MAYOR ADVOCATES TO MINISTRY TO PUT TRANSIT FIRST OVER EA RE-BOOT

MAYOR ADVOCATES TO MINISTRY TO PUT TRANSIT FIRST OVER EA RE-BOOT HALTON HILLS, ON – A recent announcement by the Province to resume the GTA West Environmental Assessment (EA) has prompted Mayor Rick Bonnette to issue correspondence to the Minister of Transportation. Citing the need for prioritizing a transit strategy, the Mayor noted the lengthy timeline of the project and impacts on Halton Hills. “The EA for this project began over 10 years ago with the laudable objective of looking at transportation issues and identifying opportunities to improve linkages between urban growth centres through highway widening and improved connections,” he said. “The process included a requirement for the Town to protect the study corridor which includes a swath of land in Halton Hills from approximately Highway 407 to 10 Sideroad. In layman’s terms, this means that we have been unable to offer these lands for development and area residents and farmers have had to deal with this uncertainty. The start-stall and reboot of this project has further complicated this issue.” The Mayor’s letter while questioning the need to reactive the EA, suggested that a higher priority would be the development of a Ministry-led, transit-first strategy focused on enhancing inter regional transit service to meet the needs of residents and stakeholders as well as provide environmental benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “Earlier this year Halton Hills Town Council declared a climate change emergency and we are strong advocates for reducing the reliance on single, fossil-fueled vehicles.” See more on the GTA West Corridor at: GTA-west-Corridor