history of Cootes Drive

Tour paradise for speaker series finale

Published on Apr 03, 2009, Dundas Star News

The Dundas Valley Historical Society concludes this season's Speaker Series with writer and historian Randy Kay presenting Drive-through Paradise, A History of Cootes Drive at the Dundas Museum & Archives, 139 Park St. W. on Wednesday, April 8.

Cootes Drive was the first dual carriageway road built in Canada, having been completed in 1936 with cutting-edge construction methods. It runs 3.1 kilometres from Main Street in Hamilton through the western-most area of Cootes Paradise and concludes at York Road in Dundas. Originally known as the Dundas Diversion, Cootes Drive has not been without controversy during its existence. This presentation will cover the history and controversies of the former Highway 102.

Mr. Kay lives in Dundas with his wife and their three daughters. As a freelance writer and reporter he has published in the Hamilton Spectator, Hamilton Magazine, H Magazine and several others.

Mr. Kay is active with the sustainable transportation group Transportation for Liveable Communities, based at the McMaster University chapter of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), where he also works as OPIRG's volunteer coordinator.

He has an English degree from McMaster University, a journalism diploma from Sheridan College in Oakville and an abiding interest in the natural beauty of the area.

Doors open at 7 p. m., with the presentation starting at 7:30. Admission is a toonie Arrive early as seating is limited. Visit www.dundashistory.ca or contact Stan at www.basil.cottage@sympatico.ca .
http://www.dundasstarnews.com/news/article/169256

Comments

Binkley's Pond, gone for parking

Jacob Binkley (1806-67), great grandson of Marx [Binkley], built the handsome stone house that still stands at 54 Sanders Blvd at the head of a ravine. The house was completed in 1847 and named Lakelet Vale, as it had a little spring-fed lake at the rear. Binkley's Pond, as it was known, was used for skating, fishing, and good times. It is now the Zone 6 parking lot at McMaster University on the west side of Cootes Drive. Loreen Jerome, The Way We Were "The House that Jacob Built" Ainslie Wood/Westdale Community Association of Resident Homeowners Inc. (AWWCA) http://www.awwca.ca/articles/ Skater's on Binkley's Pond circa 1917, now a McMaster parking lot

Where did the water go? Art action in Lot M Parking

West Campus Eco-Art Project A walking activity and site activation on McMaster’s West Campus. West Campus Eco-Art Project is a project that incorporates creative walking activities and an artistic site activation connected with the West Campus Redesign Initiative at McMaster University. The initiative provides opportunities for connecting with nature through an on-line informational video, walking excursions and creative activities that deepen knowledge and experience with place in all its complexities (social history, citizen science, ecology and diversity). Focusing on the Coldwater creek valley on McMaster’s West Campus, participants will learn about the history and unique features of the area and will be invited to then engage with the site through observation, sketching and stencil-making. Stencils will be used to paint text and image on the parking lot asphalt to delineate a blue line that marks an historic water route. The project is supported by the McMaster Museum of Art (

Stairs Connect Us: Please Sign A Petition

A group of residents in the University Gardens neighbourhood are seeking improved connections for active transportation. The neighbourhood sits on a plateau above McMaster's west campus parking lots. A path through a wooded section between Grant Boulevard and McMaster's parking lot "P" is the shortest and most direct route that connects hikers, and commuters walking or cycling, but it is on the side of a hill that becomes treacherous in winter. At the bottom of the hill, a concrete bridge spans the narrow Ancaster Creek that is the dividing line between Hamilton's Ward 13 (Dundas) and Ward one's Ainslie Woods North neighbourhood. SIGN THE PETITION HERE Existing stairs were removed by the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) with no plans for replacement. Area residents have started a petition to request a replacement set of stairs and will use the petition as support when they go to the HCA Board meeting in early June. The text of the petition reads: The Ham

RESTORE COOTES

Search This Blog