Town wants Peel to take Albion-Vaughan Road

September 28, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
The road along the southeast edge of Caledon could soon be the responsibility of Peel Region, with the Town taking over a stretch of Queen Street.
Town councillors, sitting in general committee Tuesday, passed a resolution asking the Region to consider accepting the upload of Albion-Vaughan Road, from Mayfield Road to King Street. The resolution, put forth by Councillor Annette Groves, also calls for responsibility for Queen Street South in Bolton, from King Street to Queensgate Boulevard, be downloaded to the Town.
The preamble of the motion noted that Albion-Vaughan Road is a boundary road between the Town and the City of Vaughan, but also represents the border between Peel and York Region. It also noted the road serves as an arterial route for the movement of commuters and goods. The average daily traffic figures for the road are in the range of 13,000 to 15,000, and about seven or eight per cent of those vehicles are trucks. It’s expected those figures are going to increase with the truck prohibition on Queen and King Streets in the village core.
“The Region of Peel is best suited to handle the planning, maintenance and requirements of goods movement roads across the regional network,” it added, also noting the Vaughan share of responsibility might be uploaded to York.
Addressing Queen Street, the motion observed the Region and Town have jointly completed the Bolton Transportation Master Plan, which called for improvements to transportation infrastructure. As well, it noted the Town has a “committed interest in the long-term planning and enhancement of Bolton,” including that stretch of Queen.
Councillor Rob Mezzapelli voiced his support for the uploading of Albion-Vaughan Road.
“It absolutely now serves a regional function,” he declared.
He added Queen Street is a key feature in Bolton.
General Manager of Finance and Infrastructure Services Fuwing Wong told Groves the Town has not had any talks with Vaughan or York on this matter, although he understood Peel staff had been in contact with their Regional counterparts in York.
Councillor Nick de Boer asked about the possibility of the Region taking over Caledon King Town Line north of King, noting it’s a boundary road, also pointing out Winston Churchill Boulevard on the west edge of town is a Regional road.
Wong said the traffic volumes to the north of King Street are not what they are to the south, adding he didn’t think Peel would be interested in taking that on.
Groves later defended the plan for the Town to take on just the portion of Queen south of King, commenting that had been discussed between staff at the Town and Region.
“That stretch we’re able to maintain,” she said, adding it made sense for the Region to keep responsibility for the road north of King in the core. The Region has done a lot of work in the core, including the development of the pavilion at Humber River Heritage Park and the pump house at the foot of the north hill.
“A lot of their infrastructure is there,” she said.