404 opening means big change

YorkRegion.com
Aug. 20, 2014

It may seem hard to believe, but the $87.5-million, 13-kilometre Hwy. 404 extension north to Ravenshoe Road in Keswick is almost ready to open.

Promised for decades by provincial governments of various stripes, construction (finally) started in earnest in the summer of 2010. More than four years and a few delays later, we are, at last, approaching the finish line.

That’s great news for commuters in Georgina and, indeed, for York Region, as a whole.

Georgina residents, many of whom drive to Toronto for work every day, should soon enjoy a much smoother trip and will no longer have to fight through traffic on Woodbine Avenue and/or Leslie Street every morning and night. As an added bonus, those in East Gwillimbury can anticipate a sizable reduction in traffic on local roads. The option for employment lands and more industry is also an attractive bonus for East Gwillimbury.

Having access to Hwy. 404 will make both communities an attractive option for prospective employers and could even result in more local opportunities for residents of northern York, thus, eliminating the need to commute for some.

One thing is certain: the opening of the extension this fall will be a catalyst for some significant changes.

Understandably, some fret the Hwy. 404 extension will lead to an explosion of growth in Georgina and leave it little more than a bedroom community but, in many ways, that ship has already sailed, judging by the number of cars clogging Leslie Street and Woodbine Avenue at various times during the day.

If anything, the extension stands as Georgina’s best chance to alter course and reel in some much-needed industrial development.

Even without the project, Georgina has already experienced a sizable increase in its population through the years, from 30,000 in the early 1990s, when the highway extension was initially contemplated, to more than 43,000 today. Recent projections show Georgina’s population exceeding 70,000 by 2031.

Although growth has slowed over the past decade, portions of Georgina, Keswick especially, have seen a considerable increase in commercial and residential development. The Georgina of today is a very different place from the cottage country-style community it was two decades or so ago.

With average home prices in York Region hovering around $650,000, Georgina, with its relatively affordable real estate prices, will increasingly be viewed as an enticing opportunity for many first-time homebuyers. As such, the demand for more new homes, along with shopping and other desirable amenities, will continue to exist, highway extension or no highway extension.

The last thing anyone wants to see is the inevitable influx of new residents resulting in more traffic overloading a pair of two-lane roads that were never meant to handle that kind of volume.

Some may point to transit as being a preferable alternative to a new highway extension and that’s true, but the options to and from Georgina are fairly limited and by no means meet the needs of all commuters.

Although transit service in and out of Georgina will no doubt improve over time, the reality is the Hwy. 404 extension will remain a necessity for many residents.

The fact is, this extension was an urgent priority more than 20 years ago, so it’s good to see it nearly completed at long last.

Now, if we could just get a little traction on the equally long-awaited Bradford Bypass between Hwy. 400 and Hwy. 404, then maybe we’d really be getting somewhere.

BOTTOM LINE: Hwy. 404 opening will bring industry to growing East Gwillimbury and Georgina.