EA Documentation - Yonge EA 1

Meeting #1 - October 2002

The first public meeting under the environmental assessment process is intended to:

Provide an overview of the key elements of the Terms of Reference that have been developed

A series of display materials was prepared and presented to the public at the meetings, which were held at the Thornhill Community Centre at Hillcrest Mall in late November 2002. The formal notice Notice Of Public Meeting - November 27- 28 2002 (PDF 48K) of the meeting was printed in the York Region community newspapers and was available on the Region's web site.

The display materials included the following:

An overview of the environmental assessment process and an indication of where we were in that process at the meeting date

Environmental Assessment Process

Background and recommendation of the Terms of Reference, which are;

The study considered three corridors (a combined Richmond Hill rail line-Highway 404 route, a Yonge Street route and a Highway 404 route)
The corridors were compared in terms of social, economic and natural environmental benefits and impacts.
Of the three corridors, development of rapid transit in the Yonge Street corridor is preferred for the following reasons;
Proximity to existing and planned higher density development would attract more potential riders than alternative corridors
Construction impacts can be mitigated
Limited potential long term impact on the natural environment

Further recommendations of the routes in the Yonge Street corridor and the preferred technology were presented in the rest of the display materials.

Background and Recommendations

A key map showing the corridor was included, indicating;

From Steeles to Highway 7 the at-grade transitway would operate without an exclusive right-of-way
From Highway 7 to 19th Avenue a separate transitway for the exclusive use of transit vehicles would be constructed
North of 19th Avenue transit priority measures would be used to move vehicles through mixed traffic and a future study to upgrade this section would be done when demand increases

Two Routes Being Considered

The Langstaff Gateway Intermodel station was illustred showing the relationship to Highway 7 & 407, Yonge Street, the GO Rail Line, Langstaff Station and area development.

The Langstaff Gateway Intermodal Station

Forecast peak hour ridership for 2021 was shown on the key map. AM peak hour ridership grows from:

1,500 at the south end of Newmarket, to
3,700 at the south end of Aurora, to
5,500 at 19th Avenue, to
5,500 at Highway 7, to
6,700 at Steeles Avenue
Demand for Rapid Transit

Anticipated challenges along the alignment were illustrated in a series of boards, including;

Pedestrain access constrants across the Railway corridor.
Property acquisition needs to connect the Yonge and Railway corridor.
Constrained road widths, left turn considerations and continous left turn lane issues along Yonge St.

The last display provided an overview of the next steps in the process, namely;
Identifying alternative design concepts

Updating the inventory of existing conditions
Confirming and addressing public issues
Identifying impacts and mitigation strategies, and
Selection of the preferred design

Anticipated Challenges

Click here to view the following:

Richmond Hill Line Corridor 1

Richmond Hill Line Corridor 2

Yonge Street Line Corridor 1

Yonge Street Line Corridor 2.