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Post date: Apr 21, 2015 1:45:4 AM
407 Transitway – Ninth Line Station and its impact on Legacy
Ken Rahl, April 20, 2015
Early last week, the LCRA provided notice of a public information session to present the 407 Transitway project to the public, particularly the 18 km stretch between Kennedy and Brock Road along 407 ETR. The 407 Transitway is a long-term project to implement either light-rail or dedicated bus lines across the whole of the 407 ETR corridor. Click on the link below for more information on the project (hint: the pdf works best if you save it locally before opening):
At the information session, the 407 Transitway organization presented a selection of slides providing information on the project, including several options for developing the Ninth Line Station. The organization’s preferred site for the Ninth Line Station sits directly between the Legacy neighbourhood and the 407 ETR. These lands have been set aside for transportation purposes for many years.
The LCRA reviewed the presentation materials, and have several concerns regarding the best interests of the Legacy neighbourhood. The LCRA will begin a process to engage the Legacy community and the City, Region and Province to ensure our concerns are appropriately communicated and considered. This is an exciting project, but must be implemented in a way that takes the needs of Legacy into consideration.
The LCRA’s initial thoughts/concerns include the following (please review the Ninth Line Station presentation slide at the above-mentioned website for context, or here https://gallery.mailchimp.com/18075aee15ad853985e574eaa/images/8ff11711-f8dd-4869-ab4b-bf3d7ffe9f1f.jpg):
Parking
First concern is the use of Old Ninth Line north of Rouge Bank Drive as the only entry/exit point of what will be a large transit station and parking lot. Our concerns are as follows:
The proximity of the parking lot access to Legacy will promote traffic infiltration through Legacy to access 14th Avenue, which is already a problem given the layout of the Box Grove Bypass.
The proximity of this intersection to the Legacy neighbourhood will significantly affect traffic, congestion and safety in our neighbourhood.
There is very little space between the north side of Wood Thrush and the Box Grove Bypass to facilitate another passageway.
Pedestrian Access
Next concern is the proposed “pedestrian access directly to the local neighbourhood”. While this may sound appealing to local residents looking for easy access to public transit, we have concerns that this will bring more pedestrian traffic as well as people looking for alternative parking options by parking on our quiet streets during the day.
Alternatives
A second site option is to put the station behind the Box Grove shopping area on the other side of Ninth Line. While this may sound attractive from a Legacy perspective, we must be aware that if the transit hub goes across the street, then the lands between Legacy and the 407 ETR become free again for the high-density housing that threatened Legacy 15 years ago.
Now we want to hear from you. Please let us know how you feel about what you see in the presentation, and share the concerns that you would like the LCRA to bring forward. And remember to join or renew your membership with the LCRA. The LCRA will always keep the best interests of Legacy in mind, but the interests of our active members will be our first priority.
Here’s how you can be heard:
Provide your own comments on what you see in the presentation via the 407 Transitway website, http://www.407transitway.com/kennedyToBrock/contactUs.php. Comments from the presentation phase are requested before May 15, 2015.
Join the LCRA or renew your membership for 2015. The concerns the LCRA raises will carry more weight if we can reference a strong membership base. Registering is cheap and easy – you can do so here: https://sites.google.com/a/legacynet.ca/lcra/about/lcra-membership.
Provide us with your thoughts directly by e-mailing us at info@legacynet.ca .
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