Residents to revisit Bolton South GO MTSA discussion after meeting disruption

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last week, due to a loss of quorum, residents lost the chance to discuss and ask questions regarding the Bolton South GO MTSA and CPP By-law following the public meeting presentation.

The rescheduled meeting, initially scheduled for November, will take place this Thursday, October 30.

The topic concerns the “unfinished business” regarding the planned Bolton South GO Major Transit Station Area. 

The planned GO MTSA is a mixed-use, high-density, multimodal community in the draft Bolton Secondary Plan, and is concurrently being led by the Town.

Alongside this is the CPP By-law to implement a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) that will apply to the growth area, and is an accelerated development approvals process.

The CPPS will replace the Town's Zoning By-law for the study area.

The rescheduled meeting will allow residents to voice their concerns and ask questions about the presentation, and staff may be able to answer questions from the public and members of Council.

Amanda Corbett from the Caledon Community Road Safety Advocacy Group was a planned delegate on the original item at last week's meeting.

She shared that she left last week's Council meeting feeling angry, frustrated, and disappointed.

She highlights that “Council should be trying to work together for the betterment of all of Caledon, and if Councillors think an agenda is too heavy, they have ways to address that well in advance of a meeting so they're not wasting everyone's time and taxpayer dollars.”

Corbett shares that last week's meeting sent a message that “discourages residents from participating in local government by showing no respect for certain people's time or opinions.”

“Despite having to deal with three separate medical appointments for family members that day…I still made time to read all the material, try to understand it and prepare intelligent questions,” says Corbett. “Clearly, these Councillors didn't think it was important enough to stay to hear what residents had to say. Why would I take more time away from my family to share comments that people aren't even interested in hearing?”

Those frustrated with long agendas should prepare themselves for the future, she added.

“Each of those development applications has a deadline to meet for Public Meetings and come before Council for a decision. If those timelines are not met, the Town of Caledon will be brought before the OLT and that will cost us taxpayers a lot more money,” said Corbett.

This week's meeting will allow residents and others to voice what they feel should remain top of mind for planning the Bolton GO MTSA and the CPP By-law.

Former Caledon mayor Allan Thompson says one thing needs to remain at the forefront: if the GO is to be successful, the focus has to remain on the Caledon-Vaughan line.

In January of 2022, the Town of Caledon and City of Vaughan received a commitment from the Minister of Transportation of Ontario, Caroline Mulroney, that the proposed Caledon-Vaughan GO rail line was moving forward.

Thompson says now one of the bigger issues when it comes to Metrolinx is that the focus has to remain on this line, and on an end where they can park the trains. 

There's “good planning with the proposal that they have in Bolton,” he said, and he has no issues with it, but adds, “we can't lose focus. If we want this line to be successful, we have to focus on the Caledon-Vaughan line, not the Bolton GO.”

Going forward, he says, they should consider how they message the proposal “because if we're just talking about this, Metrolinx isn't going to pay attention.”

“What they're talking about is the beginning and the end of a goal line and basically, the name of it is the Caledon-Vaughan GO line,” says Thompson.

He shared that during his time as Mayor, they had numerous meetings and reports regarding this line.

“Going forward, staff need to get those conversations going again…staff need to start working with the City of Vaughan again to get this back on track,” he says. “Just because we want to do this in Bolton, the tracks still have to come and it takes a 10-year plan. We've got to get back on track with that, it's so important. They've got to work together.”

Thompson says the bottom line is that what's happening with the Bolton GO cannot move forward unless conversations continue regarding the Caledon-Vaughan line.

To view more information for the upcoming meeting visit https://pub-caledon.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=86c18c54-feb6-4e95-8df8-e6801bd169d8&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English.