RESTORE COOTES

Can you take a few minutes to help researchers at the University of Toronto with a survey on Cootes Paradise?  Which environmental benefits are most important to you and your family? Your input will make a difference!  Take the survey at: www.cpsurvey.ga Please note that Restore Cootes is not involved in the research, and we are sharing to help promote the survey only.

THEY SAY: Information Report: April 3, 2017 SUBJECT/REPORT NO: Rare Turtle Recovery, Wildlife Corridor Issues and Roads of Issue at Cootes Paradise (PW16024a) - (City Wide) Traffic Issues on Cootes Drive Traffic Operations & Engineering has been working with the Ward 13 Councillor on traffic signage along Cootes Drive. Four (4) traffic signs (with flashing lights) operating during turtle migration season will be installed in the spring of 2017. The migration period for turtles is generally around the months of June, early July and September but can vary due to weather conditions. The traffic signs are useful in alerting motorists of potential turtle crossings on that roadway. RESTORE COOTES SAYS: Is it working? Is there any evidence that it is helping turtles or even slowing vehicles? We're betting it has little to no impact - the light is always flashing, if turtles are present or not, the road is built for speed and it makes it dangerous to slow down. We ...

If you were looking for a measure of human depravity, 2.7% might be a useful number. In a study of drivers at the Long Point causeway in southern Ontario, they found that just under 3% of drivers  intentionally swerved their motor vehicle to run over a snake or a turtle (not real ones, but replicas used by the researchers). Welcome to the bottom of the barrel of human behaviour! "We observed 3,015 cars pass by our treatments, of which 66% (n = 2,000) met our spacing requirements. Composition of drivers was 1,592 males and 408 females. Log-linear analysis indicated a 3-way interaction (χ2 = 2376.17, df = 8, p =  < 0.0001) between treatment, gender and fate. Reptile treatments were hit at higher frequencies than either the cup or control. Male drivers (n = 803) hit reptile decoys more often (n = 50) than female drivers (n = 197, 3 )."  I'm not a scientist, so I'm going to check in with my more data-aware collaborators to get a clearer understanding of the re...

Why we have so much parking and what we need to do to reduce excessive parking areas from the author of the classic The High Cost of Free Parking . This short video explains the dilemma and offers simple solutions. Thanks to Alex and Reyna from Turtles of Cootes working group for the link!

Once McMaster agreed to depave a section of their parking lot in west campus lot "M" the space quickly transformed into an outdoor science lab with researchers and undergrads taking on projects in the area once known as Coldspring Valley Nature Sanctuary. Reyna talks about her place in Hamilton and her role in the research in lot M in this McMaster produced video:

Guest Blogger: Carly Stephens  S ince its inception, Parking to Paradise has been a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration. Many readers are familiar with the Ancaster Creek riparian buffer and restoration work along the Northwest border of the parking lot. Interested parties across many faculties and disciplines have worked together to restore this ecosystem and raise awareness about the impacts urbanization on the natural environment. Nurtured by the time, commitment and hard work donated by volunteers and students, the land has grown into a site of green infrastructure, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable development. Read about Reyna Matties' Master’s work on retrofitting storm water management systems on the lot in the December 7, 2015 post below . Now, it’s the social sciences turn to learn where green infrastructure developments - as with the case of Lot M - fits into our social world. Students build turtle habitat on buffer My research involves exploring...

                                            walk          bike       transit      auto        count Faculty &  Staff 10% 11% 16% 63% 13000 Students 23% 9% 42% 26% 24000 All 18% 10% 33% 39% 37000 Note total trips by automobile are 39%. In the 1960s projections were that by 1980 54% of people would be arriving by car, so a significant shift of 15% away from car use. McMaster parking lot M, built on floodplain for Ancaster Creek Shifts in transportation choices and options continue to be discussed, with McMaster's Institute on Transportation and Logistics working on a Transportation Demand Management plan for the university that was initiated by volunteer group Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC). With media reporting the news that Ham...

Undergrads setting up hydrological measurements, photo by Dr. Waddington Undergraduates are already benefitting from research in the west campus that will expand once the McMarsh project is a reality. These students are working at a site where the springs are discharging that would eventually feed McMarsh. Professor Mike Waddington is a key member of the McMarsh team, and his expanded engagement with this project has him creating a brand new course titled "Field techniques in Hydrology" starting in September. These are exciting times of major changes for McMaster as we revalue land use, from excess parking to rehabilitation of natural lands with a hands-on teaching and research component that enhances the learning environment of the campus. There's already a lot more activity in Lot M with several classes from McMaster engaging with the site as an opportunity to further educational goals across disciplines. Courses doing work in the area include Integrated Scien...

Well well, those amazing McMaster Arts and Science students are certainly giving Cootes Paradise a look in a way that Restore Cootes appreciates. From Lot M' s 30m buffer, transportation demand management for McMaster, McMarsh, McMaster Forest and yes, even Cootes Drive, they're all here (and more) in this online presentation: http://prezi.com/h0uam4f60rjb/artsci-4cg3-2013-research-posters/ It is great to have the support of McMaster students and professors as these real-life local issues take on a new life. Thanks to OPIRG McMaster as well for supporting the project.

I found this on google when I was looking for articles on McMarsh (alternative earlier spelling MacMarsh ) - I was interviewed by Victoria earlier in the semester for her research, and glad to see she has make a presentation available online. Maybe I'll be able to get her to contribute more on the blog about her findings and her impressions of what is possible at McMaster to cut down single-occupancy vehicle trips to campus so we can convert parking into Paradise!

Olentangy River Wetland Research Park Look what they did with an old field in Ohio: Imagine what we could do in Lot M if McMaster administration agrees to support a project that would see the rehabilitation of the lost floodplain. More info on the ORWRP here:  http://swamp.osu.edu (Thanks to Professor Mike Waddington for the resource)

A view of the west campus parking in "Lot M" that has been closed for over three-years now. Even without the lot there is ample parking available. A group of professors at the university are lobbying to have this land turned into a research area that would see it restored as a wetland. In the hills (to the right) are springs that used to feed into a creek, but are now diverted into drains. We will have more on the professors' work in the near future.

Coldspring Valley Nature Sanctuary trailhead C1960 Join some sleuthing Hamilton-area naturalists as they scour McMaster's west campus for evidence of the late Coldspring Valley. This cold (spring) case dates back to 1964 when the Royal Botanical Gardens nature sanctuary was purchased by McMaster University to feed a projected parking demand for asphalt. McMaster's parking needs were overblown, and instead of 7,000 spaces they thought required by 1980, today they have just over half that number of spaces,  1,000 of these spaces empty at peak demand! Intrepid Investigators will utilize historical records recounting the diverse plants species (written by the RBG's Conservationist in 1961), and utilize a 1959 trail map of system that existed there from 1958-1963. Tracking the difference from 1963 to 2012 will provide insight into ways the valley could be brought back to life, repurposing some of the 1,000 empty spaces into the first phase of a restoration project bei...

Thursday, August, 23, 2012 - 10:10:00 AM Unpaving Paradise By Craig Campbell, Dundas Star News A group of McMaster University faculty want to unpave paradise and remove a parking lot. Biology professor Jim Quinn is one of those calling for a redevelopment of a west campus parking area to go beyond creating a 30-metre buffer along Ancaster Creek and eliminate twice as many parking spaces and reclaim the natural wetland that once existed there. “Our vision is to convert Lot M parking spots into the MACmarsh research facility by making more efficient use of existing campus parking; at peak demand there are still over 1,000 unused parking spaces,” a one page memo presented to McMaster University administration states. In an interview, Quinn said reclaiming the natural wetland west of Cootes Drive would be better for Ancaster Creek, and create a valuable research area for professors and students in several programs. “I think it’s really important and that’s why I’m supporting it,” Quinn...

When we think of parking at McMaster, we see parking as something we will always need. With over 1,000 spaces available during peak demand, some of us have questioned - first the "need" and then the rationale for maintaining so many excess spaces. Little in the way of rationale has been offered from McMaster, except "demand for vehicular transportation continues and the need for parking remains." The photo on the left shows the Hamilton - Brantford Radial Electric railway climbing the escarpment, and the photo on the right shows the same scene today, sans railway, now known as the Chedoke Rail Trail. I'm guessing that in 1908 they thought this railway would be there forever. In 1931 the last of the hourly trains made the trek, and the railway was abandoned. Decades later , in 1995-96, Hamilton developed the former rail line into a multi-use trail that is a busy corridor for non-motorized traffic: running club...

This is what permeable paving looks like at McMaster's test plot on campus (between parking lot G and the North quad residence buildings). The goal of using permeable paving is for water to seep back into the earth rather than running off impermeable surfaces like asphalt parking lots. An admirable goal, but the current plan at McMaster is to use this in a section of Lot M that has been closed for a construction project for the past three years. The problem? well firstly, the lot is not needed to meet parking requirements. There remain an oversupply of parking even without this lot, and there appear to be in excess of 1,000 spaces even at peak demand (McMaster University Campus Capacity Study, April 2011). There have been no supply problems during the last three years, so the experience has shown results. Further, the city and the university have money for a repaving project, but the money could be used instead for creating a 30 metre naturalized buffer between the parking lot...

We've shared data and  recommendations  here previously from  research  conducted by Jessica S. Becker in her paper "Understanding Commuting Decisions: a case study of student and staff at McMaster University" 2007. Time for some more: Of parking permit holders at McMaster, 27% live within 4 kilometres of campus  37% live within 5km  Over 1/3 of staff are parking permit holders living within 5k of campus. Becker suggests that "cost or distance has no bearing on whether or not a staff member will choose to drive, so long as s/he has access to a vehicle and a parking permit." Obviously room for improvement here, and Becker's warning against "focusing only on the needs of those that drive" needs more attention. If we link decreasing demand for parking with a concern for ecology, we create more opportunity for rehabilitation of west campus.

“The importance of environmental protection and conservation is increasingly being recognized by society and, as people become more aware of the benefits of environmental protection, demand for passive settings and trails that connect people to nature is increasing,” CATCH Articles: Residents want more natural areas and trails    0 digg Dec 14, 2011 Hamiltonians identify more natural areas as their top priority for additional public spending on recreational facilities. More trails came second in the survey conducted as part of the  outdoor recreational study  received by councillors earlier this week, but the city is actually reducing annual funding for purchase of natural areas. The  survey  asked 800 randomly selected residents to rate more than two dozen recreational features on a scale from one to five, where one meant do not spend additional money and five meant definitely spend more. Just under three-quarters (74 percent) gav...

The 5 recommendations from Jessica Becker's Masters Thesis : these recommendations would aid travel demand management efforts to reduce car dependency at McMaster University, and would therefore assist  rehabilitation of effected natural areas. The five are: Discourage Single-Occupant Car Use Prior to Permit Assignment Actively Provide Transit Information with a Trial Pass Improved and Regular Recognition and Rewards Increased Number of Pre-Paid Parking Options Prohibit Increases to Parking Infrastructure and its Planning For now let's look in detail at the final recommendation (#5): "Finally, it must be noted that the addition of further infrastructure is not recommended. With the completion of the new stadium and its underground parking facilities, the number of parking stalls on the campus will be elevated to that of what they were prior to the construction of the new residences and other facilities. Providing more parking will make it easier for those alrea...

Research demonstrates "viability, necessity" of closing Cootes Mac student says using road jeopardizes ongoing survival of turtle populations BY CRAIG CAMPBELL Wednesday, July 9, 2003 Dundas Star News ______________ Drivers would accept the closure of Cootes Drive, a main access into Dundas, because the road poses a serious threat to an endangered turtle species, says a third-year McMaster student. And Julia Croome, an arts and science student who investigated the effect of the road on surrounding turtle populations and the possibility of closing the road for environmental reasons, believes much more research must be done on the road before the construction of a 565-space parking lot that would only increase traffic on the road. She said a detailed traffic study of Cootes Drive would be very useful. "It doesn't appear that in-depth environmental studies were made before the road was built in '42, and I'd be interested in whether any are being made ab...