Let's make Barrie a sustainable city by allowing backyard hens for the purpose of household egg consumption.
Many major North American cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, New York, Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles, together with Ontario communities such as Niagara Falls, Brampton, Newmarket,
and Guelph, allow the small-scale raising of hens. Now it's Barrie's turn to join this positive and growing trend.
Hens have existed in cities since the dawn of time an
d continue to thrive in communities around the world to this day. The benefits of raising them include:

* Fresh, healthy and delicious home-grown eggs, free of pesticides and antibiotics;

* Reduced municipal solid waste as hens consume table scraps and other organic waste;

* Reduced backyard pest populations as hens consume weeds and bugs;

* Opportunities to teach children about food sources and responsible animal care; and

* The addition of great "poultry pets" to families -- hens are people-friendly, nonaggressive and always entertaining to watch.

You’re beautiful, Barrie!
And you’re getting better every year... our beloved little bedroom city is more cultured and diverse- more inclusive and comfortable- than ever! Nowhere is this more evident than in the growing Barrie Pride organization, and the LGBTQ2S+ community around which it is built.

We’ve come a long way! Thank you for growing alongside us, and for helping us develop a meaningful relationship to our city: with more important support and services; a better network of businesses; and a warm community of wonderful, compassionate people.

There is something you can do though. One small gesture that would make a huge impact on the social landscape here in Barrie, and would see us join the ranks of other progressive Canadian cities in this expression of equality, acceptance and unity…

And it is called the Rainbow Crosswalk.

Much like it sounds, crosswalks at popular intersections are replaced with rainbow walkways painted on the street surface. Not only does the rainbow represent the LGBTQ2S+ movement, but it adds a colourful and vibrant touch to the usual city streets.

Rainbow crosswalks can be found in Ottawa and Toronto- here in Ontario- as well as in Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton and Vancouver. Even some communities smaller than Barrie have followed suit, including: Woodstock, New Brunswick; Lethbridge, Alberta; and in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. They can be found all over the world, in fact.

So please join us in proposing to our mayor, Jeff Lehman, and the Barrie City Council that: we, the people of Barrie and proud supporters of the LGBTQ2S+ community, respectfully and enthusiastically request the installation of painted Rainbow Crosswalks at a few of the most prominent Downtown intersections: at the historic Five Points, of course; also at Bayfield and Simcoe, and at the pedestrian crosswalk in front of Heritage Park.

At an estimated cost of less than three one-hundreths of one percent of this year’s projected infrastructure spending for the city of Barrie- roughly a tenth of the price paid for the “Spirit Catcher” sculpture back in 1986- we hope you agree that the Rainbow Crosswalks, and the show of support for a strong demographic and an increasingly popular city event, is not asking too much. It truly is the thought, in this case, which counts more than the price tag.

Sincerely,
The Barrie Pride Family

Move services these individuals require away from the downtown and to a localized spot in a less congested area. Thus they can still receive the help they need, while making the downtown area less desirable to “hang around” for transients. I Know this will offend some people and I understand that, as poverty and addictions are a hard cycle to break, but we need to revitalize downtown and draw more people to do business here. And to the people whom are angry at my comments, I ask, “are we to wait till it gets so bad that downtown businesses go bankrupt and those workers are also out of work and impoverished ?” As of late, I am minimizing my time downtown with my son as today I had to walk past numerous empty liquor bottles, garbage, to piles of vomit and a pile of human faeces to get a coffee!

The current bylaw of allowing the setting off of fireworks I believe 5 days before a holiday and the day of needs to end. I do understand that yes it is fun for some to watch them go off but they forget about the people around them. A lot of them don't follow safety when doing this. Several times I have had neighbours set them off in their backyard or the middle of our street. We are a subdivision, the houses are close and people park on the street. Then the garbage that is left on other people's properties is unfair as well. If you call about people setting off fireworks in any of these situations or in the school yard it will go unanswered. Unless something damaging happens the police will only answer if there is NOTHING going on or are so close by they can catch the person (probably guaranteed underage) who is doing it. I understand that most of the people that sell the fireworks are for charity but there are other ways, much safer ways, to raise money. Fireworks do not need to be set off in a subdivision area.

I think Barrie transit should be more reliable all week, including weekends and evenings! This is very frustrating, as times collides, no one can get to work on time, you ca'nt plan your trip, because some buses do'nt run on the same time as others. I'm sure tons of other people working feel the same. Earlier departure times, regular service...get rid of this hourly service on evenings and sunday. And start running the buses regularily like other places. It's not fair to peole who work for a living, students getting to and from school. More consideration for the public would be great, and go a long way as well.

Toronto and Montreal have both become smart cities by signing up for the free Waze Connected Citizens Program. The program would benefit Barrie drivers and city planners at absolutely no cost whatsoever.

Example 1:
City planners will know where potholes, roadkill, icy roads, debris, and other hazards are frequently reported. City workers can fix problems faster. This benefits drivers (even non-waze drivers) by keeping them safe and reducing possible costs associated with road hazards.

2. Waze users and website visitors will be redirected around road closures when reported by the city. In most cases, this can be connected to existing data - no need for city staff to input data in two places.

3. City planners will know where traffic gets heavy and when (besides Mapleview Drive and Bayfield Street).

Factsheet: https://web-assets.waze.com/partners/ccp/WAZE-CCP-Factsheet.pdf

Website: https://www.waze.com/ccp

City of Toronto news: https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/11/20/toronto-and-waze-app-agree-to-trade-traffic-data.html

Montreal: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-waze-traffic-partnership-1.3550640