Memph
Active Member
What part of Vaughan? That seems rather unusual. Most neighbourhoods around Rutherford have a grocery store within a 10-20 minute walk.
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Planned Sprawl in the GTA
- Thread starter innsertnamehere
- Start date
Undead
Senior Member
McMansions may have porches, but I've never seen anyone sitting on them at any time of the year lol
gabe
Senior Member
Weston at Rutherford sure is. Try crossing there on foot. Drivers turn the corner like it's the Daytona 500. Pedestrians do have the right away when the walk signal is on. No way i would cross there at night.
Google Maps
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Santa Barbara Pl. not sure if that's Vaughan or Woodbridge. It's hike to any retail.
Transportfan
Senior Member
Some people have gotten so chicken recently, and it's gotten worse since urban hipsters started demonizing cars. Nowhere outside of UT, Reddit, etc. have I seen so many people afraid of crossing streets.
Woodbridge is part of Vaughan. You don't even know what city your neighborhood is in?
Memph
Active Member
According to google maps, and depending which end of Santa Barbara Pl you're walking from, there is...Weston at Rutherford sure is. Try crossing there on foot. Drivers turn the corner like it's the Daytona 500. Pedestrians do have the right away when the walk signal is on. No way i would cross there at night.
Google Maps
Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
Santa Barbara Pl. not sure if that's Vaughan or Woodbridge. It's hike to any retail.
A small strip mall that includes a convenience store and 7 other businesses a 11-18 minute walk away at Astona & Weston.
A second strip mall with a convenience store and 5 other businesses a 13-20 minute walk away at Velmar & Rutherford.
A third strip mall with a convenience store and 10 other businesses a 11-17 minute walk away at Crestmount & Weston with many more commercial buildings along Weston Road both to the north and south home to a variety of businesses including multiple butcher shops, bakeries and restaurants.
Granted it is a bit of a hike to get to a full service grocery store, which is located at Weston & Rutherford (21-27 minute walk) although there's quite a lot of businesses at that intersection - both a No Frills and a Longos, as well as several small strip malls, drive thru restaurants, etc.
Memph
Active Member
I think this was a friend/relative's neighbourhood that he was visiting.
Suburban arterials are definitely not nice pedestrian environments, especially their intersections. The main problem is drivers not paying attention to pedestrians (even if pedestrians have right of way) when they make their turn movements. It's worse in places like Vaughan than in North York and Scarborough since their arterials at least have a decent amount of pedestrians (many of them walking to bus stops) so drivers are accustomed to looking out for them.
Northern Light
Superstar
According to this morning's Toronto Star; it appears the Ford government is mulling expanding the Greenbelt.
In particular, they're looking at expanding its reach to cover the Paris and Galt Moraines as per a bill by Green Party leader Mike Schreiner.
A bill the Tories have let languish for the last 2 years.
They are also musing about some additional protections for the river valleys of the GTA; and possibly their headwaters.
This would be consistent with a suggested new Provincial Park somewhere in the upper reaches of the Humber River.
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The devil is in the details; but the above seems to be a good thing as far as it goes.
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The Star ties the expansion to moving ahead with Highway #413, noting that the government will not remove permission for highways already allowed in the Greenbelt Act.
Though in the guts of the article there isn't actually evidence as to whether the government has made a decision to proceed; only that its not ruling it out.
The article can be found here: https://outline.com/LG8YDC
In particular, they're looking at expanding its reach to cover the Paris and Galt Moraines as per a bill by Green Party leader Mike Schreiner.
A bill the Tories have let languish for the last 2 years.
They are also musing about some additional protections for the river valleys of the GTA; and possibly their headwaters.
This would be consistent with a suggested new Provincial Park somewhere in the upper reaches of the Humber River.
****
The devil is in the details; but the above seems to be a good thing as far as it goes.
****
The Star ties the expansion to moving ahead with Highway #413, noting that the government will not remove permission for highways already allowed in the Greenbelt Act.
Though in the guts of the article there isn't actually evidence as to whether the government has made a decision to proceed; only that its not ruling it out.
The article can be found here: https://outline.com/LG8YDC
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Th MMAH has a media conference today. I wonder if it's related to this.
canarob
Senior Member
So is it the PCs' plan to expand the greenbelt in areas like river-valleys, which are poor for building anyway, and then try to spur massive development in the "outer horseshoe" along the future highway 413 and mid-peninsula highway in Niagara? Barrie, Guelph, the K-W, Brantford, Welland, and Fort Erie would be kind of like a "silver horseshoe."
Northern Light
Superstar
We'll have to wait for some details to flow.
I'd be surprised to see them revive Mid-Peninsula; the PCs are reasonably strong in Niagara, the highway corridor not so much.
They do appear to be musing about some zones of protection (the Paris and Galt Moraines are the areas around Guelph that charge the local aquifers) that are more 'outer' horseshoe'
But again, details matter.
Quarries are allowed in the Greenbelt; what about water-bottling operations?
Transportfan
Senior Member
Nice try, but cars have been a common cause of death for ages. The sudden trend of people being afraid of crossing busy streets is mostly the cause of people sharing their personal experiences on social media and creating mass paranoia.In the US, automobiles are the leading cause of death for people aged 1-54. But, sure, people are just chicken.
Road Traffic Injuries and Deaths—A Global Problem
Whether you’re on the road at home or abroad, know the risks and take steps to protect your health and safety.www.cdc.gov
Also, were not in the US here (nor are road deaths disease-related). Can't find anything Canadian?
Northern Light
Superstar
Well, it didn't take Stephen Del Duca, the rarely heard from Provincial Liberal Leader long to make a statement about a potential Greenbelt Expansion:
christiesplits
Senior Member
This is a brilliant political move by Ford.
I'm convinced a big factor behind the push for Highway 413 is to put Del Duca in a predicament in his Vaughan-Woodbridge riding that he needs to win back in 2022. I imagine a majority of residents in car-obsessed Vaughan support Highway 413. Yet due to the Liberal Party's connections with the environmental movement and need to win back the 416, Del Duca has to come out and vehemently oppose the project.
Edited for clarity.
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turini2
Active Member
Here's the actual consultation FYI Consultation on growing the size of the Greenbelt
Northern Light
Superstar
A map is posted in the consultation showing the location of the Paris Galt Moraine.
Note that this is not a proposed border for the expanded Greenbelt; but rather an illustration of the area into which the Greenbelt might be expanded in whole or in part.
The proposal around River Valleys appears to focus on :
Expanding the designation to the Speed and Eramosa Rivers in the Guelph area.
Otherwise expanding the coverage zone on some existing rivers, mostly on public land that is already protected.
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My take, fine as far as it goes.
But even on simple expansion; more would be better.
I would like to see the Greenbelt completely envelop Barrie, Alliston, Orangeville and Brantford so as to cut off most further sprawl in the GTA.
Beyond that, I think we need to prohibit new highways, prohibit new water-bottling operations and phase-out existing ones, and severely limit new quarries within the designated area.
Finally, I think its important to note, that there is a need to repair/offset past damage; that involves active restoration.
There is nothing in the Greenbelt designation that assists w/this.
What that requires is Provincial Park, or Conservation area status, generally, and we need to see more of that.
Note that this is not a proposed border for the expanded Greenbelt; but rather an illustration of the area into which the Greenbelt might be expanded in whole or in part.
The proposal around River Valleys appears to focus on :
Expanding the designation to the Speed and Eramosa Rivers in the Guelph area.
Otherwise expanding the coverage zone on some existing rivers, mostly on public land that is already protected.
****
My take, fine as far as it goes.
But even on simple expansion; more would be better.
I would like to see the Greenbelt completely envelop Barrie, Alliston, Orangeville and Brantford so as to cut off most further sprawl in the GTA.
Beyond that, I think we need to prohibit new highways, prohibit new water-bottling operations and phase-out existing ones, and severely limit new quarries within the designated area.
Finally, I think its important to note, that there is a need to repair/offset past damage; that involves active restoration.
There is nothing in the Greenbelt designation that assists w/this.
What that requires is Provincial Park, or Conservation area status, generally, and we need to see more of that.
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