Region of Peel agrees to cost share Albion Vaughan study

Caledonenterprise.com
May 9, 2017
By Matthew Strader

In February, Bolton Coun. Rob Mezzapelli tabled a motion looking for noise studies on Albion Vaughan Road, and a regional cost sharing agreement for them.

And Caledon has now received the news he was looking for.

Mezzapelli tabled a motion requesting the town fund the $10,000 worth of studies from a capital contingency reserve fund, as well as explore the cost sharing agreement with the Region of Peel.

“With the very appropriate redirection of truck traffic going through the core of Bolton,” Mezzapelli said in February. “The effect is now being realized on Albion Vaughan Road.”

In February, Mezzapelli noted that a truck ban on King and Queen streets, enacted with the opening of the Bolton bypass known as Emil Kolb Parkway, had seen traffic, and truck traffic specifically, essentially double on Albion Vaughan Road.

“To me this is the right thing to do,” he said. “To understand what those effects are and based on the results of this study, to do what is required to mitigate the unintended effects of increased truck traffic.”

Ward 5 regional Coun. Annette Groves seconded the motion and said her conversations with residents in the area had her believing this was not only a noise issue, but also one of overall health.

“We’re dealing with air quality, because of the emissions from those trucks, but also it is keeping people up at night.”

She said in February that residents work different shifts and varying hours, and are being disturbed during the day and night. She also said unloaded trucks were sometimes noisier than loaded trucks. As well, she said governments are becoming more focused on mental health and she believed the disruptions could lead to mental health issues when people are tired and cannot function properly.

Mayor Allan Thompson also spoke in support of the study in February, asking his council to do the right thing.

According to a letter included in the correspondence package for this past week's council meeting (May 2), the Region of Peel has agreed to share the costs of the study equally.

Mezzapelli said he’s glad to see it.

“I am glad to see the region financially partnering on this.”

The Bolton councillor said the partnership makes sense because he believes Albion Vaughan has taken on an increasingly inter-regional function and the fact that the region is funding half of the study shows their commitment to it.

He also said he looks forward to the study revealing whether noise mitigation efforts are working, or need to be modified. While getting truck traffic off of King and Queen streets was the right move, he said, he wants to know the impacts on other roads.

“I expect the noise study to show what the added noise impacts are on Albion Vaughan Road as a result of restricting east-west truck movements on King Street. This information will allow us to understand if the existing noise attenuation wall adequately mitigates the added noise levels. This wall was designed to manage noise to a certain level and we should do our best to ensure it continues to manage noise to the same acceptable level.”