After King's Coronation, Kingston's Queen St. not among CAA's Top 10 Worst Roads in Ontario List.

 

Google Street View of Queen St. in Kingston. Courtesy of Google Maps.

 

 

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) released their Top Ten Worst Roads in Ontario list. Many of the roads are from the Toronto area. However, observant residents in Kingston noticed that no streets from Kingston have made the list.

Queen St., pictured above, previously made the list in 2022 and 2021, but failed to make the list this year. While likely unrelated, some residents have noted that this snub comes after the coronation of the new king of England. 

"It's probably unrelated, but the timing does seem pretty sus," said local resident Blake Pothole, who was waiting for the bus to go to the garage where his car was being repaired after driving over a hole in the road. 

While Kingston did not make the list for all of Ontario, Queen St. in Kingston did take the number 3 spot in the Regional Top 5 rankings for Eastern Ontario, placing behind Country Road 49 (1st) and Barker Street (2nd), both in Prince Edward County.

As of this writing, it is unknown how close King St. in Kingston was to making the list or if it will be considered for future evaluations.

Kingscourt-Rideau Councillor Addresses Rumours Surrounding District Secession.

Partial map of Kingston showing the Kingscourt-Rideau district. Source: City of Kingston website

Earlier this week, Ontario premier Doug Ford announced the dissolution of the Peel Region. With a 19-month timeline, the move will see Mississauga and Brampton granted their independence as cities in the region. Ford also indicated that other regions may be looking do to the same.

Locally, rumours have been circulating regarding one particular district. The city of Kingston has 12 districts, one of which is the Kingscourt-Rideau district. This district is notable for being the location of the popular donut shop Coffee Way. 

After the news of Peel region being dissolved and Mississauga and Brampton getting their independence in the region, rumours began circulating regarding not only whether Kingscourt-Rideau will seek their independence from the city, but whether or not it will be further separated into Kingscourt and Rideau. How exactly this would be done and when is all still speculation.

The current councillor for that district is Brandon Tozzo. When reached for comment on the issue, Tozzo released a brief statement: 

"I have not heard about this and have not been consulted.", confirming that there are currently no plans of any kind for Kingscourt-Rideau to secede from the City of Kingston as an independent district. District resident Blake Cruller was glad to read the statement, saying they were not in favour of having to travel to another region to get their Coffee Way donuts.

Springer Market Square to be Reshaped into Square.

Springer Market Square in its current rectangular configuration. Source: Google Maps

In an effort to more accurately reflect its name, Springer Market Square will be reshaped into a square. After noting criticism about the traffic circle at Princess St. and Bath Road, which is not actually a circle, city council this week approved a motion to modify the shape of Springer Market Square to become a Square. 

Springer Market Square, known colloquially to local residents as Market Square is used year-round for many activities, including a skating rink, outdoor movie/hockey game viewing area, and, surprisingly, a market place. Despite the advantages the extra space provides, the area more closely resembles a rectangle rather than a square, which is described by dictionary website Merriam-Webster as "a rectangle with all four sides equal". In its current state, the shape very clearly does not meet this definition.

The city has put out a request for proposals for plans to reshape the square, adding in paid parking spots for the space that is recovered from the resulting modification. Local resident Blake Geometry likes the idea and has said that he believes the reshaping will reduce confusion when telling people something is located in "the Market Square". He also adds that the increased parking would be welcome to motorists, who often drive rectangular vehicles.

It is currently unknown what the timeline for such a project is or when plans to break ground will take shape.

Local Politician Allegedly Pooped on by Cartoon Bee

 

Cartoon bee allegedly poops on local politician. Image credit: Facebook

In an incident that is creating quite the buzz, a cartoon bee is speculated to have allegedly pooped on a local politician. 

 In a Facebook post, Kingscourt-Rideau councillor Brandon Tozzo is seen to be looking at a cartoon bee as it flies by. A mark is seen on him that is most likely a pin, but some have speculated that it could be poop from the bee itself. The post itself was created by Tozzo promoting the month of May as No Mow May, a promotional period throughout the month in which residents are encouraged to avoid mowing their lawn in an effort to facilitate pollination of flowers by bees in the area. 

The butterfly and bird also seen in the photo could not be reached for comment, but local resident Blake Beeman has stated that they are very much in favour of No Mow May and hopes that the bee incident wasn't part of a sting operation. 

When asked about his opinion on bees, Tozzo stated, "I love all of nature's children, whether they're animated, imaginary, or real."

Post of a Local Post goes Viral

 

Local post of a post in Kingston. Photo credit: Richard Prinsen

A post of a post by a local resident is generating quite the buzz. First posted on Facebook on May 5th, the post was a solid, upright post. After viewing it, the Wig agrees with the assessment that it is a solid post that is outstanding in its field. The post was also shared by local writer Jeannie Prinsen. 

The post, which certainly seems upright and solid, is something one wooden't miss if they were walking past it whether you saw it or not. As of this writing, it had many more than two or tree comments on it and it doesn't seem to be put there as a plank. Local resident Blake Oakheart says he wood recommend contacting a nearby municipal facilities branch to find out details, but he has no objection to seeing the post stick around. Oakheart finished his statement, then lumbered away.