Increase Usage of 407 and Don’t Build the 413

Apr 8, 2022 | The Issues | 7 comments

On Council agenda for April 11 there is a motion which I put forward asking the Province to increase the use of 407 ETR rather than build the 413 highway. The motion was seconded by Councillor Boyd in an earlier meeting.  In March 2021 I put forward  a motion that King Township should withdraw its support of the 413 for several reasons including the serious environmental damage, the destruction of woodlots and agricultural lands, the facilitation of building sprawl and finally that there are alternatives such as the 407. The April 11 motion focuses specifically on the alternative:  get the trucks off the 401 by reducing or eliminating the tolls; the cost of such over 10 years will be less than the estimated $10 billion to build the 413; and, very importantly it could be implemented quickly in contrast to the 5+ years to build the proposed 413.

As noted in the motion it is very evident that the Province does have the financial capability  and is willing to spend money on issues related to traffic.

  • All Ontarians are receiving refunds totaling $1 billion because we paid for license plate stickers in the last two years; and henceforth we will not need to pay for plate renewal.  I have proof of this:  the day I wrote this post my husband and I received cheques for $650.
  • Tolls on two highways in Durham have now been eliminated.
  • The province agreed to not give the 407 international a $1 billion penalty for not meeting commitments on 401 olume reduction in 2020 as required in the contract.

The public is not permitted to make verbal deputations to voice support or opposition to motions but comments can be expressed by sending an email to clerks@king.ca.  I would like to know your perspective; please submit a comment to clerks@king and/or post a comment on my blog.

7 Comments

  1. Jacquie Whitten

    Hello Debbie,
    I agree 100% with your view on the 413 highway. It would be a very serious environmental issue. We need to protect our environment for our future generations.
    Keep up the good work.
    Jacquie

    Reply
  2. Nancy Hopkinson

    I am in total support of this motion. Thank you, Debbie.

    Reply
  3. Rosalind Elson

    Yes, Debbie. What you say makes perfect sense and you
    point out where funds are available to carry out what you suggest.

    Reply
  4. Marc

    I cannot disagree more with this: york and Peel rank among the fastest growing regions in the country, the highway network to support this must keep pace. Governments content on using population growth as a means to economic growth continue to put unreasonable pressure on our society. Housing costs are directly affected by large population growth with housing starts that are woefully behind. This is the same attitude you display by opposing the transportation network that is required for such growth We now see federal and provincial governments focusing on housing growth by removing obstacles attitudes like this create. If we are to protect our environment we must be serious and discuss population growth By ignoring population growth because it is politically inconvenient, yet blocking the infrastructure that supports it (housing, roads, transit) is both short sighted and irresponsible.

    Reply
    • Debbie

      Hello Marc, There are a number of important points in your comment that I would like to address. 1. I agree that there is little discussion about population growth. And there is little discussion about where that growth should go. e.g. I believe that given the lack of a firm plan for providing municipal services (water and sewage) directing so much growth to East Gwillimbury is wrong. 2. Given the growth assumptions, if we want to protect and conserve the environment we need to build new housing units in the right place. The 413 has 14 interchanges; some of those interchanges will be the exits to roads leading to what are today rural hamlets and villages; the land at those interchanges will undoubtedly be developed as some is already owned by investors. 3. If we want to protect and conserve the environment shouldn’t we be maximizing what we have built already? It strikes me as criminal that we have done significant environmental destruction by building the 407 and we are not using it!

      Reply
  5. Nancy Gomes

    Debbie, Thank you very much for all your efforts to help stop an illogical “solution” for traffic issues.

    I oppose the 413 Highway.

    Regards – Nancy

    Reply
    • Jane

      I too oppose the 413 Highway particularly as there are underutilized solutions already in place.

      Reply

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