Up Front with the Mayor: Answers about pedestrian safety, housing for seniors, bike lanes

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor is taking your questions in his regular column; this month, a resident asks what can be done to ensure more housing that is suitable for seniors is built suitable

Newmarkettoday.ca
Aug. 2, 2019

Q: I have raised this issue with both the Town and Region. As the number of vehicles travelling on Bayview/Prospect has steadily increased, it's almost next to impossible for a pedestrian to find an opportunity to cross Prospect safely. Recognizing this is a Regional road, it has been brought to their attention, but they have focused on the number of pedestrians wanting to cross as opposed to the safety of crossing due to constant traffic flow, specifically during the morning and evening. Can you please let us know where this repeated request stands? -- Suzan Challis

A: Prospect is a long road with several controlled intersections such as Mulock, Gorham and Davis. Also there are numerous intersections with stop signs that should provide safe crossing. Perhaps you could contact me and explain the particular area you are most concerned about. I will talk to the ward councillor and staff after I understand your area of concern better. Thanks for sharing your concern.

Q: With redevelopment of Davis Drive, why weren't bike lanes put in from Yonge Street, at least to Southlake hospital? -- Clive Henshaw

A: We wanted to put bike lanes on Davis during the Viva reconstruction and we looked at it very closely. As you know, all other sections of Viva reconstruction, including Yonge Street, will have bike lanes. Unfortunately due to the historic nature of Davis Drive with buildings being close to the road (not like Yonge) it was impossible to create the space to achieve bike lanes without taking down numerous buildings at great cost. Instead, we applied for and received a grant to construct an east-west bike-way running parallel to Davis along Millard and Srigley that is very close to Davis. I, too, wish we could have placed bike lanes along Davis but it was just not realistic.

Q: We are seniors seeking a bungalow or home to lease with few steps, however, all development in York Region has stairs just to get to the front door, plus stairs to get to bedrooms. I am concerned as Baby Boomers are coming up right behind us and if they cannot do stairs, what will happen to them? Is this situation being addressed when planning homes in the area? -- Ted and Gloria Nevitt

A: Finding the right mix of housing options for our residents is an area on which I spend a lot of time. I believe we need to have all types of housing; singles, semis, towns, condo, rental and, yes, bungalows. This is much easier to say than it is to achieve. The builders build what their market research tells them is wanted and will sell. We encourage housing types through zoning for low density or high density. We are going through an official plan review at the Region and this issue is being looked at. We recently had a presentation at Housing York on ‘universal design’ or housing that is built to support everyone, including the elderly or those with mobility issues. This work will explore what has been done elsewhere, such as requiring wider hallways, less stairs and no stairs at front entrances. You raise a very important issue and we are trying to get better at addressing this concern while working with the people who build the houses.