What's Coming Up: Newmarket council updating crossing guard policy

Council set to finalize municipal costs for developers, speed reduction on Lorne Avenue

Newmarkettoday.ca
June 6, 2022
Joseph Quigley

Newmarket is finalizing its tweaks to how much it charges to developers to fund growth.

Town council is due to finalize a development charges bylaw at its next meeting June 6. Council will also be adjusting its rules for crossing guards and passing a new speed limit reduction on Lorne Avenue.

Here is what NewmarketToday will be following:

Development charges
Newmarket is adjusting its development and community benefits charges, though not in massive ways.

The final form of the town’s DC bylaw update will see a one per cent increase for residential developments. Meanwhile, non-residential development charges are dropping three per cent, driven by parking no longer being eligible for development charge recovery.

The charges are meant to help municipalities recover the expenses of servicing new development.

The town is also adding a new community benefits charge bylaw, meant to allow municipalities to charge for growth-related costs not already covered by development charges. Staff estimated it could bring in $2.3 million in revenue for growth over the next decade.

Crossing guards
The Woodspring Avenue and Aspenwood Drive intersection is getting a new crossing guard as part of a policy update.

Town council is due to give final approval for the crossing guard after staff studied and found the intersection met the traffic thresholds for a crossing guard, with 404 conflicting vehicles at peak hours in 2021. The intersection also had a 13,332 “pedestrian exposure index,” a new measure representing a cross-product of vehicles and children crossing the street at the subject location.

A separate request at Doubletree Lane with Austin Paul Drive and Jordanray Boulevard is getting declined for a crossing guard, with 189 vehicles at peak hours and a 2,646 pedestrian exposure index.

A staff report said the town is updating its crossing guard policy to provide a more “consistent approach” compared to a gap study method used before.

The report said given the pandemic's impact on traffic, each existing location with a crossing guard would get a review in the fall, including the declined Doubletree Lane location. A subsequent report will be brought to council.

Speed limits
Newmarket council will confirm several resolutions from its previous committee meeting, including reducing speed on Lorne Avenue from 40 km/h to 30 km/h.

The speed reduction is part of a large traffic project to test out different calming measures on the street between Davis Drive and Eagle Street.

Council will also be finalizing the Mulock Public Art Plan, to guide art at the ongoing park project.

The town council meeting will be at 1 p.m. You can view the online stream at newmarket.ca/meetings or attend in person at 395 Mulock Dr. You can also arrange a deputation or send correspondence by emailing clerks@newmarket.ca.