Sprawl only victor in this row TheStar.com - News - Sprawl only victor in this row
Tiny stretch of highway across York Region, Toronto border promises to leave a heavy footprint
February 16, 2008
Peter Gorrie
ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
A short stretch of highway has sparked what appears to be a pitched battle over urban sprawl between the City of Toronto and its booming neighbour to the north, York Region.
But look closely and this looks more like further proof that when it comes to suburban development here, asphalt is as addictive as crack cocaine and, as a result, no project can ever be declared dead.
The only certainty is that something will be built, allowing sprawl to continue unimpeded in this corner of the GTA.
The road in question is the Don Cousens Parkway, named to honour the retired, long-serving MPP and mayor of Markham, the town in York Region's southeastern corner. It's planned to whoosh traffic through new suburbs, around Markham's Disney-cute old downtown, and into Toronto.
The project is heavily promoted by the region, which has already built a two-lane version on part of the proposed right-of-way.
It faces one main obstacle: To make sense, from the suburban planners' and politicians' point of view, the road must extend seamlessly down into the northeast corner of Scarborough, from where the river of commuters can flow unimpeded to the 401.
Last October, Toronto City Council said "No," arguing the project raised too many traffic and environmental concerns.
Since York Region has no legal right to send its bulldozers and pavers across the municipal border, Toronto's rejection should, it seems, kill the project.
But it still has plenty of life.
York Region continues to push hard for it, and hopes to get the province on side.
Environmental advocate Jim Robb hopes that doesn't happen. "If (Queen's Park) wants to establish itself as ready for the environmental challenges of the 21st century, it can't approve projects like this," he says.
But the province appears to favour York's road. And why not? Its contributions to sprawl in the area – including Seaton, the hybrid SUV of "green" subdivisions – are contributing to the clamour for it.
The environment ministry recently applauded an environmental assessment conducted by the region. It noted: "The proposed transportation improvements will benefit the communities" that now exist or are in the works, and concludes that the proposed environmental and health protection measures "will ensure that any potential negative impacts will be minimized and managed."
The province also appointed a mediator. Its choice – York Region's former chief administrative officer – dismayed the project's critics.
On top of all that, Toronto's opposition is not as adamant as it seems.
What's the fuss about?
The "parkway" is to run through Markham to its border with Toronto – the north side of Steeles Ave. – then angle west across city territory to link with the junction of Morningside Ave. and Neilson Rd.
Toronto has no say in when or how construction proceeds north of the boundary. The problem for York is that, without the city's blessing, the road would end abruptly at Steeles, threatening a traffic bottleneck, as drivers must jog right, then left to continue downtown.
York's solution is to run the road straight across Steeles, then angle it toward Morningside and Neilson.
"A continuous alignment operates better than a jog," says region spokesperson Paul May. It's safer, faster, better for transit vehicles and cuts pollution, he said.
Critics object on several counts.
The Parkway section north of Steeles skirts Bob Hunter Memorial Park, which is part of the Rouge, Canada's largest urban green space. Then, it bisects a former golf course – soon to be yet another subdivision. But the river valley runs through that land and the project would require a major bridge to span its 250-metre width.
Hunter Park would be heavily damaged by noise, pollution and winter salt spray, says long-time environmentalist Robb.
Salt and year-round run-off from the bridge, along with deforestation and construction of pilings in the valley, would ruin cool waters that are home to trout and an endangered fish called the redside dace.
South of Steeles, in Toronto, the Parkway would cross the Morningside Tributary of the Rouge River before joining the existing roads. That span poses the similar environmental threats but would, Robb says, be worse because that watercourse is just five metres deep.
Beyond that, an estimated 27,000 vehicles a day would stream along Morningside and Neilson through residential areas. Local people, who fear accidents and pollution, say it would be better to upgrade transit, including putting GO trains on a little-used railway line.
"There are so many young families with children, and seniors," says the area's city councillor, Raymond Cho. "Many are new Canadians with extended families. I wouldn't like to see anyone get hurt for an extension of traffic."
"Until it's signed, sealed and delivered, we'll fight against it," says Ritta Upshall, of the Morningside Heights Residents Association. "If we do nothing, there will be congestion everywhere. We have to be a little bit flexible. But paving new roads doesn't solve problems, it just creates them."
Toronto has been scoring green points for opposing the project. But it isn't actually against taking steps to improve the general traffic flow. It simply prefers a different route, one with the jog that York dislikes.
It would have the Parkway end at Steeles. Motorists would head west along that road to a new extension of Morningside, then turn south. Steeles would be widened from two to four lanes.
The existing bridge over the Rouge Valley would expand to six lanes, presumably to handle future sprawl.
Toronto's plan eliminates the new crossing of the Morningside Tributary and city officials assume many drivers would choose routes other than Morningside to head south from Steeles. But the amount of traffic in the neighbourhood doesn't seem a major concern.
"It's our intention to have a different route. Whether the same number of cars would use it, I can't say," says Carolyn Johnson, a transportation program manager in the planning department.
Even those the city is supposedly backing have qualms about what's going on. Upshall doesn't like the widening of Steeles. Cho says he's not happy about the plan to extend Morningside up to Steeles, "but I'm not sure what I can do."
The province will accept comments on the environmental review until Feb. 29. After that, if the mediator can't broker a deal, Environment Minister John Gerretsen must decide whether to accept, reject, or modify the project, or send it to a tribunal for further study.