Time to build Hwy. 413 to help build the GTA
Highways play an important role in making our travel easier and more expedient, whether we are commuting to work, travelling for play or transporting goods.
Highway systems connect large cities and rural communities across the GTA. They make expansion possible by unlocking land for new communities, and allowing businesses to grow regionwide.
In November, the Ontario government released its 2018 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review and announced that it will resume the environmental assessment (EA) for the GTA West Highway Corridor, which was suspended in 2015.
The EA will identify and address transportation needs in a corridor study area covering portions of York, Peel and Halton regions.
The new Hwy. 413 — as it will be known — will run east to west and connect Vaughan to Guelph.
BILD is hopeful that a new EA will lead to a much-needed transportation corridor north of Toronto.
Highway transportation is especially important when it comes to the economy and building new communities.
The economic vitality of the GTA relies on the expedience of the delivery of goods and services over the road in order to compete in the fast-paced business world.
A new highway has not been built in this region since Hwy. 407 was constructed, more than 20 years ago.
Hwy. 413 can revitalize the region by unlocking land to build new homes for the more than 115,000 new residents who will move to the GTA every year over the next 20 years.
We can look at the town of Milton, for example.
The town currently has a population of more than 110,000 and continues to grow due to a housing boom that began nearly 20 years ago.
This growth can be attributed to Milton’s close location to Toronto, Hwys. 401 and 407.
Industry is also a big factor; a number of major corporations moved their head offices there.
One area of the GTA that will benefit from Hwy. 413 is Peel Region.
It has more than 86,600 businesses of all sizes, from small family trucking companies to Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways.
Every day $1.8 billion in goods is moved to, through and from Peel Region.
Four in every nine jobs depend upon the movement of goods and, every day, approximately 68,000 vehicles transport goods over Peel Region roads.
The GTA is one of the fastest growing urban regions in Canada.
Congestion and lack of housing supply are already an issue and we need to plan for an additional 115,000 people and 50,000 jobs per year in the region over the next 20 years.
This will result in approximately 1.5 million additional passenger and commercial vehicle trips per day in the GTA West study area by the year 2031.
This increased demand for mobility cannot be ignored.
Furthermore, there is not enough new housing being built to meet demand in the GTA, which increases prices, making affordability a challenge for many.
The construction of a new highway will unlock much-needed land for the development of new communities if we hope to build 50,000 new homes per year to sustain this unprecedented growth.
David Wilkes is president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and a contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bildgta