Innisfil council hit an impasse Wednesday night over whether to express support for the Bradford bypass, the proposed 16-kilometre, limited access highway that would link Highways 400 and 404.
A request was received from neighbouring Bradford West Gwillimbury seeking support for the bypass, described as a vital link in the local transportation network and a solution to the traffic congestion choking Bradford.
But Innisfil council also heard from environmental groups opposed to the route, which crosses the Holland River and cuts through the Holland River wetlands just kilometres from Lake Simcoe.
When it came down to a vote, every motion put forward – to defer, to support, or to ask the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to conduct a “thorough and transparent” environmental assessment – was defeated.
With Coun. Carolyn Payne on an extended leave of absence, only eight members of council were present. Every vote on the issue resulted in a 4-4 split and a lost motion.
Councillors received a report from the town's director of growth, Leo DeLoyde, which answered some of the questions raised about the proposed highway.
“Consultation is an integral component of the environmental assessment design process and thus is critical to the project’s success,” DeLoyde wrote.
He noted the MTO is not relying on the 2002 environmental assessment, but is undertaking at least 15 new studies on impacts such as agricultural, air quality, archaeological, cultural heritage, drainage, hydrology, erosion and sediment control, fish and habitat, groundwater, land use and property, noise and vibration, preliminary landscape composition, snowdrift assessment, terrestrial ecosystems, and human health.
The studies will be part of the transportation environmental study report (TESR), which is to be finalized in 2022.
The Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition's Margaret Prophet and Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition's Claire Malcolmson made submissions to council, questioning the extent of the studies and the reliability of government promises.
Both have called for a federal environmental assessment of the proposed road and were turned down.
Prophet urged Innisfil council to oppose the highway project.
“We feel if Innisfil wants to comment on this highway, then it should be an advocate for farmland preservation, protecting water and the environment, and clearly stand against the Bypass,” Prophet wrote.
Malcolmson, addressing council as a delegation, also called for broader environmental studies to make at migratory birds, species at risk, climate change, and carbon emissions. She noted studies have shown 54 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are related to transportation.
“A highway is something we should press the button on, and say ‘Hey, climate leaders don’t build highways’,” she told councillors. “Let’s get all the answers here. The Bradford bypass is a good example of a business-as-usual development that actually helps drive more emissions.”
She also warned of the impact on the wetland itself.
“Unfortunately, the Bradford bypass would transect some of this very best protected land and weaken it in terms of its ecological health,” said Malcolmson, adding it would affect 22 hectares of woodland, 17 hectares of Holland Marsh, and 9.5 hectares of provincially significant wetland. “All this goes against the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.”
Malcolmson asked Innisfil to reject “empty reassurances that this will all be fine," while calling for more transparency. She says the province is attempting to fast-track the project and exempt itself from some of the promised studies.
“I am not accepting what the MTO is saying,” she said. “The process is inadequate – build now, study, and mitigate as we go.”
Malcolmson called on Innisfil council to pass a different resolution, calling for a halt until after all provincial and federal environmental studies and mitigation plans are complete.
In response to a question from Mayor Lynn Dollin, Malcolmson acknowledged that she drives between her residences in Scarborough and Innisfil using the Highway 404-Green Lane-Yonge Street route.
“I have had a traffic-jam issue there maybe twice,” Malcolmson said. “A little bit of traffic congestion, mostly on cottage weekends… but you don’t need a hammer to kill a fly.”
Vaughan resident Irene Ford also asked Innisfil to refrain from supporting the Bradford bypass.
“Politicians have not been critical of the Bradford bypass,” Ford said. "By the time the studies are done, it will be too late.”
Ford said the bypass would degrade surrounding wetlands.
Ford, who commutes to Barrie, acknowledged she is unfamiliar with the Bradford area and its traffic issues, but said none of her co-workers had suggested traffic congestion was an issue.
“I live in a very congested area. I just can’t see that you have the same issue up there,” she said of the need for a four-lane highway.
The motion to support the bypass came up later in the meeting.
Coun. Alex Waters urged council to take a "sober second thought."
In addition to supporting wildlife, wetlands act as filters, taking up phosphorus and contaminants, as well absorbing floodwaters.
When a highway cuts through a wetland, “within years, those wetlands become inadequate," said Waters, who also warned of increased salt contamination of Lake Simcoe if the highway and its bridges are built.
“There are too many ifs with this project,” he said. “Defer this indefinitely until proper studies have been done.”
Coun. Bill Van Berkel seconded the motion.
“It’s going to go through anyway, but we should voice our opinions,” he said, while also calling for more studies.
Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson and Coun. Ken Fowler supported the deferral.
Fowler said proceeding with construction before the environmental studies have been completed would be “a recipe for disaster.”
Coun. Kevin Eisses opposed the deferral, arguing the issue was “way beyond” the scope of the municipality.
“The congestion that this is trying to be dealt with in Bradford is real,” Eisses said. “I do have a problem with somebody from Vaughan commenting on a road they’ve hardly driven on.”
“Unfortunately, this east-west link should have already been built years ago,” said Coun. Rob Nicol. “I think this is a needed highway.”
Waters said he was only asking for a deferral. “When the studies are done, then we’ll weigh in with a proper educated guess.”
Mayor Dollin noted the town has supported the bypass since 2002 and that the request from Bradford West Gwillimbury only came forward because she had asked Mayor Rob Keffer if there was anything Innisfil could do to assist.
She also noted the bypass wasn’t “killed” by a previous provincial government.
“It was stopped just because of funding, not necessarily because of environmental concerns," said Dollin, who agreed more robust environmental studies need to be done, but also pointed to the long list of proposed reports and studies addressing the issues.
“We’re spending too much time on something we have no control over,” she said.
The motion to defer was defeated in a 4-4 vote.
The original motion, expressing "strong support" for the bypass, also resulted in a tie vote and was defeated.
Staff proposed an alternative, which would be notifying the MTO that “the town supports a thorough and transparent environmental assessment of the Highway 400-404 freeway link, with emphasis on state-of-the-art environmental design excellence and mitigation.”
Couns. Donna Orsatti, Rob Nicol and Kevin Eisses and Mayor Lynn Dollin voted in favour, while Couns. Alex Waters, Bill Van Berkel, Ken Fowler and Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson voted against. With another tie, that motion was also defeated.
