Project Niagara - Canada's International Music Festival

....online...

http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/communities/Niagara-on-the-Lake/article/269366

Roads can handle traffic Details on Project Niagara study outline minimal impact Eddie Chau Published on

A Niagara Falls-based consultant says that Niagara-on-the-Lake’s roads can handle the amount of traffic from a proposed music festival if properly managed.

That’s what Nick Palomba, the project manager for Delcan Corporation said in a traffic impact study he conducted for Project Niagara, a 17-week music festival proposed for the former Department of National Defense lands on Lakeshore Road. Palomba presented the study to representatives of Project Niagara, Town and region staff and residents at a public meeting held Wednesday at Virgil Public School.

In the study, Palomba said the festival anticipates about 50 events per season, with roughly 75 per cent of all events having an attendance level of 5,000 people or less. He said 90 per cent of all events will have an attendance of 7,000 or less with an average attendance of 9,000.

“Delcan’s study concludes that the existing roadway network can accommodate the vehicular traffic demand during peak hours generated by these various attendance scenarios,” Palomba wrote.

Palomba said existing and future traffic scenarios result in sufficient traffic operation at Niagara-on-the-Lake intersections with no required geometric and traffic improvements needed for the roads.

While there may be minor traffic spillover into nearby neighbourhoods, he said, it can be managed through appropriate monitoring and discouragements.

Palomba did have some suggestions on how traffic can be reduced.

He suggested that the number of parking spaces at the festival should be reduced from 2,000 to 1,500 based on road capacity and forecasted travel demands.

Palomba concluded that another traffic study on satellite parking or park and ride facilities needs to be done. He suggested park and ride and shuttle services would create community partnerships in Niagara-on-the-Lake while encouraging the use of transit and bicycle paths to minimize impact.

Project consultant Kari Cullen said she is pleased with the study and its the first step in understanding the traffic scenarios in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Cullen said all the recommendations in the study will be taken under advisement as the project moves forward.

“We look forward to having more discussions with region and town officials on the matter,” Cullen said. Randy Busbridge, head of Harmony Residents Group, a group of citizens concerned about the impact Project Niagara will have in NOTL, said he isn’t surprised by the study results. Busbridge said there are still some unanswered questions that need to be addressed.

“The biggest omissions deal with the impact of traffic to and from Old Town and vehicles leaving the site,” Busbridge said. “It’s also unclear how they estimated all the numbers. Some paragraphs extrapolate numbers from other extrapolations. There need to be more answers.” http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/communities/Niagara-on-the-Lake/article/269366

....online...

Hindsight will settle Project Niagara debate

Last night's meeting about Project Niagara was shaping up to be a hot one, with passionate opinions on both sides and a long-awaited chance to air them.

Meanwhile, Music Niagara's 11th season organizers were preparing for tonight's concert of internationally renowned opera singers and the Shaw Festival was offering some of the best professional theatre available anywhere in the world, more than 45 years after its simple beginnings in the Court House.

Yes, right here in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the sky hasn't fallen. Traffic hasn't come to a stand-still. Music Niagara (likely now wishing they had come up with a slightly different name when they decided to change it from the cumbersome International Chamber Music Festival) offers a wide variety of music to please different tastes, but they haven't had to resort to the much feared rap, rock and roll. And the Shaw has managed to expand its mandate without straying from its original intent.

It all just keeps getting better and better. Tourism may be suffering from the economic downturn, but that won't last forever. Meanwhile loyal followers continue to come back for more. And some of us who live nearby continue to count ourselves fortunate that we can enjoy an evening of culture out and be home in time to relax with a glass of local wine and watch the evening news. What a life.

The Project Niagara traffic study is telling us we don't need to worry. Even with the added cars traffic travelling to and from concerts on the Lakeshore Road property, locals will still get home in time to catch Lloyd Robertson tell us what's happened in the world while we sat by the lake and enjoyed wonderful music, and those who are travelling to Toronto or home to Buffalo should do so without difficulty.

To some, Project Niagara will simply make a great place to live even better. More to envy for those who don't live nearby.

But there will be those who don't trust the traffic study. It's one of those Catch 22 situations - if the proponents pay for the study we don't always feel we can believe the results, but we complain even more if the research is taxpayer-funded.

Project Niagara—the cat’s meow or a sheep in wolf’s clothing?

Glass half full or half empty?

All in the eyes and ears of the beholder.

Copyright © 2009 Niagara Advance

...highlights from the traffic study on the radio..........online...

Project Niagara Traffic Impact Study Complete Wed, 2009-07-22 14:35. Siobhan Morris

A Project Niagara traffic impact study now available on line.

Niagara Falls based-engineering firm Delcan Corporation, has made key recommendations on how best to manage traffic to and from the sit of a proposed international music festival in Niagara on the Lake.

Among Delcan's findings:

Delcan's findings:

--The existing road network could accommodate traffic demand during peak periods.

--Though there may be some traffic spill over on nearby routes, this can be handled with monitoring.

--Recommends traffic control improvements at Niagara Stone Road and Concession 6 by 2012

--Recommends on-site parking spaces be reduced from 2000 to 1500, with room for tour buses.

--The next phase is a future traffic management plan, considering the location of satellite parking sites with EMS, the town and the region.

The firm also gave some consideration to using barricades, road closures, duty officers and existing, under-used lots to manage traffic flow.

Project Niagara is an initiative of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre.

Organizers aim to launch the 17-week festival during bicentennial celebrations marking the War of 1812 on the shore of Lake Ontario (on part of 268-acre Parks Canada Lands on Lakeshore Road, west Old Town).

They hope to do for Canadian music what the Shaw and Stratford Festivals have done for Canadian theatre.

You can hear the details of the traffic study at a meeting tonight.

It goes at 7pm at Virgil Public School,on Four Mile Creek Road in Virgil

...just go to the PN site and look for the download link (Read the traffic study) at the bottom!.....PN site

...this week from Niagara This Week...online...

Traffic study on Project Niagara to be released Eddie Chau Published on Jul 17, 2009

Residents will have a chance to give their two cents worth on a proposed summer music festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake next Wednesday.

Officials from Project Niagara will be on hand for a public information meeting at Virgil Public School on July 22 at 7 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to seek input from residents while providing them with information on the proposed 17-week music festival by the National Arts Centre and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Results from a traffic study for the area surrounding the former Department of National Defence lands on Lakeshore Road, the site of the festival, will be revealed by Delcan, the firm behind the study.

“We will ask Delcan what they found as a result of the study and how it will impact the surrounding area,” said Kari Cullen, lead consultant for Project Niagara. “The meeting will then focus on what the next goals are for Project Niagara such as how it will impact the region and what other big issues need to be discussed. It will be followed by a question and answer period with residents. We will try our best to answer any concerns but we might not have all the answers readily available. This is a dynamic process.”

The July 22 meeting is the second of two meetings NAC/TSO officials held in Niagara-on-the-Lake. An informal open house was held at Peller Estates Winery Monday where residents met with Project Niagara board of directors.

Cullen said she and Project Niagara officials had also visited Niagara-on-the-Lake last month to update residents on the progress of the festival. Cullen said it was the board of director’s goal to hold meetings with the community once every few months to provide updates and receive feedback.

Cullen said working with the community is vital to the process in determining whether the festival can go ahead or not in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

“We have received a ground swell of support from both Niagara-on-the-Lake and the region,” Cullen said. “There are those that oppose the festival and those who are neutral to the subject. You often get people interested in following Project Niagara once they are informed about it.”

Cullen said officials had met with the Harmony Residents Group, a group of citizens that oppose the festival, in June to address as many of their concerns as they best could. Cullen is hoping the open house and public information meeting will aid in communicating with all residents.

The $76.5 million Project Niagara will feature about 50 concerts per year, of which 25 will be hosted by orchestras from the NAC and TSO. The remaining performances will feature jazz, world music and opera genres.

Project Niagara hopes to be up and running by 2012 to coincide with the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Project Niagara officials said that it would cost about $20 million per year to run.

Earlier this year a feasibility study was conducted by NAC/TSO consultants which concluded that the Lakeshore Road site is suitable for the music festival.

An environmental impact study is planned for the festival. While funding from private donations will help pay for the festival, Project Niagara is still awaiting funding from provincial and federal governments.

“Parks Canada will guide us through the environmental study. But it can only be triggered after a site plan is completed,” Cullen said. “When the site plan is done then we can move forward. There are many things to study including the number of animal species that live there and the lands’ cultural history. We must take things one step at a time.” http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/communities/Regional/article/267952

...nice to see another Music Niagara exec -Marian Bannerman managing director - point out the possible synergy between the two music festivals...online...

And to those who may wonder why the town needs another music festival—Music Niagara began as the International Music Festival, but underwent a name change before Project Niagara became the tag for the much-discussed 17-week concert series proposed for the Lakeshore Road Parks Canada property—they won’t be competing for patrons but rather complementing each other, offering something different and another reason to attract music lovers to NOTL, says Bannerman.

...full article below...

Music Niagara begins second decade showcasing chamber music in NOTL Posted 3 hours ago

As Music Niagara enters its second decade, it is both growing and scaling back in an effort to focus on its goal of presenting an amazing eclectic selection of chamber music in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake settings.

It’s growing in the sense that it has an office and two year-round employees to organize the festival and some commuity partnerships that will continue to present music in its shoulder season.

But it has cut back on the number of concerts and venues in order to do what it does best: ensure that it is providing exceptional talents and outstanding music in the best NOTL venues, with 35 concerts over four weeks, at St.Mark’s Church, where it all began, Inniskillin Winery’s barrel room, Peller Estates Winery, the Epicurean Terrace on Queen Street, and new this year, the bandshell in Simcoe Park and at Fort George.

Last year more than 50 concerts were held in a dozen venues across the peninsula.

English professor Marian Bannerman came to Niagara-on-the-Lake about 20 years ago when her husband Guy became a Shaw Festival ensemble member. She has recently moved into an office over the Niagara Pumphouse Visual Art Centre as managing director of the festival. She shares a very functional space organized with donated cast-offs, from desks and shelving to computers, with Virginia Mainprize, and several volunteers.

Bannerman says it’s surprising how much work goes into organizing 35 concerts, with musicians from all over the world, but her job is more than that—the goal is to expand the festival with community-based “shoulder events,” such as taking some of the young virtuosos into local schools to perform and talk to students about their love of music, or to work with seniors.

The goal is also to keep the music local.

“Because we’re small, we’re community-based. By doing chamber music we can do pretty much any kind of music. Chamber music tends to be on a human scale. It’s about the relationship between the music and the venue, and what we have here that’s unique is where we are and the venues we can offer, such as Vivaldi in a wine cellar, or renowned local and international musicians in Simcoe Park, under the stars at Fort George or on the porch of the Epicurean on Queen Street.”

It also allows for a lunchtime string quartet concert at a winery, a piano recital in the evening and then some late-night jazz to end the day, says Bannerman.

Artistic director Atis Bankas, a violinist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, has lived and worked all over the world, and is “plugged in” to people everywhere, says Bannerman, making it possible to attract the best musicians who are delighted to come to NOTL to perform.

The festival attracts loyal followers from Toronto and across the border, says Bannerman, “but what we would really like is for people here in NOTL to be more aware of what is being offered right in their own back yards. People don’t know as much about us as they could.”

Bannerman says the festival can offer something for everyone, classical to jazz, choral to cabaret, “even the people who don’t think they want to go. Tell us what you want—chances are we have it, whatever kind of music you like, whatever time of day.”

And to those who may wonder why the town needs another music festival—Music Niagara began as the International Music Festival, but underwent a name change before Project Niagara became the tag for the much-discussed 17-week concert series proposed for the Lakeshore Road Parks Canada property—they won’t be competing for patrons but rather complementing each other, offering something different and another reason to attract music lovers to NOTL, says Bannerman.

Tickets for Music Niagara are affordable, starting at $15, $10 for post-secondary students and $5 for high-school students for some performances, with a free concert featuring the Hamilton Children's Choir and Festival Strings in the Simcoe Park bandshell.

Ensuring top quality music while keeping the ticket prices reasonable so that a wide range of audience members have the opportunity to enjoy outstanding work was important to Bannerman from the beginning, she says—she needs to be able to go to the Valu-mart and feel confident that the music she is helping to present is available to everyone she meets, from young people to seniors.

The gala opening, Monday July 20 at St Mark’s, is the most expensive evening—$50 for the concert and reception and $35 for the concert only, which features music by Bach, Mendelssohn, and a new work by Peter Tiefenbach composed for the festival, with Ellen Annor-Adjei on piano, young Bora Kim on violin, soprano Marie Fischer and the Festival Ensemble.

For tickets and full program details go to www.musicniagara.org.

Copyright © 2009 Niagara Advance

...more info on National Board and meetings at the end - .....online...

Push for NOTL summer arts festival has star power

A celebrity member of Project Niagara's first board of directors says her role is to bring a national perspective and help "raise awareness" of the benefits of a proposed summer arts festival.

Television personality Valerie Pringle, who, together with her husband, Andy, bought a house in Niagara-on-the- Lake in December 2007, said she was delighted to be invited to join Project Niagara's board.

The invitation came from Peter Herrndorf, president and CEO of the National Arts Centre, which has partnered with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to propose the massive outdoor arts centre on the shores of Lake Ontario on land in Niagara-on-the-Lake owned by the federal government.

"My view is that it's a stunningly exciting project," said Pringle, who hosted CTV's current affairs program Canada AM for more than a decade.

"It's the most important and beautiful piece of public land left in southern Ontario," she said, and the best way for the public to get access to the site is for the controversial project to proceed.

With its mixture of culture and history, and the promised public access to the site's forested areas and the lakeshore, Project Niagara's proposal is "an exciting project that is great for Canada, great for the region and great for Niagara- on-the-Lake," she said.

Some of the project's detractors have said the land should simply be cleaned up (it was a Department of National Defence gun range) and opened to the public.

But Pringle said the proposed closure of the sewage lagoons and building of the amphitheatre are key components.

"None of those other things will happen without the cultural component," she said. Parks Canada has made it clear it will not develop the site as a historic attraction without other partners, she said.

"It seems like a brilliant idea to me," she said, "and the majority of people are satisfied it's a huge win for the economy."

About 400 local residents have joined a group called Community Builders, with a mandate to support the creation of the festival.

Another group of residents, calling themselves Harmony Residents Group, has proposed an environmentally-friendly eco-park instead, concerned about the traffic and noise they say Project Niagara will generate.

Pringle said the total site is 268 acres while the Project Niagara site is proposed to use 70 acres, "so there's 200 acres left for other use."

Pringle said she wants to use her position on the board to "listen to people." She said the traffic and noise concerns are valid, but believes the objections can be answered through the results of the traffic study, which will be released to the public at a meeting next week.

Since taking possession of the "spectacular" and "amazing" Clench House at the corner of Simcoe and Johnson streets in June, the Pringles have been renovating non-stop, she said. They are adding to the historic house, restoring it and making it more environmentally friendly, she said.

The couple intends to eventually downsize their Toronto home and live in Niagara "halftime," she said.

Pringle said her stature as a national broadcaster combined with her plans to call Niagara her part-time home, allow her to be an asset to the Project Niagara board.

"I hope I have a big picture of Canada, but I also care about the community because I am a member of the community.

"I have made a huge investment in the community."

- - -

Information meeting

WHEN: July 22; 7 p. m. to 8:30 p. m.

WHERE: Virgil School, 1665 Four Mile Creek Rd.

WHY: A chance for public input and questions, and the release of the traffic study. On hand will be officials from Parks Canada, Niagara Region, the Town of Niagara-on-the- Lake and Delcan, the traffic consulting company.

- - -

Members of Project Niagara

The original board of Project Niagara was made up of members of the boards of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre, the organizations behind the project, said Kari Cullen, Project Niagara's general manager, but the new board of "first directors" is "more representative of the (Niagara) region and will eventually be the nucleus of a larger board."

"When and if government funding is approved, and we move into a fundraising position, we will expand the board to the size of 25 or 30 members, more like Shaw Festival or Stratford Festival," Cullen said.

Members will then be appointed from across the country.

Members of Project Niagara's first board of directors:

L. Grant Burton, Toronto

William Falk, Niagara-on-the-Lake grape grower

Peter A. Herrndorf, president and CEO, National Arts Centre

Dennis Parass, Grimsby, handling specialty president and chair of Niagara Economic Development Corp.

John Peller, Grimsby, president and CEO, Andrew Peller Ltd.

Valerie Pringle, broadcaster

William J. Saunders, Toronto

Andrew R. Shaw, Toronto, president and CEO, Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Janice Thomson, executive director, Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce

Robert D. Weese, Toronto, vice-president, General Electric and member of TSO board of directors

Paul Weiss, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Copyright © 2009 St. Catharines Standard

.......this week's coverage of the PN Board of Directors meet and greet....online...


Grape grower and board member Bill Falk talks to rose grower Ron Rempel, both with businesses close to the Lakeshore Road Parks Canada property, about Project Niagara.

Project board members talk music over wine at Peller

An informal reception at Peller Estate Winery Monday was an opportunity to ask questions and express concerns, but not with the expectation of “hard answers.”

Randy Busbridge of Harmony, a 500-member group opposed to the 17-week international music festival planned for Parks Canada property on the shore of Lake Ontario, says he received polite but not detailed or specific answers from Project Niagara board members to his questions about traffic, financial viability and possible impact on the Shaw Festival.

Busbridge praised the board of directors for meeting with the public, but said he wasn’t surprised that he didn’t learn anything “new or startling.”

It wasn’t the occasion to press for information, he says, but he expects next Wednesday’s meeting will be.

About 150 people, some in support of the festival and some opposing it, attended Monday’s lunchtime reception to meet the board.

Busbridge says several of his questions were met by board members with the response that the answers would be forthcoming—he hopes by next week.

Project Niagara is an initiative of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and National Arts Centre. The two organizations have been working together on the development and feasibility of a music festival since 2004. They are hoping to launch it during the bicentennial celebrations marking the War of 1812.

Feasibility studies released so far indicate Project Niagara will be an economic benefit to the Niagara Region.

Grape grower Bill Falk has lived since birth on a family farm about three kilometres down Lakeshore Road from the Parks Canada property, and like most kids who grew up in the area, made his own trails through the Carolinian Forest and across the former rifle range that is off-limits to the public.

Now a Project Niagara board member, he took a few minutes from a busy schedule of spraying vineyards to talk about his role with the festival, which he sees as an opportunity to have the property developed as an eco-park and music venue that will open it to his children and grandchildren.

In addition to having the property used in a way that is “fundamental to what NOTL is all about,” a music festival will enable the town to “keep its reputation and strengthen its reputation as a cultural destination, complimenting the work of the Shaw Festival and giving people who visit the area a reason to stay another day,” Falk says.

It will help promote hotels, bed and breakfasts, shops and agri-tourism, and the town and region will benefit from the financial contribution to upgrading the sewage lagoons on the property, he said.

While there’s no question it will add traffic, the traffic study indicates the impact will be acceptable. He says traffic has steadily declined in recent years—enough to be noticeable from his vantage point on Lakeshore Road—and the report indicates traffic isn’t going to surpass its former levels.

The next Project Niagara public information meeting will take place Wednesday, July 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Virgil Public School on Four Mile Creek Road.

That meeting will be an opportunity for the public to provide input, receive information and ask questions about the progress of Project Niagara and the results of the recent traffic study.

Also attending the meeting will be staff from Delcan, the firm leading the traffic study, as well as officials from NOTL and the Region.

Representatives from Parks Canada will also be on hand to respond to questions about the management of the agency’s lakeshore property.

Although the study was still being finalized this week, it was expected to be available early next week on the Project Niagara website at www.projectniagara.ca for those who want to see the traffic study results before attending the Wednesday evening meeting to discuss it.

Copyright © 2009 Niagara Advance

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