Proposed59-kmroute wouldconnectHighway 400, north of Vaughan,to Highway 401/407 interchange at Mississauga's edge
Editor's note: This article originally appeared onThe Trillium, a Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queens Park.
The Ford government has so far pitched Highway 413 as a four- to six-lane highway, but documentsobtained byThe Trilliumshow the province is considering something much bigger.
Highway 413 was designed with four-lane sections and six-lane sections in mind.By 2041, it will be at or near capacity,"reads a statement from the Ministry of Transportation's project team, in notes from a meeting with Environmental Defence'sKeith Brooksand Tim Gray in November 2022."When we perform the environmental assessment, we protect the space necessary for 10 lanes in case expansion is needed in the future.
The Trilliumobtained the notesvia a freedom-of-information request seeking documents about "induced demand."
Ministry of Transportationspokesperson Tanya Blazina confirmed the highway will have "the potential for expansion to 10 lanes in the future, if warranted."
"This was shared during public information centre sessions in 2014," she said, pointing to a summary report from when the previous Liberal government studied the project.
A slide in that report describesit as a "four- to six-lane highway." It does not mention a potential 10-lane expansion only that the ministry is working to "confirm the number of lanes required."
The ministry used the same illustration In an online town hall last month, but said the highway will have "the potential for expansion to 10 lanes."
"I thinkthe troubling piece is thatthey're not being open about the plan here. They project that this highway is going to be bumper-to-bumper by 2041," Brooks, Environmental Defence'sprograms director, told The Trilliumon Thursday."They're selling the public that this is going to save you time, here's this road free of congestion, when their own models show it's gonna be bumper-to-bumper."
It's not the first time the Ford government has considered expanding a highway project.The Toronto Star and Narwhalreported last year that theBradford Bypass could also double from four to eight lanes.
More lanes mean more paved green space, more pollution and more greenhouse gas emissions, Brooks said.
"It's really more of the same, right?" he said.
Highway 413 is a planned59-kilometreroute that wouldconnectHighway 400 just north of Vaughanto the Highway 401/407 interchange at the edge of Mississauga. It wouldstretch acrossYork, Peel and Haltonregions, including dozens of water crossingsand 163 hectares of the Greenbelt.
Almost 30 per cent of the highway would cross agricultural or other environmentally designated land, the ministry said at the most recent town hall.
The project would also be a boon to developers with land nearby. Many of thosewho had their Greenbelt landrezonedfor development hadcited the Highway 413as a reason protections should be removed.
The government has not said how much it will cost. Some estimates have pegged it at$6 billion to $10billion.
Premier Doug Fordhas argueditwouldsave the average commuter half an hour every day. Theprevious government estimate peggedthe time at 30 seconds.
Onestudy, commissioned by Environmental Defence, found congestion could be easedby opening up the tolled Highway 407 to trucks. But the ministry has said the province's agreement with the privately run 407is to keep trafficin a "free flow" state.
"So we're supposed to build another public highway supposed to spend another, is it $10 billion now? We don't know, maybe more to build this other highway that will get congested," Brooks said.
Unfortunately for the Ford government, the project itself also appears to begridlocked.
The Trudeau government'sImpact Assessment Act letsthe feds step in if a provincial project overlaps with federal issues like Indigenous peoples, climate changeorspecies at risk.Ottawa launched an environmental assessment back in May 2021 afterthe Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Ecojustice/Environmental Defenceraisedconcerns about thosetopics.
TheImpact Assessment Agency of Canada's reportdescribes it as a four- to six-lane highway, but Ontario's Ministry of Transportation said the agency is aware it could expand to 10 lanes.
The PC governmenthas argued the feds need to stay in their lane,and theSupreme Court evidently agrees, ruling the federalactunconstitutional last month. The Liberals will likely tweak the law to comply.
But while the law is still on the books, Ontario will haveto prove it can build the highway without disturbing protected species along the route. The ministryplansto submit those justificationsby the end of 2023.
Under the current law, the project could still be delayed for years. Its uncertain future is another blow to Doug Ford's picket-fence vision for the GTA, driven bysingle-family homes and cars. He recently walked back his plans to develop the Greenbeltand expand municipal boundaries after massive public pushback.Now,his new housing minister is telling municipalities to densify.
Environmental advocacy groups say the recent reversals have freed up more time to fight the highway.
"We've been working to try to stop Highway 413 since2012, or something like that," Brooks said. "So this isn't a new battle for us."
Link:
Hwy. 413 across GTA could expand to 10 lanes by 2041: documents - CollingwoodToday.ca
