Building highways won't help with GTA West expansion

Ontario should look to commuter rail service as population grows, writes Sony Rai

Yorkregion.com
September 4, 2020
Sony Rai

In 2018, the Ontario Ministry of Finance updated the population growth forecast for the province. It found that the GTA is expected to grow by 2.9 million people from 2016 to 2041. Peel, York and Halton regions will account for roughly 1.6 million of that population increase. This growth will occur in regions that are largely dependent on cars for commuting and housed in predominantly low-rise sprawling neighbourhoods.

If the provincial government is serious about moving and housing over one million future residents in the western half of the GTA, building more highways will not accomplish this. Highways neither reduce traffic congestion, nor do they help promote the development of walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods.

A new report issued by Environmental Defence shows how billions of dollars earmarked for the proposed GTA West Highway can instead be used on a series of key transit infrastructures projects. These infrastructure projects will allow municipalities to provide efficient, frequent transit service while helping create mixed use communities.

A key project that impacts Vaughan is the addition of commuter rail service along the existing CP Mactier Subdivision. That rail line is currently used for freight connects to Union Station and travels north through the west of Toronto, continuing up through Vaughan, Caledon and beyond.

Built in the late 1800s, the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway, as it was then known, once provided commuter and freight service, connecting Toronto all the way north to Owen Sound. The villages that once housed stations along this line still exist today, Emery Village, Woodbridge, Kleinberg, Bolton and others further north.

The Bolton Commuter Rail Service Feasibility Study, initiated by Metrolinx, is a comprehensive review of the technical requirements to implement commuter rail service between the communities of Bolton and the City of Toronto. The study found that introducing the service is feasible, which supports the vision outlined in the provincial government’s MoveOntario 2020 plan, as well as Metrolinx’ Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and GO 2020.

By placing stations in Bolton, Vaughan and Toronto, the new train line would remove thousands of daily commuters off already congested Hwy. 27 and Hwy. 427. More importantly, the study showed Vaughan would have the most to gain from this project, with potential stations located at Islington, Rutherford and Major Mackenzie.

There is no better way to grow and shape our suburbs and alleviate car dependency than developing commuter rail infrastructure and building mixed-use communities around it. Vaughan has already proven this is a winning formula, with the creation of the future Kirby Go Station. With a new commuter rail line, Vaughan will achieve far more than it would ever be able to with a highway. Are our politicians bold enough to make this a reality?