OUR NEWS ARTICLES OF SUPPORT
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Caledon Citizen
Wednesday, March 27, 2002
When will Caledon get local bus service?
Caledon, the fifth-fastest growing municipality in Ontario, will one day benefit from improved transportation linkages. But our jewel of a municipality, with a perfect blend of urban and rural characteristics, will likely never have a municipal transit system.
With a current population of more than 50,000, we will likely outpace all Official Plan projections by leaps and bounds. Politicians have tried to slow the pace of local growth, but like death and taxes, it seems inevitable that our community will be among the province's top pace-setters in terms of growth.
And yet, we still don't have a local bus system. We have a limited GO Bus service that is also growing at a rate beyond even GO'S expectations. Before too long, perhaps another bus will be warranted. A GO train station is earmarked for Bolton within 10 years.
Government thrust appears to be centred around road and rail linkages in the GTA and beyond, to help with the ever-increasing flow of truck and commuter traffic.
Provincial and area regional governments are anxiously awaiting the expansion of Highway 427 north, to provide alternative, and extended routes. Hopefully, we'll see this extension, but not for many years.
Everyone already knows that Regional Road 50 can't continue to sustain the amount of traffic it currently carries. And much of this is headed our way.
The long-talked-about bypass around Bolton is also in the works. We'll see the continuation of Nunnville Road, through conservation land to connect with King, this summer. We'll also see some work on Coleraine, but the northwestern arm remains an exorbitant uncertainty.
And what of future development pressures? Over the next decade, it's expected the stretch along 50 south to Highway 7 will be filled with homes and businesses to accommodate a whopping 100,000 people.
Bolton will keep expanding, at an unprecedented rate. Politicians won't be able to fend off the developers much longer who are planning literally thousands of homes on lands north of Columbia Way.
All of this proposed and real development begs for some form of local transit.
Caledon doesn't want to get into the transit business due to the high costs involved. Should Caledon ask Brampton Transit to serve our needs, we'll face hefty tax increases.
What's the alternative? A private bus system, of course. Bolton enjoyed a short-lived endeavour courtesy of Caledon Transit. It suffered from a lack of financial support and low ridership.
But Toronto's Darren Parberry, -through Metis Transit Ltd., has been beating the bushes and working frantically over the past two years to reinstate a local bus service. He's securing private and corporate sponsor-ships to launch the service, which will serve Bolton, Caledon East, Palgrave and surrounding areas with three buses. He would also secure links to Brampton, York, Mississauga systems and the TTC.
He's done an admirable job, single-handedly, to fill the void and respond to what residents call a desperate need. Unfortunately, he's met with limited political support. Caledon councillors have spoken to him, yet we believe they're neglecting a vital service. Many have thrown their support behind Parberry's dream. Caledon staff and politicians are conspicuously absent from the table. Why?
Here's a classic example of a very identifiable need, private enterprise stepping up the plate, and a lack of local political support and encouragement.
The issue won't go away. And we hope Parberry won't either.
Caledon had an opportunity to begin setting aside some funding for local transportation. The provincial government resumed total control of GO Transit, freeing up a total of $16.5 million in Peel Region. Caledon's share is roughly $800,000, which will be returned to us. But councillors are looking at taking this money to cushion the tax impacts, and not set it aside for its intended purpose. Again, why are they frittering away this opportunity? We can only assume that time has caught up with them and to save political face, they don't want to hand taxpayers noticeable hikes.
Homeowners are smarter than that.
Caledon is reviewing its infrastructure and roads needs. It will likely use some of the proceeds of the Hydro sale to meet the shortfalls.
We expect them to begin considering a local transit option, in whatever form that takes. It's time to lead by example.
MP, Editor
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