With decisions pending on the proposed Bradford bypass — a 16.2-kilometre limited-access highway that would link Highways 400 and 404 — the Bradford Women’s+ Group hosted an online community discussion about the controversial project this week.
Moderated by Margaret Prophet of the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition, the discussion included panelists Claire Malcolmson, executive director of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, and Laura Bowman, senior counsel for EcoJustice. The questions they raised about the bypass centred around what was described as an incomplete, inadequate and outdated Environmental Assessment process.
Malcolmson noted the proposed east-west route lies north of Queensville Sideroad in East Gwillimbury and south of Line 9 in Bradford West Gwillimbury, and cuts through environmentally sensitive land that has Greenbelt designation near the mouth of the Holland River.
The properties are close to Lake Simcoe and Malcolmson suggested they should be protected under the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan (LSPP).
The LSPP, which is currently under review, contains 118 policies, such as protection for natural heritage features as well as fish and migratory bird habitat, all of which are threatened by the new highway, Malcolmson said.
“We really need to protect natural heritage better in the watershed,” she told the approximately 75 participants who registered for the virtual event.
Malcolmson described the bypass as yet another stressor on the health of Lake Simcoe.
There is also the question of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
“This relates to the Bradford bypass, because it is a highway and it will promote more driving,” said Malcolmson, who also noted personal vehicles already account for 54 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions that underlie climate change.
The far-ranging discussion touched on urban sprawl, the Upper York Sewage Solution, and Innisfil’s Mobility Orbit, a planned community of potentially 150,000 people on the shores of Lake Simcoe that has applied for a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO).
“We have to start looking at this from a cumulative impact,” said Prophet.
Malcolmson said Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney, who is also the MPP for York-Simcoe, has framed the project in terms of COVID-19 economic recovery and has promised environmental concerns will be addressed.
“I’m pretty irritated by this,” said Malcolmson, describing Mulroney’s comments and statements of support by other levels of government as “basically baseless.”
In a response to the pushback, Mulroney noted the project has been something commuters in the area have been demanding for decades.
"When you consider the tremendous population growth York Region and Simcoe County have experienced, there is little doubt on the need to invest in transportation infrastructure for the region," said Mulroney, who called the bypass "a critical project" to alleviate congestion and boost Ontario’s economy. "We know congestion is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and as the population grows, we cannot afford to delay planning for this corridor."
The transportation minister said the bypass project's preliminary design and EA update began in September 2020. It will include gathering information about environmental conditions, predicting and mitigating impacts "to the extent practicable," as well as consulting with the public, stakeholders and Indigenous peoples, she said.
"These processes are prescribed by law and will be followed to the letter," Mulroney said. "Strong environmental oversight will always be maintained as our transportation projects move forward."
Bowman suggested there are other options to address the region’s transportation needs. She also noted the original EA began in 1997 and was not completed until 2002, which is almost two decades ago.
At the time, a climate-change impact assessment was not required, there was no study of the impact on migratory birds or fish habitat undertaken, no noise and vibration assessments, and no Stage 3 archaeological study, despite the possible presence of both colonial and pre-colonial sites.
Bowman noted the proposed route impacts 22.1 hectares of quality woodland, 17.2 hectares of Holland River wetlands, and 32.7 hectares of “extremely important wildlife movement corridors.”
More importantly, Bowman said, “it did not consider any non-highway options to improve the road network.”
When the Liberal government brought in its growth plan in 2006, it shelved the Bradford bypass project and the conditions of the EA were never completed. In 2016, local governments lobbied to have the bypass project reinstated in the growth plan, “with no clear justification,” Bowman said.
She suggested the province is now proposing exemptions that could mean the 15 environmental studies won’t be done, and that construction, such as bridges, could begin even before the EA is updated.
“Where is the current information? We’re talking about studies that are 20 years old,” Bowman said. “Do we still need it?”
She spoke of all-day, two-way GO train travel (which has yet to be introduced to the area), and suggested that Bradford West Gwillimbury should look at “alternate access routes” – routes she identified as cutting through the Holland Marsh agricultural specialty crop zone, south of Bradford, to link up with Highway 9 and Green Lane.
“We know that highways are not a solution to traffic congestion. Highways cause more congestion,” Bowman said. “We cannot meet our Paris (Agreement) targets if we keep building highways."
Bowman expressed concern with leaving the EA in the hands of the province, suggesting the province has a history of cutting environmental corners. “Really the only solution is a federal Environmental Assessment,” she said.
All of the speakers called for updating of the environmental studies and the initiation of a federal EA to look at the actual and cumulative impacts of the highway on sensitive ecosystems. They urged participants to speak out and ask questions of their MPPs.
“When politicians feel the heat is on… the personalized contact with the decision-makers makes a difference,” said Prophet.
Bradford Mayor Rob Keffer took exception to the suggestion that traffic should be diverted through the agricultural area of the Holland Marsh.
“A controlled-access highway is the best way to limit traffic on local and regional roads,” he said. “The agricultural community is in support of the Bradford bypass because the traffic volumes on concession and rural roads is harming farming activities.”
As for the suggestion the province can't be trusted to carry out the updated studies, Keffer said, "I have been assured that new environmental impact studies will be done. These studies will be taking into account new legislation and the standards in place currently."
