‘Poor use of tax dollars’: 3 groups release report rejecting $6B GTA West highway

Government has ‘outdated view’ on how to boost Ontario's economy, Keith Brooks of Environmental Defence said

Yorkregion.com
August 21, 2020
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Environmental Defence, Sustainable Vaughan and Transport Action Ontario released a report Aug. 20 that they say shows how the proposed GTA West Highway is a "poor use" of $6 billion.

The proposed highway, also known as Highway 413, is set to run from Highway 407 near Milton, to Highway 400 near Kleinburg.

It was cancelled in 2018, only to be resurrected once again by the current government. While Vaughan and York Region back the new highway, in 2017, an expert panel appointed by the government deemed it unnecessary.

The Government of Ontario recently announced a plan to fast-track the environmental assessment for the highway, and decided on the preferred route. The consultation period for the expedited environmental assessment closes Aug. 22.

"We don’t need another highway," Keith Brooks, programs director with Environmental Defence, said.

"Highway 413 was cancelled because the public didn’t want it, and because experts determined that the social, environmental and economic costs of the highway outweighed the meagre benefits that this project could deliver."

Brooks said the money would be better spent on public transit.

"With more people expected to work from home in future, a mega-highway is the wrong fit for the region’s transportation needs."

These groups warned of the environmental impact in their news release, including the "loss of thousands of hectares of prime agricultural lands, including about 1,000 hectares in the Greenbelt," and "damage to waterways from road salt, air pollution affecting nearby residents and increased greenhouse gas emissions."

They also said there is "no evidence to support the idea that highway expansions solve traffic congestion due to what’s known as induced demand."

Induced demand is the concept that increases in highway capacity are soon met with proportional increases in traffic, due to changes in driving behaviour.

Peter Miasek, president of Transport Action Ontario, urged the province to consider innovative land uses, such as Brampton’s urban boulevard concept, which he dubbed a "much better investment of money."     

Brampton as better example

Although Brampton council applauded the province's resumption of its GTA West study at its June 5, 2019 meeting, calling the GTA West corridor highway essential to the city’s economic and growth plans, council endorsed the Heritage Heights concept plan this month that features a walkable, bike-friendly, higher density boulevard in place of the GTA West Highway.

"The plan features a range of housing options with convenient access to higher order transit, including a proposed GO station and a connected network of trails and open spaces," the city said in a news release. "Central to the plan is a north/south urban motorway, including a dedicated truck only lane, in place of the proposed GTA West Transportation Corridor through Heritage Heights."

The report from the three groups also included proposed alternatives to Highway 413:

The proposed solutions

• Committed public transit investment, including full GO Regional Express Rail on the Kitchener and Milton corridors, a new GO corridor to Bolton, and increased bus rapid transit or light rail transit for Vaughan, Brampton and Mississauga.

• Transportation system management and transportation demand management -- various initiatives to improve the operation of the existing transportation network.

• More rail/road grade separations to facilitate goods movement.

• Examining the feasibility of truck priority on Highway 407.

• Widening of existing highways, which is already underway.

• Continued monitoring and modelling, especially as new regional population and employment figures are developed by the province as input to upcoming municipal comprehensive reviews, and as transportation technologies and economic practices evolve.

'Outdated view'

The report shows investments in GO rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit projects in the western GTA could move four times as many people as the highway could, for a comparable cost. The report also discusses the alternatives proposed by the expert panel struck by the previous government, which argued that extending and expanding existing highways, congestion pricing, and giving trucks priority on Highway 407 would accomplish the goals of Highway 413 at a much reduced cost.

"The government has an outdated view of how to boost Ontario’s economy -- a new highway, more sprawl, and more pollution isn’t the answer," Brooks said.

"Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in Ontario," said a news release from Environmental Defence. "In addition, recent modelling estimated that pollution from traffic causes almost 900 premature deaths per year in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. We don’t need another highway, more cars, and more pollution."

The modelling on pollution-related premature deaths was done by Environmental Defence and the Ontario Public Health Association.