PUSLINCH - As part of the planning process for the Clair-Maltby secondary plan, the City of Guelph has committed to conducting a new class environmental assessment for determining the design of Gordon Street from Clair Road to Maltby Road.
Retired University of Guelph professor and longtime local council watcher Hugh Whiteley spoke as a delegate at Wednesday’s Puslinch council meeting, proposing the idea of a joint class environmental assessment for Gordon Street and Wellington Road 46 between the City of Guelph and the Township of Puslinch.
Whiteley noted that the city and the township both have a common interest in achieving an efficient and cost effective road and highway system.
“What happens on the city’s side of the road has some impact on the township’s side of the road, particularly in the Village of Aberfoyle,” explained Whiteley during his delegation.
“The study area of the joint class EA should be extended to include the Village of Aberfoyle since the impact of high-speed traffic is especially severe in that area of the township.”
In the years to come, the city’s southern urban boundary is slated to grow into the Clair-Maltby area – about 414 hectares of land in the city’s southeast corner, bounded by the future extension of Poppy Drive West to the north, Victoria Road to the east, Maltby Road to the south and Southgate Business Park to the west.
If approved, the Clair-Maltby secondary plan would set regulations regarding residential density, building heights, floor space, housing types, road requirements and transportation plans, among other things.
Puslinch council has previously expressed concerns around the secondary plan and just recently the City of Guelph has finally answered these concerns.
Whiteley noted that he is not trying to interfere with the city’s plans but to simply advocate for the residents of Aberfoyle’s traffic issues.
Coun. Matthew Bulmer expressed his enthusiasm for Whiteley’s delegation, noting that “I believe that what you’re trying to do is a good thing. You’re not trying to get involved to derail a process but to simply make sure the city takes traffic concerns into consideration.
“We’re all trying to look for ways to improve the roads, so that it’s a win for both sides. So much change has happened along the Brock Road corridor. Even just beyond the midblock interchange, the new bridge over 34 will significantly change the preference of people taking the Hanlon. That information needs to be taken into account. Perhaps, the EA is the right way. It sounds like from what you’re saying it is.”
Bulmer asked Whiteley how a joint EA would change traffic issues and if there are any benefits to the township and the city.
“I’ve spent 35 years teaching engineering design at the University of Guelph and a major feature of a good engineering design is comprehensive project definition and multiple option considerations for alternatives. The EA process has both of those elements strongly present,” explained Whiteley.
“To do an EA properly, you have to have a well-defined problem statement that takes into account all of the aspects that should be considered in making decisions when planning. And secondly, it requires a broad sense of alternatives to be considered.”
Whiteley noted that once all options have been taken into account in the EA, possible solutions can properly be assessed; the more concerns with traffic has been taken into account, the easier it is to provide a good solution.
“Both municipalities can combine its traffic concerns and the future of the roads in order to bring good solutions forward for approval,” said Whiteley.
Mayor James Seeley likes the idea of doing a joint EA with the City of Guelph and has directed township staff to figure out where the city is in the process of looking at widening Gordon Street before having a wholesome discussion with council and the county on a joint EA.
