Township of South Frontenac Receives Innovation Award for Private Lane Upgrades
Toronto, Ontario, August 17, 2020 – The Peter J. Marshall Innovation Award Jury presented a Certificate of Merit to the Township of South Frontenac for its innovative approach to helping residents upgrade private lanes to improve access. The certificate was presented at the 2020 AMO Conference, held online.
South Frontenac provides residents with a 50% subsidy, up to a maximum of $7,000, to upgrade private laneways. This helps improve access for emergency vehicles for improved public safety. Established in 2007, it is unique in Ontario in that it goes beyond simple maintenance to address capital improvements.
The program demonstrates many of the P.J. Marshall Award’s criteria: innovation, tangible benefits to the community, improved efficiency, and the ability for other municipal governments to use the project’s concept.
“As more of our traditional cottages convert to year-round homes, there has been more and more pressure to deliver municipal emergency services in areas with tough access,” said South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal. “Over 13 years, this program has increased emergency vehicle access to thousands of homes. It has also improved our local infrastructure, strengthened our relationship with residents and increased local property values.”
”By being proactive and innovative, South Frontenac has enhanced its community across a number of fronts,” said Brian Rosborough, AMO Executive Director. “The P.J. Marshall award is all about creating win-win-win situations and this program certainly does that.”
The P.J. Marshall Award is an annual competitive process to acknowledge municipalities who have had creativity and success in implementing new, innovative ways of serving the public. It is sponsored by AMO, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks & Treasurers of Ontario, the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships, the Municipal Finance Officers’ Association, and the Ontario Municipal Administrators’ Association.
In addition to the Township of South Frontenac, the City of Markham was given the Plaque Award for its community hub partnership project. The Region of York was also awarded a Certificate of Merit for developing a customized online platform to manage development applications.
AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario’s 444 municipal governments. AMO supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada’s political system.