Intensification in Richmond Hill = Traffic jam

NRU
Jan. 25, 2017
By Andrew Cohrs

Faced with high-rise development pressure, Richmond Hill is creating a new secondary plan for the Yonge Street and 16th Avenue area that identifies locations for tall buildings, mid-rise buildings and a new street network. However, traffic congestion is already an issue and introducing more people could exacerbate the situation.

“This is about respecting what is in our approved official plan... This is the municipality defending its own right to develop in the manner which the municipality believes is best suited for the municipality... When an area like this is planned, one looks at it as a live, work, play, learn and shop entity,” Ward 5 councillor Karen Cilevitz told NRU.

On Monday, the committee of the whole recommended approval of policy directions and a land use scenario for the Yonge Street and 16th Avenue intersection. These will provide the basis for a secondary plan to be drafted later in 2017. While not a provincial growth centre, the area has been identified as a key development area in Richmond Hill’s official plan.

The staff report places the area’s tallest buildings-up to 20 storeys-around the four corners of Yonge and 16th and its next tallest-15 storeys-on adjacent sites. The bulk of the remaining properties in the area, save for some park space and a public square, are identified as being appropriate for mid-rise buildings of upto- 8 storeys.

This area of Richmond Hill is dominated by one-storey malls and accompanying surface parking lots, including the Hillcrest Mall in the northwestern quadrant. While some low-rise residential houses exist in the southwest, higher intensity mixed-use redevelopment has begun in the southwest quadrant.

At full build out the proposed land use scenario accommodates between 6,000 and 7,300 residential units and between 6,900 and 8,500 jobs, resulting in a maximum fsi of 3 across the whole area. However, Cilevitz said there are already high levels of traffic in the area.

“These roadways are already so overburdened by traffic ... [Traffic is] immense. Anything that is proposed to be built in this key development area has got to take that into account.”

The report notes that if existing modal splits-80 per cent automobile, 10 per cent transit and 10 per cent walking/cycling-continue as development progresses the full build-out at the proposed densities may result in significant stress on the street network. The proposed policy directions target modal splits of 59 per cent automobile, 31 per cent transit and 10 per cent walking/cycling split. Cilevitz notes that the focus of the secondary plan is to get people out of their cars and onto transit.

“You are always going to have to deal with the fact that living in Canada it is sometimes extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get people to use their feet or their bikes [due to winter weather] but it is more possible for us to facilitate the usage of mass transportation.”

To facilitate this shift to transit and accommodate the increased residential and employment densities, the report suggests the adoption of transportation demand strategies. These include increasing the frequency and capacity of the Yonge Street bus rapid transit line, creating new local streets to provide a finer street network, reducing parking standards and discouraging surface parking lots. In addition, staff envision improvements to the public realm will not only enhance the pedestrian experience and create usable public spaces, but will encourage residents and workers to walk in the area.

Gladki Planning Associates, DTAH and Dillon Consulting were retained to prepare the background study, including the policy directions and recommendations. Council will consider the report at its meeting on January 30.