2015 Newsmakers: Major infrastructure projects suffered delays in Newmarket

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 31, 2015
By Chris Simon

Many major projects in Newmarket were delayed in some capacity this year.

From Old Town Hall to Davis Drive, if York Region or Newmarket governments touched an important infrastructure project in this town in 2015, it seemingly experienced construction delays. In the case of the town hall, the multi-million-dollar project was initially supposed to open in April, but poor weather hampered the construction schedule for the Botsford Street building. Crews could not properly pour concrete and complete steelwork during the most difficult conditions.

Town staff and council tried to prompt the contractor to complete the work - granting a noise bylaw exemption so construction crews could begin work at 8 a.m. on Saturdays throughout the summer - and Councillor Dave Kerwin even promised the project would be complete by the end of September.

Once the renovations are complete, the building will feature meeting rooms, storage space and an updated theatre. It will also be accessible and capable of hosting art exhibitions. The building, constructed circa 1883, has housed council, a police station and a jail.

Meanwhile, Davis construction is nearing an end after more than a year in delays. While the rapidway between Yonge Street and Roxborough Road and the Hwy. 404 park and ride portions of the $261-million project opened weeks ago, 'finishing touches' will continue to be added to Davis until mid-2016

"We've learned a lot ... which can be carried forward to other projects," York Region Rapid Transit Corporation president Mary-Frances Turner said earlier this year.

However, other projects also fell behind. Belinda's Place has opened its doors after two consecutive harsh winters caused months of construction delays.

Belinda's is York Region's first and only shelter for single homeless women and will feature 28 single-unit emergency beds and nine transitional apartments, as well as support and counselling services. The site is located at the Yonge Street and Sawmill Valley Drive intersection in Newmarket.

The Salvation Army will conduct the daily operation of the site. Belinda's will also collect and report information on the local homelessness situation, connect the women to people and organizations within the community and provide situational coaching and advice.

"Based on the terrible winter of 2013-2014, we had anticipated an April date (for opening); due to site conditions and some other factors that put us a little behind," the region's housing services manager, Candace Marston, said in an interview months ago. "This last extreme cold winter really threw the schedule off."

Newmarket's dog park went over budget by more than $40,000 and opened late this summer after months of delays. Crews worked to remove a significant amount of glass and metal debris that littered the area - the debris was from a defunct landfill site that sits under the park.

Construction crews brought the debris to the surface last fall, while they were digging fencepost holes more than .5 metres below the dog park. Crews laid a geotextile composite material below the surface of the dog park, to prevent animals from digging too far below ground level. It was then to be covered by soil and wood chips.

"None of us were happy to hear the material was brought to the surface," Newmarket development and infrastructure services commissioner Peter Noehammer said last month. "Had this been a project where we were anticipating excavation, we would have done further geotechnical testing. It was already a park. There has been strong community support; it's absolutely been a successful implementation and welcome addition to the town's recreation space."