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2 stoigtiiksuntrfaneufridfydec282xp wellrounded community still small mayor from page 1 sggsggram nities are those where many people can work locally where there is housing for a wide range of incomes and where people can engage in various forms of recreation the fact many churches have started to expand is the sign of a wellrounded commu nity mayor wayne emmerson said new schools particularly stouffville district secondary are also signs of a thriving com munity whitchurchstouffville isnt as big as people think mr emmerson added it gives ample opportunity for you to meet neighbours by volunteering or taking part in service clubs sports or other groups you get to know people mr emmerson it makes it even better while it looks like subdivisions are sprout ing like mushrooms whitchurchstouffville will continue to be a small municipality mr mcneely said the towns population makes up around three percent of york region by 2021 when current growth should be fairly completed the percentage might even be lower he said thats good news for those who moved to whitchurchstouffville because of its small town ambience before beginning to plan the towns subdi visions staff and members of council visited successful developments in markham whitby brooklin richmond hill and ajax to examine their architecture and see how they blended with nearby urban and natural areas the planners consider individual projects but also coordinate the big picture if they didnt you might have a road leading out of one subdivision and not meeting a nearby road as it should mr parry said during public meetings residents often brought new information to the planners which staff photobill roberts tom parry left is whitchurch stouffvilles director of development services and andrew mcneelyis town planner they incorporated into the process residents talked about their experiences in other towns and other countries to see if these ideas might work here if youve ever wondered why that new park is in your neighbourhood it comes down to having enough people living in the area with most of the neighbourhood ideally within a maximum fiveminute walk many of the parks are or soon will be connected by the towns trail system many new neighbourhood parks which are usually around four or five acres in size feature splash pads something you were looking for natural features or storm ponds are incorporat ed into parks for a pleasing look features such as bridges are upgraded with decorative railings for instance and picnic tables are located to overlook ponds parks are designed to be a meeting place for all age groups mr mcneely said for activities like basketball or baseball or simply reading on a park bench or enjoying watching children playing on the swings and climbers trails in town both mr mcneely and mr parry take particular pride in the towns trail systems keeping and developing the trail systems was something local politicians encouraged in response to resi dents requests the towns sec ondary plan requires developers to set aside a certain amount of their land for a trail system when the secondary plan was in process about eight years ago several meetings with resi dents were held mayor wayne emmerson said thats where residents aired their views that as many environmental features as possible be preserved in the municipality along with many other topics the trails will link up the soontobebuilt bethesda park with memorial park which will undergo a transformation in coming years one part of the trail systemis on the west side of duffins creek it reaches the heart of stouffville and goes south past hoover park drive to the municipalitys southern extremity a new park on byefs pond way near hoover park drive in southeast stouffville opened sept 29 and connects to the stouffville trail system a sec ond new park on millard street west of ninth line in northeast stouffville connects to the little rouge trail system the towns trail systems are to be linked to key community des tinations for you to walk or bike m