Caledon East residents receive update on Airport Road project at Ward 3 traffic meeting

May 15, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Caledon is holding five spring traffic meetings between May and June with the Region of Peel and Ontario Provincial Police.

The first was held last week at the Caledon Community East Community Complex. This meeting focused specifically on Ward 3.

The meeting began with a presentation from Gurpreet Walia, Caledon’s Acting Manager of Transportation Engineering, joined by Joe Avsec, Strategist/Senior Manager of Transportation Operations and Maintenance at the Region of Peel.

After the presentation, those attending were encouraged to walk around and speak with representatives in an open floor concept.

The open floor concept allows residents to speak individually with representatives regarding their concerns and questions.

The presentation centred on topics such as feedback they received last year, recent town safety improvements, and current initiatives.

Regional initiatives currently underway include: a gap study along Airport Road to investigate feasibility of “force cycles” at Intersection Pedestrian Signal (IPS) on Airport Road at Caledon Trailway, origin-destination studies as part of feasibility analysis for piloted truck restrictions in Caledon hamlets/villages, and a truck route study for Caledon in conjunction with Town of Caledon.

A key message at the meeting related to the Airport Road Improvement Project.

This project features upcoming roadway milling and paving plans, cycling facilities, pedestrian crossings, dedicated turn lanes, and roundabouts in Phase Two.

In this project, they are not widening the roadway, driveway paving on private property, or closing access to businesses or residents.

Phase One of this plan is from north of Cranston Drive to Huntsmill Drive, and Phase 2 is from King Street to Cranston Drive.

Residents can expect to see Phase One in late summer/early fall 2025 to late 2026/early 2027.

Phase Two begins in 2028 and lasts until 2029.

Joe Avsec spoke on the impact of the Airport Road Improvement project.

“The Airport Road construction project is going to be transformative for Caledon East. There’s a lot of good things coming out of it, a lot of things that are going to affect traffic like the roundabouts coming into town. We think that’s going to be a really nice change and we’re hoping it’s going to have big impacts,” said Avsec.

Avsec stated they’re actively working on safety initiatives in the town and the regional field.

These includes automated enforcement, traffic calming, and what they could do about truck traffic.

“We’re looking at all these different types of initiatives but we want to find the right tool for the right problem and…what we’re working on is trying to figure out what the best tool is to alleviate some of the safety concerns,” said Avsec.

Regarding resident concerns, Avsec said they are sure to look at every concern, whether they can address it from an engineering standpoint or if it’s an enforcement problem, and they will often talk to their partners at OPP.

Commissioner D’Amico of Engineering, Public Works and Transportation was at the meeting as well and spoke about what residents can expect from the following meetings.

Although each meeting will generally follow the same format, much of the content will cater to the traffic issues apparent in the different areas where each event is held.

D’Amico said she is aware that for Caledon East the Airport Road project is most likely the most pressing element and what it means for the community.

Those who attended the meeting also had the option of indicating on a map with a sticker their location of traffic safety concerns, as well as leave a comment card regarding any further concerns.

The subsequent meetings will be: May 15, 6-8 p.m., at the Margaret Dunn Valleywood Library, Community Room; June 4, 6-8 p.m., at the Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness; and June 11, 6-8 p.m., at Alton Legion.