[from an e-mail sent by the Ontario Public Interest Research Group at Brock University]Photo of Red Hill Valley destruction, by Cees Van Gemerden
"For forty years the people of the greater Hamilton area fought long and hard against the creation of the Red Hill Expressway. Canada's second largest urban park, a UN recognized Biosphere, home to countless migratory bird, insects, and animals on native land, was lost to this cultures definition of "progress". This new highway in one of the regions most polluted places, is only existing health and environmental problems worse. Despite this, the failure to prevent the construction of the Red Hill Expressway was a success at bringing people from across the city together. People from different places, with different values, with different perspectives stood together. It is in this spirit of solidarity that our regional community has to stand up together once again and stop yet another highway from being built.
The Mid-Peninsula Highway has been part of Ontario Ministry of Transportation planning since as far back as the 1950s, but was resurrected in the early 1990s to relieve traffic congestion along the Queen Elizabeth Way, which runs through tender fruitlands and is not well-suited to expansion beyond its current configuration. The governments of Premier Mike Harris and Ernie Eves planned to fast-track the highway's construction, but the project has been delayed by the Dalton McGuinty government through re-initiating the environmental assessment that was completed by the previous governments.
The QEW-Highway 420 interchange has been once considered as the eastern terminus of the route (which could see the Mid-Peninsula bypass being signed as Highway 420), since the interchange is designed for westward expansion, however this has likely been dropped in favour of a routing directly to Fort Erie.
The route will most likely begin at Peace Bridge or its planned twin bridge in Fort Erie. It will then head west across the peninsula, crossing the Welland Canal and passing south of Hamilton to connect to Highway 403. Later, it is likely that it will either connect with Highway 407 on the northern edge of Burlington. It is expected that the City of Hamilton will extend the Red Hill Valley Parkway south to connect with the Mid-Peninsula Highway in Stoney Creek, and that an extension to Highway 401 in Milton will form the first leg of the GTA East-West Corridor
In an age of global warming, Kyoto targets, peak oil, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and a failing health care system, the last thing this province needs to be spending its resources on is yet another major highway. We need to pressure for transportation alternatives to reduce reliance on the automobile.
The Niagara to GTA Corridor Planning and Environmental Assessment Study http://niagara-gta.com/ (aka: The Mid-Peninsula Highway) is holding three public consultations in Hamilton Halton and Niagara within the next couple weeks to listen to the public feedback regarding Phase 1. They are:
The Mid-Peninsula Highway has been part of Ontario Ministry of Transportation planning since as far back as the 1950s, but was resurrected in the early 1990s to relieve traffic congestion along the Queen Elizabeth Way, which runs through tender fruitlands and is not well-suited to expansion beyond its current configuration. The governments of Premier Mike Harris and Ernie Eves planned to fast-track the highway's construction, but the project has been delayed by the Dalton McGuinty government through re-initiating the environmental assessment that was completed by the previous governments.
The QEW-Highway 420 interchange has been once considered as the eastern terminus of the route (which could see the Mid-Peninsula bypass being signed as Highway 420), since the interchange is designed for westward expansion, however this has likely been dropped in favour of a routing directly to Fort Erie.
The route will most likely begin at Peace Bridge or its planned twin bridge in Fort Erie. It will then head west across the peninsula, crossing the Welland Canal and passing south of Hamilton to connect to Highway 403. Later, it is likely that it will either connect with Highway 407 on the northern edge of Burlington. It is expected that the City of Hamilton will extend the Red Hill Valley Parkway south to connect with the Mid-Peninsula Highway in Stoney Creek, and that an extension to Highway 401 in Milton will form the first leg of the GTA East-West Corridor
In an age of global warming, Kyoto targets, peak oil, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and a failing health care system, the last thing this province needs to be spending its resources on is yet another major highway. We need to pressure for transportation alternatives to reduce reliance on the automobile.
The Niagara to GTA Corridor Planning and Environmental Assessment Study http://niagara-gta.com/ (aka: The Mid-Peninsula Highway) is holding three public consultations in Hamilton Halton and Niagara within the next couple weeks to listen to the public feedback regarding Phase 1. They are:
Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
4pm-8pm
Rockton World Fairground
812 Old Highway 8, Rockton
Thursday, June 14th, 2007
4pm-8pm
Quality Hotel St. Catharines
Chardonnay/ Concord Ballroom
327 Ontario St. St. Catharines
Monday, June 18th, 2007
4pm-8pm Holliday Inn Burlington
Halton Hall
3063 South Service Road, Burlington
If you can not make it to any of these events contact your local city councilor, and MPP
Find your MPP: "http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/go2.jsp?Page=/members/members_main&menuItem=mpps_header&locale=en"
More information on the proposed project: NGTA Project Team:
"http://www.niagara-gta.com"
No comments:
Post a Comment