic as much as possible to the major road network. Connecting with arterial roads may not always be easy or convenient, and collector roads serve an intermediate function, providing both access and a certain degree of mobility. In the case of the Downtown road network, the only major east-west roads north of Harvey Avenue which provide continuity between Water Street and Gordon Drive at present are Bernard Avenue and Clement Avenue. In the future, Clement will link directly across Gordon Drive to the North End Connector (now referred to as the Central Okanagan Bypass Road), while Bernard Avenue continues right through to Spall / Glenmore Road. These routes will be the more convenient for most users. However, the City's plan is to realign the intersections of Doyle and Stockwell with Richter Street to provide a 4-way intersection. In the long term there would probably be traffic signals at both Richter and Gordon. This would provide an alternative parallel route, but since eastbound motorists would still have to turn left or right to proceed beyond Gordon Drive, it is unlikely to become a major route, but rather a relief valve and back-up route. It is likely that Stockwell would remain stop-controlled at Ethel, which will further constrain traffic movement.

In summary, yes, Doyle-Stockwell will become busier over time, but volumes are unlikely to be much above 400 vph in the afternoon commuter peak before 2020, and at other times of the day it will likely be considerably quieter. While the City hopes to link Doyle and Stockwell in the next few years, even then it is unlikely that the Gordon / Stockwell intersection would be signalised or the stop at Ethel Street changed to some other form of control.

Historical Photos: NERA welcomes any additional historic photos of the North End. Contact NERA if you have photos you would like to submit.

Aerial


Oxford 1947

1965 House

Mari Macintosh Honored by Mayor: