York Downs traffic crush coming when development completed

YorkRegion.com
June 14, 2017
Tim Kelly

Get ready for another 1,300 vehicles flowing on to Kennedy Road, 16th Avenue and Major Mackenzie Drive every morning when the huge York Downs development is complete in about four years.

That was the prediction from the developer's own traffic consultant as revealed at a subcommittee meeting Monday evening at Markham Civic Centre.

Nick Poulos explained that the majority of those vehicles coming from the 2,400-unit residential subdivision — around 900 or so — would actually drive down Kennedy and 16th, heading south or east between around 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., considered the peak morning drive time.

Poulos said the peak evening time would bring a crush of about 1,600 or more vehicles back to the subdivision, most from the south and west to the development. They'd arrive between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

He said some of that heavy traffic could be relieved if several factors fall into place in the future, including the hoped-for widening of 16th and Kennedy from four to six lanes and improvements to GO Transit and York Region Transit.

"Markham is just a few years from some significant transportation benefits, starting with two-way, all-day GO Transit service to Unionville GO Station, that's like having a subway to Unionville GO," said Poulos.

Residents who've come out to the subcommittee meetings and who attended the public meeting in March, said they were worried about the increased traffic the development will bring to an already overwhelmed area.

They've asked that approval of the development be linked to the status and time of 16th and Kennedy widenings and improvement of York Region transit.

However, with environmental assessments required on widenings of 16th and Kennedy needed at the regional level and then the cash required to construct the widenings, it will be many years before those projects are approved.

Monday’s meeting was the third subcommittee meeting of four scheduled on York Downs. The fourth, originally planned for June 19, has been postponed to Sept. 27.