Had an opportunity to attend the Metrolinx Town Hall in Burlington tonight. I was able to ask a few questions in the limited amount of time where I brought up Route 20 that was cancelled last year and a request to revisit their decision to not fully expand the Milton GO Station.
They did say theyve reviewed the business case and the station is “adequate for the current service levels” and also promised more trains. It does go without saying that 2 way all day service was brought up…again…
The CEO mentioned that they are having productive talks with CP to allow more trains along the route and we should be seeing some progress shortly.
Im attaching a copy of my presentation to Metrolinx which I did deliver and will be following up with them in the coming weeks. Metrolinx did mention they are working on a time to come present to Milton Town Council, which is always appreciated and these issues arent going away.
Here is the link to the YOUTUBE Broadcast of the Town Hall
Metrolinx Town Hall Feb 5th, 2020
Prepared by: Mike Cluett, Halton Region Councillor – Town of Milton Ward 3
Mike.Cluett@milton.ca Cell (647) 888-9032
Thank you for holding this town hall in Halton and giving up the opportunity to let you know some of the issues Milton is facing regarding transit.
Milton has been known for many years as one of the fastest growing municipalities in Ontario. The provincial government has deemed our town as one of the Places to Grow through its legislation. Milton has grown over 56% between 2006 and 2011 from 54,000 to 85,000 and now over 30% in between 2011-2016 to over 110,000.
There are incredible pressures placed on our town from many directions – infrastructure, economic development, and most importantly transit. One of the main goals of our growth plan is to ensure residents can travel quickly and seamlessly around town and throughout the region.
It would be difficult to put only one issue facing Milton and the province of Ontario. Infrastructure, school construction, and transit are just a few of the many top issues.
I have been elected to Milton Town Council now for close to 10 years and I can honestly say transportation and transit issues consistently top the list of importance that Miltonians face.
Our town has a large percentage of highly educated workforce members living here, and unfortunately many commute out of town on a daily basis.
As a Town we are continuously working on many different plans that will help bring job opportunities for our residents. Whether it is our community engagement plans like the Milton Mobility Hub, our economic development plans for the Milton Education Village and growth plans like the Trafalgar Corridor development, we are looking to the province and the related agencies like Metrolinx to assist us in getting the tools we need to create a better quality of life, have the ease of transportation in and around the region doing what we can to build a complete community.
We completely understand the financial aspect of this process but there are in many cases more important “quality of life” implications of these decisions.
ROUTE 20 Cancellation
Late last year, Metrolinx made a decision to cut a number of GO bus routes throughout the Halton region. I believe the one route reduction that made the most impact was to remove Route 20.
This GO Bus route was the only transit route that connected Milton to Oakville from the north to the south. Metrolinx based this decision on ridership numbers as well as costs. Both very valid reasons but one must look outside the box and the implications that decision has had on the quality of life of some residents.
Albeit the ridership was low, but that route connected many students to Oakville’s Sheridan College campus and was the only transportation option for many of them.
Environmental issues are now one of the top three issues of residents / young people in Halton Region. One only has to look at the demand on all Halton municipalities recently to engage the population and work toward declaring a climate emergency which now puts that issue at the top of the list for both Milton and Halton Region.
The decision to cancel Route 20 does run counter to the intention of putting climate change and the environment as decision factors. Many of the students I have talked with are now forced to purchase a vehicle to get them back and forth to school. This now puts more vehicles on the road which not only increases green house gases, but pressures on road infrastructure and gridlock.
Students also live on limited budgets based on the cost of education, books, tuition, and now increased transportation costs. All of this has a negative impact on the quality of life in Milton and the surrounding areas.
If we as a province are doing to do the things like cancelling transit routes, we are definitely sending a clear message to our young people that the environment and gridlock issues are not a priority.
Given these reasons I would like Metrolinx to reconsider its decision to cancel route 20 and reinstate this needed service, even if it might require some rescheduling changes that could make the route more efficient. Cutting it off entirely isn’t going to work.
Milton GO Station Redevelopment
One of the other issues I would like to address as important for Metrolinx to look and review is the full redevelopment for the Milton GO Station. Recent projections of growth that Milton will be facing in the next 2 decades show that we will be reaching a population of 300-350k and a community this size will require 2 GO stations at the very least.
The Town of Milton is stepping up with a redevelopment plan – a mobility hub – on the lands surrounding our current GO station. We re looking at this plan to improve the area by focusing on high intensity residential growth as well as business/recreation to ensure the viability and accessibility of this corridor.
The Town has begun its public input process that you can find at our website www.letstalkmilton.ca gathering feedback from the pubic and business communities. The original plan for the expansion of the Milton GO station was vital to the success of this project and now that a big portion of that plan has been put on the back burner, it brings even more challenges to the success of the mobility hub.
The Milton Mobility Hub is one of the towns crucial projects on improving the quality of life in town and building a complete community. The Towns Mobility Hub study will support future redevelopment and intensification. The project promotes active transportation, walking, cycling and the use of public transit both local and GO transit. It is critical to ensure that plans for higher density, mixed use building and community uses are properly integrated.
The initial plans for the expansion of the Milton GO station and its improvements being completed as the Milton Mobility Hub is being developed is vital for its success. Any delays in the full expansion of the GO station will put at risk the quick turnaround of the Milton Mobility Hub and in the long run increase the costs of the development that eventually will have to be passed along to the local taxpayer.
We are designing this area with future sustainability in mind and will not just improve the quality of life here in Milton but for the entire Halton Region and the GTA.
Given these reasons I would like Metrolinx to reconsider its decision to reduce the scope of the Milton o GO Station improvements back to its original plan as to be able to work in conjunction with the Town of Milton’s mobility hub planning and development and reduce the impact of construction in this high profile area.
These are all pieces of the puzzle that are needed to build a complete community. They cannot be assembled after the fact without either increasing long term costs and disruption of the quality of life in Milton. It must be a cooperative effort with all team members as the table. Those teammates include The Town of Milton, Halton Region, the Province of Ontario and Metrolinx.
The Ask
In summary, the first item I would like Metrolinx to look at is the reinstatement of route 20 from Milton to Sheridan College in Oakville and to help promote this essential lifeline for employees and students in Milton and Oakville.
The second item I would request is to review its decision to not fully expand the Milton GO Station and be revisited with close cooperation with the Town of Milton and Halton Region as we go through the Milton Mobility Hub process.
What I am asking for is further and continued cooperation with the province of Ontario, Metrolinx, the Town of Milton and Halton Region. The end goal is to provide efficient and effective transit services for the residents of Milton – all parties working toward the end goal of building a complete community.