Truck prohibitions coming to Alton and Caledon East

February 5, 2026 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Peel Region Council has moved to implement a one-year pilot time-of-day truck prohibition on Regional roads in Alton and Caledon East following Caledon Council’s request.

The prohibitions follow Caledon Council’s requests for prohibition in Alton, Caledon East, and Bolton.

In October of 2024, Councillor Cosimo Napoli presented a motion for the Town to collaborate with Region of Peel staff to look into the feasibility of a full commercial truck ban, other than for local deliveries, on Regional Road 50 north of Mayfield Road in Bolton.

After surveying truck data collection, Peel Region Staff did not recommend any truck prohibition for Highway 50 between Mayfield Road and Healey Road.

Staff, however, did recommend a one-year period of pre-truck prohibition data collection, followed by a one-year pilot to implement time-of-day truck prohibitions on Regional roads in Alton and Caledon East.

The prohibition pilot will begin in July 2026 and be implemented between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., 11 p.m. to 9 a.m., including all day on weekends/holidays.

Staff will also provide a progress report to the Regional Council on the traffic and safety impacts after the conclusion of the pilot.

The motion was originally scheduled for January 2027 at Peel Region Council.

Dwayne Jackson, Director of the Alton Village Association (AVA), delegated to Peel Region Council to move the pilot up by six months, noting the time of year with tourist season, school holiday, and the “ongoing relative issue with the sewage trucks, up to 40 a day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

“My concerns for the safety of the residents and businesses in Alton are genuine. I’ve attended those emergency calls involving large trucks. It’s never a good day for those involved. Last thing a first responder wants to attend is a child or anyone being struck by an 18-wheeler or a dump truck,” said Jackson. “The village of Alton is a small town being exposed to city volume truck traffic. And in my opinion, it’s not a matter of if, it’s when something bad is going to happen.”

Mayor Annette Groves at the meeting shared that this prohibition is “the right thing to do” and that it has been a long time coming.

“It’s a school year, kids are back to school, and that’s where I think the six months moving it up would make a big difference for the village,” added Groves.

Regional Councillor Christina Early said the AVA began advocacy in early 2023 to remove the heavy truck haul route through Alton, highlighting safety risks posed by 300 to 400 daily trucks passing directly by local schools and the seniors’ centre on the main road.

“Through multiple virtual meetings with Peel Region’s transportation team, myself and Councillor Kiernan participated alongside AVA representatives to press for alternative routing and mitigation measures preserving the village character,” said Early.

A pivotal moment, she said, was during an on-site meeting at Gather Café in Alton in October of 2024, where Peel Region’s transportation engineers and CAO Gary Kent joined her and AVA members for an on-foot tour of the haul route, “witnessing firsthand the disruptive volumes and proximity to sensitive community areas.”

This advocacy, said Early, prompted Peel Region to analyze all designated haul routes across Caledon, including Airport Road in Caledon East, culminating in the comprehensive truck pilot project.

Early added the acceleration for the timeline by six months accounts for critical data collection ahead of the 2027 road download to Caledon.

“This enabled refined time-based restrictions during peak hours, weekends, and holidays while addressing years of resident concerns and illegal trucking complaints,” said Early.

Regional Councillor Mario Russo echoed support for moving the prohibitions up by six months, adding his thoughts on the Bolton prohibition not supported at this time, “we will be on you on that as well.”

In November of 2024, Councillor Doug Maskell first brought forward a motion for traffic calming measures on Airport Road and Old Church Road, “to see the Region take action on this important issue was very gratifying,” said Maskell.

He added. he has heard “loud and clear” from residents that truck traffic through Caledon East was out of control.

“On two occasions I counted over 75 trucks per hour going through the intersection of Airport Road and Old Church Road,” he said. “The volume of trucks through the village of Caledon East is highly disruptive and severely degrades the quality of life for residents and visitors.”

Although originally moving for a portion of Airport Road and all of Old Church Road to be removed from the Strategic Goods Movement Network, Maskell says he knew “a complete prohibition was highly unlikely.”

“I do believe this ask was instrumental in the Region’s decision to impose the time-of-day truck prohibitions on Airport Road and Old Church Road. The prohibitions during both the morning and afternoon ‘rush hours’, during school arrival and dismissal times and on weekends/holidays will make our community safer,” he said.

Maskell added that the success of the one-year pilot will be dependent on OPP enforcement and potential changes to the Town of Caledon by-laws, “prior to the launch in July 2026, there must be a comprehensive information campaign to inform trucking companies and logistics businesses of these new prohibitions to ensure driver compliance.”