A major shift is underway in the provincial government, and the
changes may alter the shape of Ontario’s urban areas. Cities grow in
response to many forces, and for almost a decade, the former ruling
Progressive Conservatives let the greater Toronto area evolve
without much guidance from Queen’s Park. Critics of this hand-off
approach say that letting developers build wherever they chose has
exacerbated urban sprawl, leaving taxpayers to play catch up. Roads,
schools, hospitals and transit often seem to be built too late,
after homeowners have moved into new subdivisions. Meanwhile
farmland disappears faster than you can pick a bushel of
strawberries.
Some say that
the market should be given more time to take hold, allowing people
to choose exactly what kind of house they want, and sprawl will take
care of itself. Yet many newcomers move to the GTA’s fringes not
because they adore suburban living, but because they can’t afford to
buy a home close to downtown.
Of course,
suburban living means a lot of driving, or enduring infrequent
transit service. Because houses and stores are built first,
transportation infrastructure is often inadequate, requiring local
governments to widen roads and add bus routes after the fact.
Commuters don’t have to be traffic planners to understand the
effects. In suburbia, there are too many homes for the amount of
road capacity, and yet the housing is too spread out to support
frequent transit. It’s a real commuting conundrum.
In response to
growing frustration with traffic -- especially in the 905 area,
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government appears ready to step
in. A return to more centralized planning means several provincial
ministries will closely coordinate their construction projects --
like new hospitals, schools, highways and commuter rail lines.
The McGuinty
government is proposing a fixed boundary around what it calls the
“Greater Golden Horseshoe” from Peterborough to Niagara Falls, and
would ban new development outside the zone. While this would
preserve farmland and may promote better use of roads, sewers and
transit, land developers warn that it could push up housing prices.
The plans also call for increased development on the Toronto
waterfront, the Yonge-Eglinton area, as well as “downtown” North
York, Mississauga, Brampton and Oshawa.
The idea is to
create walkable, transit-rich cores across the GTA, imitating the
popular -- and expensive -- inner neighbourhoods of Toronto. If this
urban redesign works, it would then be applied to other outlying
centres, such as Scarborough, Markham, Vaughan and Newmarket.
To get an idea
what this kind of suburban makeover means, visit downtown
Burlington. In just a few short years, the once sleepy commercial
area has new condos and shops. Suddenly, it feels like a place worth
visiting outside business hours.
Is this the way
to go? Will enough people buy into the idea, and is it the job of
government to convince people that sprawl is bad?
Queen’s Park
calls the proposal “Places to Grow: Better Choices, Brighter
Future”. Open houses have been scheduled over the summer to gauge
public opinion. For more details, visit
www.placestogrow.pir.gov.on.ca.
If you also
want to air your views in this space, send comments to
transit@eddrass.com and
please include your name, city and phone number.
To start, here
are a few questions. Should there be no-build zones around the GTA?
How much money should be put into new highways in suburban areas,
and how much on public transit? Would you live in a new
mini-downtown, or do you prefer a subdivision with single family
homes? How do you want your city to look in 10 or 20 years?
Curious about
getting around by transit? Want info on the new ferry to Rochester?
Go to www.metronews.ca, click
Columnists and then In Transit. If you find the links useful,
bookmark the page and please send me your questions, comments and
suggestions.