The green lane: East Gwillimbury grappling growth

NRU
July 16, 2014
By Edward LaRusic

The Town of East Gwillimbury is facing growth pressures, but the upcoming Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan will add previously unheard of densities to a portion of the town.

Mayor Virginia Hackson hopes this will ease the transition from a place where people live to a complete community, where people live, work and play.

Hackson said the Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan is being developed in conjunction with York Region as the larger of the town’s two urban expansion areas.

“[Green Lane] is a four-lane highway collector road that is very, very, busy and for the most part continues to be rural, with the exception of the corner of Green Lane and Yonge [Street]. The idea was to take a look at [Green Lane] with the long-term plan of making a complete community. We are quite adamant in East Gwillimbury that we’re not going to be a bedroom community, but be one where people can work in the community as well as live there.”

Town development planning general manager Carolyn Kellington said in an email to NRU that the Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan implements the policies of the East Gwillimbury official plan to guide future development in the area.

“The intent of the Green Lane [Corridor] Secondary Plan is to create a complete and compact community consisting of a number of neighbourhoods focused on a series of higher density centres and corridors that support the creation of vibrant streets and public transit. The Green Lane [Corridor] Secondary Plan area is intended to develop into an inspiring new urban community, distinctive in the way it looks and functions, fostering healthy lifestyles, neighbourliness, economic prosperity and local pride. Overall, the secondary plan provides the basis for the creation of an exceptional, forward thinking and innovative model for new community development.”

East Gwillimbury faces a major growth challenge, with its population forecasted to more than double - from 34,700 to 86,500 residents - and its employment growth to nearly triple - from 11,600 to 34,400 jobs - by 2031. Key to meeting this growth will be the Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan, as York Region envisions about 24,000 residents living in the area by 2031. According to consultants, more is possible.

Meridian Planning Consultants and planning Alliance were retained by the city to examine growth projections for the corridor. They estimate a low of 31,000 residents and a high of 38,000 residents based on the density targets envisioned for the corridor. This will mean densities that are typically unheard of in East Gwillimbury: mid-rise development.

The area has some important transit infrastructure. Along with Green Lane, Yonge Street cuts through a portion of the lands and it’s close to Highway 404. Additionally, the town is hoping to take advantage of the East Gwillimbury GO Station on Green Lane East to promote mixed-use development.

In order to make the plan work, the town is adding a new east/west collector road, for which an environmental assessment has recently been completed. The current plans are to build a four-lane road with bike lanes and a streetscaped median, where possible. Medium density housing is planned to run along the majority of its length.

“The new east/west collector road is required to accommodate projected traffic volumes. It will form a key component of the Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan from both an infrastructure and a design perspective,” said Kellington.

East Gwillimbury council had a workshop on the Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan July 8, which Hackson said was “extensive.” She is confident that council is looking to move forward with the secondary plan, although noted that the statutory meeting won’t happen until September. Hackson said that residents are mostly positive about the future of Green Lane, particular as it will provide housing options for both young and old.

“We have older people who want to downsize from their home and they really want to stay in the community because they love it here and there are no options to downsize. And we have young people who have been raised here or are starting to work close by and yet to get into the market. There isn’t enough mix [of housing options] at the entry level for them to get in. As a result, they go elsewhere. It changes the makeup of the community when you lose your young people starting out and your older people looking to downsize. We’re hoping there are options for people who are looking to enter the market, or stay in the market.”

Hackson said there are challenges to ensuring the type of density the town is aiming for in the area. For one, the town doesn’t own the land. Also, it is counting on developers being willing to build the mixed-use and employment developments and the higher densities the town would like to see built in this area.

“Ideally, when you’re close to a GO station, it would make sense to have some higher-density housing. But in East Gwillimbury we don’t have any high-density - or even medium density - housing at this point.

It’s a matter of the market moving further north, and whether it’s ready for East Gwillimbury.”