A motion to ask York Region to consider street parking in the off hours in the core areas of King City and Nobleton was passed unanimously at Council on 11/14. For our two villages such an initiative would make an impact: it would be safer to walk which is good for our health and it would be easier to frequent the shops on the streets which is good for business. Both of these benefits are entirely consistent with York Region’s strategic objective of sustainability.
You can read the motion here. I will keep you posted as to when the report is tabled.
Ironically, at that same meeting a report was tabled including a recommendation as to the response of the Township to YR’s initiative to conduct an Environmental Assessment on improving King Road from Hwy 400 to Hwy 27. As I reported a few weeks ago the Region believes that by 2031 that section of King Road will be at/over capacity; hence they want to assess widening it to 4 lanes. In other words, we want to make Nobleton core more pedestrian friendly and YR wants to assess impact of putting another 2 lanes of traffic through Nobleton!
Several enhancements to the Staff recommendation for input were made based on input from public and Council members. Very importantly we included the request for identifying options for a Nobleton bypass. The latter is quite obvious given that no debates the fact that virtually all the traffic is from other municipalities passing through Nobleton.
Great idea about the on-street parking in the core areas of King City and Nobleton in the non-rush hours!
I also think the Region clearly needs to consider options for a Nobleton ByPass rather than widening King Road simply to bring more thru traffic into Nobleton and compromise the efforts to make the core area pedestrian friendly and help local businesses. The Region needs to look at the big picture and not look at King Road in isolation. Ultimately tax dollars are limited and investment in roads needs to be made in light of a sensible long term plan that considers the GTA West Study, a Nobleton ByPass Study and other studies on east-west roads in York Region.
Sincerely, Bruce Craig
Hi Bruce, I agree totally that ALL the various road projects/options need to be considered as a whole; not just one project in isolation. One of the changes to the recommendation presented by Staff at the 11/14 Council meeting was consistent with this thinking. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Debbie
I support Council 100% in passing a motion to allow on-street parking in downtown King. Sometimes during the day it is quite terrifying to watch the tractor trailers [18 to 28 wheelers] driving through King City at speeds which surely exceed the limit. They’re going somewhere and it is not King City; yet they pose a risk to our citizens. You have now reduced the risk during part of the day. The issue will not be resolved until the traffic from 9 to 5 is addressed. Not that long ago King City was referred to fondly as a village. It is becoming less so. We have to pay attention. Thank you for your effort.
Hi Hans, Just in case there is a misunderstanding…..King Council has passed a resolution asking YR to agree to the street parking. Until we hear from them we have not reduced the risk. We have only one vote on Regional Council i.e. our Mayor; so it not going to be a “slam dunk.” Having said that this is a necessary 1st step in improving the situation. And as you have pointed out, until we have a bypass,the traffic will still be there the other hours of the day.