Gordon Prentice at Large - Politics in Newmarket
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
I am in the cavernous Council Chamber at York Region (11 June 2015) expecting a debate on super fast broadband. Instead, I find two deputations of Italian Canadians complaining vociferously about traffic infiltration in their neighbourhood in Vaughan. They are arguing about the solution and the rest of us look on, bemused. We are intruding on a family quarrel.
I learn about the neighbourhood’s Italian demographics. Every second person has a surname ending with a vowel (not unlike York Regional Council itself).
Vaughan Mayor, Maurizio Bevilacqua, jocularly tells one of the deputants, Anthony Francescucci, he shouldn’t anglicize his name just to help the Chair, the struggling Wayne Emmerson, get his tongue round it. He should stick with the authentic Italian pronunciation. This produces approving smiles from Francescucci's deputation.
Emmerson is now calling people to the lectern using their first names, finding it easier.
One group wants to ban peak hours rat-running by the clever device of placing turning restrictions at key entry and exit points. New traffic signs would order no left turns into the residential area. Another group from a different part of the same neighbourhood argues this “solution” would create another set of problems and would impact adversely on them.
I hear about the volume of traffic on some residential streets increasing exponentially over recent years. One vehicle whizzes by every 12 seconds. And they are travelling at the speed of light.
Emmerson, completely at ease in his role as the home spun philosopher, tells us people nowadays don’t get up early enough to take their kids to school and end up rushing.
Ahhh! So that's it.
After much argument and counter-argument a truce of sorts emerges. The Regional Transportation people say that stopping people from using some roads will have a displacement effect, transferring the problem elsewhere. Another study is needed!
They promise to look further at the issue of traffic infiltration into residential neighbourhoods and report back. Honours are even and this is enough to satisfy everyone.
I hope the findings will be as relevant to Newmarket as they are to the West Downs community in Vaughan.
We have huge and growing traffic infiltration problems of our own.
- Details
- Written by: Gordon Prentice
At York Region’s Committee of the Whole (11 June)
The Region’s Chief Planner, Valerie Shuttleworth, takes us through the paper “Affordable Housing Measuring and Monitoring Guidelines”.
But first, her colleague, Rick Farrell, prepares the ground with some arresting statistics.
A new single detached home in York Region now costs on average $890,804.
Twelve months ago, that very same house sold for $799,000.
And between 2004 – 2014 the average resale house price rose by 90% yet average hourly wage rates rose by 21%.
I hear that the average condo rent in 2014 was $1,564 which Farrell describes quaintly as:
“a very substantial debt for those who are challenged with income.”
Now Shuttleworth is calling for more powers from the Province to tackle the housing crisis. She says the Region is using all the powers currently available from the Province and
“We haven’t even made a dent.”
She wants inclusionary zoning.
Newmarket’s John Taylor is thinking outside the box. What about secondary suites? What about promoting ownership where homeowners have a rental income stream via a secondary suite?
Now he asks if the Region’s housing policy is achieving what we want to achieve. (Manifestly not.) He says the Region’s policies could end up creating a lot of one bedroom condos.
“That’s helpful but it is not a solution”.
- Details
- Written by: Gordon Prentice
York Region is a bit like a giant news factory, churning out, month after month, interesting morsels of information. I am surprised more stuff isn’t picked up by the local press. The Committee of the Whole meetings are not streamed or put out on YouTube and, bizarrely, full Council meetings are only audio streamed. Weird or what?
Anyway, I learned a few things at York Region’s Committee of the Whole (11 June)….
It is time for the Annual Traffic Safety Report and the Region’s road and traffic chief, Brian Titherington takes us through the grizzly roll call of accidents.
- One collision every 63 minutes
- One pedestrian hit every two days
- One cyclist hit every 4 days
- One person injured in a vehicle every 4 hours
- One death every 17 days
I learn that of the top ten high collision intersections in York Region, Yonge and Green Lane is third from the top. Between 2012 and 2014 there were 164 collisions compared with Weston Road and Rutherford (187 collisions) and Highway 7 and Weston Road, the Regional black spot, with 199 collisions.
Personally, I would throw the book at bad drivers. Driving over the speed limit should be as socially unacceptable as blowing cigarette smoke into someone’s face.
And yet it is tolerated.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on the 400 series of highways with someone tailgating me or switching lanes at speed without signaling.
Most collisions (24%) happen as a result of driving too close to the car in front.
We need brake lights that shout: Back Off!
And dashboard and rear view cameras, with automatic taping, standard for all new vehicles. The technology is there and it is easy. Why not?