In 2002 there was a different government in office, with a different planning vision for northern York Region, the GTA and Ontario. A government, which had a vision of highways and more highways as a solution to gridlock in the GTA, made the 2002 approval for the extension of Highway 404. A government, which lacked a vision of smart growth, approved the extension.
The Ontario government’s award winning Places to Grow legislation did not exist and Highway 404 was envisioned as extending well into the Lake Simcoe region. In 2002 an individual EA of less than 100 pages for a major highway was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment for approval, and it got it. But the approval came with conditions, one of which was conducting the Class EA that is the subject of this bump-up request.
We believe Ontarians deserve better than the expensive, sprawl-driving highway infrastructure projects of the past. We believe that the context has changed this into a significantly different plan and project than it was a decade ago when the previous EA was completed. Ontarians deserve infrastructure that supports smart growth, not sprawl.
The extension of Highway 404 is a highway to nowhere; it is a highway that can only lead to excessive, uncontrolled growth into the provincially designated greenbelt areas. Keswick and Sharon both already have official plan amendments in the works that – driven by the extension of Highway 404 – encroach on the newly designated Greenbelt. This Class EA clearly shows that the highway won’t be needed or justified until at least ten years after its planned completion, if not longer. This EA will test the mettle of the Provincial government’s commitment to preserving agricultural lands, green space, wetlands, and curbing sprawl.
