When I bought my house in Laurelwood about 10 years ago, it was among the first built on the block in a new section of the neigbourhood. I confess I was, at the time, largely attracted by the affordability of the home compared to some other new construction I was considering at the time (I needed a new home out of consideration for my children's allergies and asthma) and by the proximity to the Laurel Creek Conservation area.

For the first few years we lived with construction dust and building traffic but also enjoyed frequent wild animal sightings on the construction site(foxes, raccoons, deer, snapping turtles, frogs, to name a few.)!

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Since 2004, roundabouts have been an important part of our roadway landscape in Waterloo Region. These circular intersections improve road safety, manage increased traffic demand, and help improve air quality by eliminating unnecessary stops and idling.

The Region's 2011 "Practice makes perfect!" roundabout education campaign includes a series of 4 new instructional television commercials highlighting proper driving habits at roundabouts. To learn how to practice proper driving habits at roundabouts, you can watch the television commercials here: GoRoundabout.ca.

Here's an interactive webpage that shows how to use a roundabout properly: GoRoundabout.ca/roundabouts-how-to-use

Construction of the newest branch of the Waterloo Public Library is well underway. The "John M. Harper Branch Library" will be located at the corner of Fischer-Hallman Road and Laurelwood Drive in the Laurelwood neighbourhood. The new building will also house a new family YMCA facility.

You can find more information on this project at the John M. Harper Branch Library blog website.

Here is a recent video tour of the site that is posted on the Waterloo Library YouTube channel at YouTube.com/WaterlooLibrary

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We Just Listed and Just Sold this home in Laurelwood!

581 Brookmill Crescent, Waterloo ON

Construction of the newest branch of the Waterloo Public Library is well underway. The "John M. Harper Branch Library" will be located at the corner of Fischer-Hallman Road and Laurelwood Drive in the Laurelwood neighbourhood. The new building will also house a new family YMCA facility.

You can find more information on this project at the John M. Harper Branch Library blog website.

Here is a video tour of the site that was created by Councillor Karen Scian. (Courtesy of YouTube)

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The Laurelwood Neighbourhood Association (LWNA) is a not-for-profit organization run by volunteers for residents of Laurelwood.

If you live in the Laurelwood neighbourhood of Waterloo, or are considering a move to the Laurelwood area, you may be interested to know about the Laurelwood Neighbourhood Association. The purpose of this group is to promote and present numerous community based activities and to develop relationships with the city of Waterloo.

You can visit the Laurelwood Neighbourhood Association website at: Laurelwood.ca

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Did you know that the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board has a special mobile website for local MLS® listings? Actually there are two versions of this website!

The first one can be viewed here: KWhomes.mobi This site will allow to search for properties that for sale on the local MLS® system. You can get the basic details of those listings along with photographs and a map link.

The other version is available to buyers that have obtained a personal "User Code" from a REALTOR®. This version gives you all the features that you obtain by using the above version, plus additional detailed information about each listing.

Contact Tracey today at Tracey-Appleton@ColdwellBanker.ca to obtain your User Code for the second mobile website. After you obtain your code visit KWhomes.mobi, enter your code in the box and press the "Login" button. You now have the details of any MLS® listing in Kitchener-Waterloo and area at your fingertips on your mobile phone, PDA or smartphone!

If you are familiar with QR Codes, here is one that will take you directly to KWhomes.mobi. Try it now!