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Council firm on decision to keep barricades at College Ave.

September 26, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Orangeville council will not take another swing in November at the debate to open another way to a Hansen Boulevard neighbourhood.

As part of construction to connect the easterly part of Hansen Road in 2017, barricades were placed at the intersection of College Avenue to prevent through traffic.

Since then, people who live in the residential development west of Hansen Boulevard raised concerns about only having one way in and out of the area.

Triton Engineering Services Limited did a traffic study on College Avenue to determine any impacts of removing the barricades. Municipal staff recommended the barricades’.

However, the recommendation to allow access to College Avenue was turned down by council in 2022.

Safety concerns are central to arguments from people in favour of opening the route and for other people who are against that move.

Local emergency services have told town staff in the past that removing the barricades would help with response times for that neighbourhood.

“I know this was an issue between the two subdivisions within our town,” said Councillor Rick Stevens. “One wants the road open, one doesn’t. But I fully support an updated staff report.”

He made a motion during town council’s Sept. 23 meeting that recommendations made in 2022 be reconsidered. He asked that town staff review again the Triton traffic study report and that staff report to council in November.

“This isn’t a vote to open College Avenue or move the blockades tonight,” Stevens said. “This is just opening the door to allow staff to bring an updated report.”

Regardless,council voted down Stevens’ motion.

Coun. Tess Prendergast was the lone member who supported the motion. She said updated information is paramount to making a sound decision. Support for Stevens’ motion will lead to an informed decision.

But she said she isn’t taking a side in the argument over the barricades.

“My position is that we need to revisit the analysis to understand whether the circumstances have changed and if there are any new considerations that should influence our decision,” she said.

Coun. Joe Andrews said he campaigned two years ago to win a council seat as a means to ensure the safety of College Avenue residents.

“And I still stand on that comment,” he said.

But there have been some changes in recent years that may need to be considered. Andrews said there needs to be an alternative way to support the needs of Hansen Boulevard residents.

As such, he said he’s in favour of revisiting the traffic study report in November.

Chris Kasparian lives on College Avenue. He cautioned town council about the removal of the barriers that block College Avenue from a new west side neighbourhood off Veterans Way.

“I’m a little concerned with what that may mean for the future,” he said. “College Avenue was designed to feed the neighbourhood and the streets off College.”

The thoroughfare has been extended to the new neighbourhood. But, he said, that new neighbourhood is blocked off.

“That’s quite a large neighbourhood off Veterans Way and I’m really concerned about what that’s going to mean for College Avenue if it is opened up before Hansen (Boulevard) is completed,” he said.

There are three schools in the vicinity, he said. And that raises concerns about increased traffic in the area.

Kasparian said he’s concerned about College Avenue possibly becoming “overwhelmed” by increased traffic.

“I don’t know that, I can’t know that, but I have a concern and I think is valid that, if they remove those barriers, you’re going to have that whole other neighbourhood, thousands of people, coming down College,” he said.

College Avenue resident Tina Hall implored council in an email not to jeopardize safety in favour of giving in to people who want to save three minutes driving.

“The thought of opening the end of our road to Veterans Way would be a complete disaster,” Hall said. “This is a subdivision full of kids and pets. It is not meant to be a thruway like Broadway or First Street.”

Some area residents view the issue differently.

One gentleman voiced his disdain that the new development is still closed off from other roads along the Veterans Way-Hansen Boulevard corridor.

“Personally, I think it’s a disgrace that the people in that location have been held hostage for all these years,” he said.

He said any potential traffic problems on College Avenue could be alleviated by calming measures such as speed bumps and radar-equipped speed signs.

The new neighbourhood has been under construction for the past four town council terms, he said. And the only thing different about the area is a new bridge.

“It’s just a disgrace that those people have been left hanging out there,” the resident said. “They don’t get a chance to use transit. Emergency services take longer to get there.”

Removing the eight concrete barriers that close the new neighbourhood from the Veterans Way-Hansen Boulevard corridor would improve access to residents.

Wardlaw Avenue resident Brenda Chioma echoed many of those concerns and she asked that College Avenue be opened to Veterans Way residents.

“It is time to fix our neighbourhood to be joined with the rest of our town and to have the fastest way possible to have EMS and Fire and even get bus services here by opening College Avenue,” she said.

One facet to the issue of the barricades is the construction of a subdivision known as the Edgewood Valley Phase 2B Plan located southwest of the Blind Line and Hansen Boulevard intersection and immediately to the west of the Meyer Drive and Mason Street residential area.

The 2B Plan will permit the lands to be subdivided to accommodate 51 single detached dwelling lots, 17 on-street townhouses, and a low-density residential block of about 50 condominium townhouses.

The municipality covered the installation of a bridge in the subdivision lands but it isn’t in a position to complete construction of a road to link the residences to Veterans Way.

Deputy Mayor Todd Taylor said the traffic report doesn’t need to be revisited. He said he’s “flabbergasted” at the suggestion of going back to the traffic study.

Town council has long been frustrated about the slow pace of construction at the proposed subdivision.

Taylor said the developer has to pick up construction before the roads can be opened.

“There’s no new information,” he said. “There’s zero new information. We have limited staff resources. I don’t want Public Works writing a report on something we already know the answer to.”

“Putting one neighbourhoods problems onto another neighbourhood also isn’t the right solution,” Mayor Lisa Post said. “And that’s exactly what I feel that this would do if we opened those barricades.”

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