Lincoln, Grimsby planning for GO hub
The GO Train is about getting people quickly to and from work, shopping and fun. But while quick may be the key word for the train itself, the Town of Lincoln believes slow and steady is the way to go for preparations.
Still years before daily GO service reaches Niagara, let alone Phase 2 stops in such places as Beamsville, Lincoln is moving ahead with a secondary plan for when a GO station is built near Ontario Street and the QEW.
For the town’s chief administrator, Mike Kirkopoulos, the time is now to start looking ahead.
“The public meeting and the work we have done to date is important because as a town we are committed to the long-term vision for our community and specifically this area which will have an integral and lasting impact on the face and future of Lincoln,” Kirkopoulos said following last Wednesday’s public meeting on the town’s GO secondary plan.
A draft secondary plan presented at the meeting calls for six main objectives: redevelopment along Greenlane Road, improving the streetscape and pedestrian realm along Ontario Street and Greenlane, protecting employment lands to attract new investment, protecting stable residential neighbourhoods, and promoting active transportation while taking advantage of existing infrastructure.
“We have very few areas where business and development can locate. Ontario Street and the precinct around our proposed transit hub is one of them,” Kirkopoulos said. “However, it needs to be good, well thought out, and balanced development.”
Concerns expressed at the public meeting include safety for cyclists, increase in traffic and speeding in the area, and taller buildings coming to Beamsville.
While the CAO admitted an increase in density around the area will be required, he said concerns can be minimized by engaging the community early.
“Building and readying the community for some change is important. Only through working together can we get the best end result. That means starting early,” he said.
There was also some support from people in attendance, namely those in the development community but also from residents. Niagara Region, which is working in tandem with local area municipalities, indicated last week’s meeting was the most well-received public meeting it had had to date.
Further west, Grimsby council adopted its own GO plan Feb. 20. The plan was developed after numerous meetings with area residents, who did express concerns about intensification recommended in the plan, and stakeholders.
Region staff recently said the pending GO train service, along with Grimsby’s proximity to the waterfront, provides the area with an opportunity to emerge as a complete community node, focusing on a full range of uses, including commercial and residential, in addition to serving the needs of the travelling public.
The province has said GO train service will extend to Grimsby by 2021, with St. Catharines and Niagara Falls to follow by 2023. The Niagara GO train service business case estimates 14,000 people will travel between Niagara and Hamilton each day.
A Beamsville station is in Phase 2 of the plan, though timelines have not yet been released.