Vaughan officially axes endorsement for 'unnecessary' GTA west highway

Subsiziding tolls for trucks to take the ‘under utilized’ 407 Highway is proposed as one of the solutions

Yorkregion.com
March 11, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Vaughan councillors officially withdrew March 10 their endorsement, dating back to 2015, of the proposed Hwy. 413, worth $6 billion in taxpayer money.

Council's ratification of the motion showed a clear divide between Vaughan’s five local ward councillors, who withdrew their endorsement of the proposed highway, and the city’s three regional councillors and its mayor, who continue to support it.

However, all of the councillors approved Coun. Marilyn Iafrate's additional motion, calling for a federal environmental assessment of the project.

After looking at the map proposed by staff the day before, Coun. Marilyn Iafrate said Hwy. 413 would cross through 60 per cent of the protected Greenbelt and 40 per cent of agricultural land in Vaughan.

"This is a significant impact on the community," Iafrate said, noting in addition, there is no definitive answer if the new highway is destined to be toll free.

Coun. Tony Carella, meanwhile, highlighted the fact more than 50 per cent of the proposed highway parallels the "under-utilized" Hwy. 407 in Vaughan.

Instead, Carella suggested themore than $6 billion earmarked for Hwy. 413 could be used by the province to subsidize the toll for commercial traffic on Hwy. 407.

Coun. Rosanna DeFrancesca also spoke in favour of subsidizing trucks’ tolls, noting trucks are a main cause of traffic gridlock in Vaughan, a city known for being home to many manufacturing jobs.

Regional Coun. Lina Jackson, meanwhile, said, "We have to move forward with the process", but cautioned that the Province must take the environment seriously.

Jackson challenged other points of view when she recalled that when her family moved to Vaughan in 1966, the now city was mostly farms.

"Ontario has told York Region and the City of Vaughan that we have to grow, and that we have to expand our boundary," she said.

"Bus transit is under utilized," despite hundreds of millions of investment poured into it, Jackson said. "People in Vaughan love their cars."

Jackson went on saying that there was no public consultation whatsoever and "not even a staff report".

"This is bigger than all of us," she added. "We need to hear from everybody. Believe me, there are a lot of people who want this highway."

Regional Coun. Gino Rosati said the region is behind much of the world in terms of transportation infrastructure.

"It’s important for our economy, for our environment, we don’t want the car to be idling," he said.

Meanwhile, Francesca challenged Jackson, noting people will gradually ditch their cars once public transit becomes more available, affordable and easier as an option.

Francesca also said it’s the province’s responsibility to carry out the public consultation.

Cou. Alan Shefman, who described the proposed highway as "unnecessary",  cautioning that the cost figure could balloon up to $20 billion.

"We don’t have the power to say yes or no," he said, adding the vote is merely to indicate Vaughan's stance as a municipality.