Stage 1 of the Environmental Assessment for the GTA West Corridor has been completed; a draft is now circulating for comments up until 6/30/11.  As anticipated (with regret) the recommendation is to build a new east/west highway to facilitate the movement of goods between the urban centres around Hwy 400 and Guelph area; and to improve accessibility to the US/Cdn border points.  I say it was “anticipated” as our culture is so car/truck oriented that the idea of solving the identified problem without a new highway seemed highly unlikely.  To be fair, the recommendation does include a whole set of actions for new/improved non road infrastructure; but the big item is a new 400 series highway.

Two members of Concerned Citizens of King Township have paid close attention to the whole EA process by attending all public meetings over the last 3 years as it was recognized that any drift north of the study area would be very serious for King.  And indeed, very recently there was an idea to assess impact of doing just that.  When one considers the environmental risks and damage of the selected route one can understand why there would be a desire to see if there was another option; but, York Region has decided not to go down that path.   The EA reviews the whole solution set and identifies the environmental consequences.

It is hard to really accept that that this new highway is a necessity or is the right solution.  In a future with peak oil are our current highways still going to be virtual parking lots?