Emissions will be bad, despite report

May 22, 2013 · 0 Comments

The headline for your article of May 16, “Vehicle emissions from Canadian Tire facility won’t be bad,” was very misleading; as the headline raises false hopes for those of us living in Wards 4 and 5 in Bolton and Palgrave, I must say.
Vehicle emissions are never classified as “. . . won’t be bad,” especially when the number of trucks is in the realm of 800 per day, on a 24/7 basis. This means that, especially for those residents who live close to this proposed facility, and St. Nicolas Elementary School, there will be no relief from the continuous traffic congestion and fumes — any day of the year. Think of trying to have a nice barbecue in the summer, with all the smells of diesel fumes and the noise of traffic congestion, while sitting in your backyard on a weekend evening? All of Bolton and Palgrave too, will suffer the effects of the traffic congestion, day and night on Highways 50, 427 and 27.
Highway 50 is already terribly congested, and therefore cannot handle the traffic that this venture would create.
My question is, has an environmental assessment been done as yet? I know that council has already brought in a mediator/facilitator from the province to speed up the process before all the required public meetings have even been held, as reported in the Citizen recently. Therefore, it is certainly difficult to feel confident that Caledon council has the health concerns of Wards 4 and 5 taxpayers at the forefront of these discussions. Of course, health concerns are only part of the equation. Think quality of life issues, and property value decreases, as Bolton will not be a town where people will choose to live. Also the sheer immensity of the 180-hectare site, next door to residential sites, is simply too much to fathom. What are the Caledon Mayor and councillors thinking of when they promote this site, as my local councillor has done when talking to me? The tax assessment for this venture will have to be utilized to repair our roads and clean up the air pollution.
If our local councillors vote against the express wishes of their constituents, their political careers will be over, that’s for sure. I have been collecting signatures for some time now, and only about one per cent of Bolton residents that I have approached, haven’t signed the petition imploring our councillors to vote “No” to this ill-fated venture.
This is a preposterous venture, which Milton and Vaughan have already turned down, and Caledon should turn it down as well. This is simply a relocation and merger of two existing facilities in Brampton, therefore no new jobs for Bolton. Of course, this facility shouldn’t be near residential areas in any case, and should be on a 400 series highway where the traffic congestion and fumes won’t be such an immense problem, affecting many thousands of people.
If you care about your community be sure to attend the final public meeting, as required by law, this coming Tuesday (May 28) at 7 p.m. at the Caledon Community Complex, on Old Church Road in Caledon East.
Sandra Clarke-Forester,
Bolton