Rupke's motion was 'redundant'

This is in response to the resolution regarding King Road submitted by Councillor Jack Rupke and voted on at the Feb. 26 meeting of King Township council.

Notwithstanding our belief that the resolution was redundant, given the resolution made by Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT) and the King Township Chamber of Commerce in January 2006, which was accepted by council, CCKT would like to comment on Councillor Rupke's resolution.

First, we believe the environmental assessment (EA) requested by Rupke unnecessarily perpetuates the phenomenon of piecemeal EAs that enable incomplete, inaccurate assessments of the true impact of projects. As we recommended to the Director of Infrastructure Planning for York Region in a letter in november, we believe an assessment for the King City-Nobleton bypass should be incorporated into the Highway 50 and Highway 427 Extension Area Arterial Network Study.

The Highway50/Highway 427 Extension Area Arterial Network Study is strategic; it is a good effort to determine a holistic solution for the defined area. We are very concerned, however, at the apparent northern border of this study, which is the extension of Highway 427 to north of Rutherford Road (i.e. Major Mackenzie or in the vicinity of Mayfield Road.) How is the traffic going to reach or leave the new terminus of 427? Without addressing this issue, congestion will simply be shifted onto east-west routes, which are neither adequate nor appropriate.

Secondly, we do not agree that the Environment Assessment Act requires the Region to assess alternatives both north and south of King Road. There is recent precedence for restricting the geographic boundaries for assessment. The Terms of Reference for Western Vaughan IEA was approved last February by the Ministry of the Environment, "subject to six amendments.The most notably being 'any alternative to be located through the Boyd Conservation Area is excluded from consideration of the IEA.'" Our rationale for focusing south of King Road is not just environmental; it is also strategic.

A decision on how to reduce traffic on King Road must consider where such traffic is coming from and where it is going. A bypass located south of King Road can be linked to a major east-west artery, which already exists, namely Mayfield Road whereas there is nothing comparable for a by-pass north of King Road.

To summarize, our goal is to reduce traffic on King Road in a manner which is strategic and which respects both the Oak Ridges Moraine and the character of the township.

Debbie Schaefer, Vice-chair CCKT