Vaughan should be wary of Highway 413's impact on residents and business

Proposed highway would only add to the GTA's congestion woes, writes Sony Rai

Thestar.com
Jan. 11, 2022
Sony Rai
Opinion

In August 2019, the City of Vaughan released The North Vaughan and Communities Transportation Master Plan.

This report was commissioned to understand the future transportation-related infrastructure needs of new community areas north of Teston Road, including the area where the future Kirby GO Station will be located.

The report looked at of a number of transportation sceneries and their impacts to north Vaughan. One of these scenarios includes the proposed Highway 413, which would cut through this area.

When Highway 413 is modelled as a reality, its impact is devastating. The total amount of kilometres travelled in congestion increases by 40 per cent, and the time spent travelling within congestion increases by 35 per cent.

Highway 413 will not reduce traffic congestion in Vaughan, but increase it by a significant amount. The study also showed Vaughan will have less congestion and faster commute times without the highway.

If Highway 413 has such a dramatic impact on congestion and commute times in one select area studied in Vaughan, it will likely have similar impacts to other communities near interchanges to the highway.

To make matters worse, the city is also looking to expand its urban boundary and place even more housing and businesses adjacent to the highway’s route. After this report was released, Vaughan council should have been very concerned with the highway’s projected impact to current and future residents and businesses.

In fact, they should have commissioned even more studies to understand the real impact of the highway.

The area south of where Highway 413 would be built includes the future Kirby GO Station. In addition to the new train station, this area has been planned as a denser, urban community that will have amenities and stores within walking distance to residents.

The area around the Kirby GO Station is being designed to reduce the reliance on cars for commuting for thousands of future residents. This model of a sustainable living and commuting will be devastated by the traffic congestion brought by the future highway.

Vaughan council is not supportive of Highway 413; however, the mayor and the regional councillors continue to be ardent supporters of it, regardless of its many negative impacts.

Vaughan citizens should be wary of dubious claims about the benefits of Highway 413 and should look at the current reality within their own city as a cautionary example. Highways 400, 427, 407, 7 and 27 transverse Vaughan. If highways reduced traffic congestion, then Vaughan would be a utopia for car commuters.

Vaughan is in fact the very opposite of this, and as the city’s own report clearly demonstrates, another highway will only add to its congestion woes.