Looking for your input

Good snowy morning!

It's a blustery morning today, the kind of snow day people wish for just before Christmas. I hope the snow sticks around for the holidays, especially when I go out to find a Christmas tree with my dad tomorrow afternoon.

This is my first post to this new blog, and I thought it would be best to introduce myself, and let you know what I hope to use this blog for:

My name is Emma. I was elected to the position of county councillor on October 20th 2012. I grew up in Kings County, and am very proud to call it my home, and honoured to be elected to represent it as a county councillor in the municipality of the County of Kings.

I live in Port Williams with my husband Adrian. He is a transplant from Halifax. I convinced him to move home with me 3 years ago, and he has never looked back. The first time I took him to the look off he was hooked on the beauty of our breath-taking county.

Now that you know a bit about me and my family, allow me to explain what I want to use this blog for:
I want to hear from you
When I was campaigning during the election I talked to a lot of people about being more involved in the decisions made at council. After all, I am there to represent you. I have been thinking about ways to be more available and present to people in the community, in order to hear their opinions. Part of that is attending community events, but the other part is having an online presence, where people can voice their opinions, share them with other people and be a part of the conversation.

The first question I have for you is How do you feel about sidewalks?
There is a new subdivision going in on Collins Road in Port Williams. The Village Commission and the developer has requested that the new roads not require sidewalks, because of the cost to maintain them, and because there are no sidewalks on Collins Road, so the village feels that putting them into the new development would not contribute to active transportation because they would be "sidewalks to nowhere".
Instead of sidewalks a trails system has been built, to encourage active lifestyles. However, the municipality requires that sidewalks be put in to any new development in the village (based on public input). Council will be looking at this case in the new year, and deciding whether or not to require sidewalks in this subdivision.

What do you think? Do you have sidewalks where you live?How do you think sidewalks contribute to a community? Would you walk more if you had a sidewalk in your neighbourhood? Do you think all new developments should have sidewalks?

Feedback would be appreciated!

All the best to you and yours for the holidays.
Cheers
Emma