Stouffville seeking to have portion of Hwy. 48 downloaded

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 12, 2019
Simon Martin

When people drive on Highway 48 in Stouffville they might not realize they are driving on a provincial highway. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is responsible for the road and have completed projects like the roundabout at Bloomington Road in recent years.

But that arrangement could be on the way out as the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville eyes the Hwy. 48 corridor as key to the town’s future development.

The town passed a motion earlier this month requesting ownership of Hwy. 48 between 19th Avenue and Bethesda Road be transferred from the province to York Region.

Mayor Iain Lovatt said the town has significant development interests in the lands on both sides of Hwy. 48 which would need direct access to Hwy. 48.

“Access can be really restricted on Hwy. 48,” Lovatt said. He pointed to the Smart Centre plaza located at Hwy. 48 and Hoover Park Drive which has no direct access to Hwy. 48.

Lovatt also mentioned the town’s neighbours to the south, Markham, who had Hwy. 48 downloaded from the province between 16th and Major Mackenzie Drive. That decision had led to a far easier planning process for allowing access onto Markham Road or Hwy. 48.

A spokesperson for the MTO said the ministry needs to make sure proper planning studies are in place before considering the request. More discussion is required with York Region before any potential transfer could take place.

The town currently has two large employment land conversion requests ongoing in the corridor

Smart Centres has submitted an employment land conversion request to the region for the property located at the southeast quadrant corner Hoover Park Drive and Hwy. 48. in Stouffville. The proposal intends a mixed-use development consisting of office, retirement and residential space. The land in question is to the east of the current centre.

According to a staff report, the specific proposal is seeking eight-to-12-storey office buildings, mixed-use buildings and residential buildings along the Hoover Park Drive frontage. The proposal contemplates a new municipal road extending Rougeview Avenue to Hoover Park Drive. South of the mixed-use building is a proposed 10-storey retirement building and eight-storey mid-rise residential buildings. A new community park is also proposed. South of Sam’s Way are several eight-storey mid-rise apartment buildings.

There is also another conversion request for the property on the northeast corner of Hoover Park and Hwy. 48. In that case, the developer is proposing a mixed-use development with employment, commercial, institutional, and residential uses. Specific uses being contemplated include a marketplace, library (not municipally owned), office, hotel and conference centre, school/residence, agricultural centre, live/work townhouse units and apartment units.

Council has voiced their support for both conversion requests. “Why not have mixed use?” Ward 4 Coun. Rick Upton said. “It’s good for residents. There is too much open space that we are having no return on whatsoever.”

Earlier this year, the town entered a Hwy. 48 visioning exercise alongside the City of Markham. The exercise will undertake a high-level analysis to determine optimal capacity for development of the corridor.

Markham Ward 5 Coun. Andrew Keyes said Markham’s interest in the visioning is in respects to servicing the Dickson Hill neighbourhood which is immediately south of Stouffville.

“We are trying to figure out a way to get servicing to Dickson Hill,” Keyes said.