Vaughan’s 1st 'holistic’ mobility plan to cost at least $1 million for five years

Vaughan’s population forecast growth from its current 330,000 people to 416,000 by 2031

Yorkregion.com
March 29, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

After the City of Vaughan ratified its mobility plan March 10, it says that its five-year strategy also known as 'MoveSmart' will cost from $1 to $2 million a year.

“These costs will be reassessed annually to ensure value to the Vaughan taxpayers,” the city told the Vaughan Citizen. “The City will continue to investigate alternative funding sources to reduce the cost to its taxpayers.”

The alternatives can “funding or grants from other levels of government, municipal and/or industry associations, and research partnerships with educational institutions.”

The plan comes in anticipation to Vaughan’s population forecast growth from its current 330,000 people to 416,000 by 2031, which will exert demand on the city’s existing mobility infrastructure.

MoveSmart is also Vaughan’s “first holistic” take on managing its mobility strategy to avoid any “misaligned or piecewise initiatives.”

It’s unleashed after staff heard from the public through outreach activities in 2019.

More than 1,700 participants were engaged across all five wards, and their feedback was analyzed to help form the priorities of MoveSmart.

MoveSmart is also directly aligned with the vision and goals set out in the City’s Official Plan, Vaughan Transportation Plan, and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan.

When approving its budget for 2021, Vaughan allocated $86.7 million in capital projects related to transportation and mobility. This will help maintain the city’s existing road infrastructure and construct new roads to improve the flow of traffic around the city.

Some major projects include the reconstruction of Huntington Road, the Kirby Road extension, the design and construction of two pedestrian-utility bridges at Pine Valley North, various road rehabilitation projects, the construction of a number of road extensions within the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and the extension of Bass Pro Mills Drive.

Spending on transportation and mobility for both 2021 and 2022 expected to total to $242 million.

In 2020, the sum of $62.4 million went for Vaughan’s transportation and mobility.