Report No. 3 of the Planning and Economic Development Committee Regional Council Meeting of March 27, 2008 2 NEED FOR BRADFORD BYPASS The Planning and Economic Development Committee recommends the adoption of the recommendations contained in the following report dated February 20, 2008, from the Commissioner of Planning and Development Services: 1. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that: 1. Regional Council request the Regional Chair to present a brief to the Ministers of Public Infrastructure Renewal, Transportation and Municipal Affairs and Housing on the urgent need for action on the Bradford Bypass, including adding the Bradford Bypass into the Provincial Growth Plan and committing to develop an implementation schedule with York Region. 2. The Regional Chair send letters with this report as an attachment to the Clerks of the Towns of East Gwillimbury, Newmarket and Bradford-West Gwillimbury, Simcoe County, and the Ministers of Public Infrastructure Renewal, Transportation and Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2. PURPOSE Bradford Bypass Urgently Required to Support Forecasted Growth This report presents the rationale and need for the Bradford Bypass based on forecasted growth, current planning context at the Regional and local municipal levels and the approved route environmental assessment. Further, this report requests the Regional Chair to present a brief to the appropriate Provincial officials and commence discussions to have the Bradford Bypass included within Provincial Plans as a necessary infrastructure investment within the horizon of 2031. 3. BACKGROUND Regional Council Directed that Bradford Bypass be Shown in the ROP Regional Planning and Economic Development Committee at its meeting of June 13, 2007, during discussion on Proposed Regional Amendment 54 - the technical update amendment, resolved that “the approved alignment for the Highway 404 Extension north from Green Lane and the Bradford Bypass be shown on Map 9 through modification”. Report No. 3 of the Planning and Economic Development Committee Regional Council Meeting of March 27, 2008 To fulfill this direction, Proposed Regional Official Plan Amendment 58 was introduced and a public meeting held on September 5, 2007. The Amendment was circulated following the public meeting and comments were received from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in November 2007 recommending that the Region not include either highway in the operative parts of the ROP because they were not included in the Provincial Growth Plan. Following the public meeting, Council at its meeting on September 27, 2007 requested the Commissioner of Planning and Development Services and the General Manager, Roads to provide a report within two months on the recognition of Green Lane as a critical bypass in the context of the identification of Highway 404 for development and the proposed Bradford By-pass. 3.1 INTRODUCTION Provincial Studies Identified Need For Bradford Bypass Transportation problems related to out-of-the-way travel and traffic congestion in the area south of Lake Simcoe were first examined by the Ministry of Transportation in 1979 followed by two additional studies of transportation issues in 1984 and 1989. The last study in 1989 identified the long term need for a Provincial facility north of Bradford linking Highway 400 to the future Highway 404 Extension. Because of the interdependence between the Bradford Bypass and Highway 404 Extension, the Province initiated concurrent environmental assessments for the two projects in 1993. Provincial Route Environmental Assessments Approved in 2002 The Province initiated EAs for both the Highway 404 Extension and Bradford Bypass in 1993. The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) approved both EAs on August 28, 2002. In 2004, the Province designated the approved alignments as “Controlled Access Highway” corridors under the Highway Traffic Act. This designation, which is registered in the Land Titles Office in Simcoe and in York Region, requires that applications and permits occurring within 450 m either side of the centre-line be circulated to the Ministry of Transportation for comment to ensure that the proposals do not compromise the proposed highway route. The approved alignment of the Bradford Bypass is shown in Attachment 1. Current Municipal Official Plans and Regional Transportation Master Plan Support the Bradford Bypass Both the Bradford Bypass and the Highway 404 Extension beyond Ravenshoe Road are currently shown in approved local official plans in Bradford-West Gwillimbury, East Report No. 3 of the Planning and Economic Development Committee Regional Council Meeting of March 27, 2008 Gwillimbury and Georgina and the County of Simcoe Official Plan. The Township of King Official Plan does not reflect this EA approved route for the Bradford Bypass as the current official plan predates the EA approval. The Regional Official Plan has shown a conceptual alignment of the Bradford Bypass and Highway 404 Extension since the ROP’s approval in 1994. Based on the EA approval of the projects in 2002, Regional Planning and Economic Development Committee felt that a refinement to the conceptual alignments to reflect the approved alignments should be included in the ROP. As previously indicated, Regional Amendment 58 was introduced to implement this direction. In addition to Official Plan identification, York Region’s 2002 Transportation Master Plan confirmed the need for the Bradford Bypass by 2021. Regional Planning and Economic Development Committee at its meeting on March 7, 2007 endorsed the report “Provincial Infrastructure Required to Implement the Places to Grow Plan in York Region” which reiterated York Region’s request to the Province to commit to funding critical Provincial infrastructure in support of the Provincial Growth Plan. The list of critical Provincial transportation infrastructure in York Region included: • A rapid transit system in all four York Region corridors. • Full funding of GO Transit’s expansion plan. • Highway 404, 427 and Bradford Bypass expansions. • New interchanges (12 new or modified interchanges) and widening of 400-series highways. • HOV lanes on 400-series highways. • Support and funding for transportation demand management and commuter parking lots. • Cross-boundary and boundary road improvements 3.2 LACK OF PROVINCIAL PLANS FOR BRADFORD BYPASS Provincial Highway Capital Plan In June 2006, the Province released its first 5-year highway construction capital plan, the Southern Ontario Highways Program 2006 to 2010. It included the Highway 404 extension to Ravenshoe Road but not the extension beyond Ravenshoe Road or the Bradford Bypass. The Federal Government’s FLOW announcement in March 2007 confirmed the Highway 404 extension completion up to Ravenshoe Road for 2012. Report No. 3 of the Planning and Economic Development Committee Regional Council Meeting of March 27, 2008 Places to Grow and Provincial Growth Plan The Places to Grow Act and the accompanying Growth Plan, in addition to identifying population and employment forecasts to 2031 also identify major highway infrastructure needs for the same horizon. The Growth Plan includes the Highway 404 extension to Ravenshoe Road but not Bradford Bypass nor the Highway 404 extension beyond Ravenshoe Road. By exclusion, the Growth Plan has identified that neither the Bradford Bypass nor the Highway 404 extension beyond Ravenshoe Road is needed by 2031 and is not being pursued by the Province. As there was no transportation analysis done to support the Growth Plan, there is no basis for determining that the Bradford Bypass and Highway 404 extension beyond Ravenshoe Road are not needed. In May 2007, the then Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Donna Cansfield confirmed that the Province was not undertaking further work on either the Bradford Bypass or the Highway 404 extension beyond Ravenshoe Road. In November 2007, commenting on the Region’s Proposed Amendment 58, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), on behalf of the Province through its one-window planning commenting approach, recommended that the ROP not show these facilities on a map in the ROP nor describe them as priorities for infrastructure investment. The Province also suggested that the alignments might be shown on an appendix map. 4. ANALYSIS AND OPTIONS 4.1 CURRENT TRANSPORTATION PLANNING CONTEXT Transportation Needs There are a number of existing transportation issues that have given rise to the need for additional east-west transportation capacity between Highways 400 and 404. These issues were all identified and discussed in MTO’s Environmental Assessment Report for the “Highway 400 – Highway 404 Extension Link (Bradford Bypass)”, completed in December 1997. Together, these issues formed the transportation need for the Bradford Bypass as was approved by the Ministry of the Environment. Due to severe traffic congestion on Highway 400, seasonal and recreational traffic is choosing to use Highway 404 and Regional arterial and local concession roads to access cottage country and other destinations north of York Region. As well, the existing discontinuities in the road network in this area, as represented by the abrupt ending of Highway 404 at Green lane and the lack of a highway connection between Highways 400 and 404, creates inefficient travel patterns and results in unnecessary and incompatible travel on Regional and local municipal roads. This is manifested in traffic congestion and traffic operational problems on Regional and local municipal roads north of