Community members and environmental groups gathered outside Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney's office in Holland Landing Saturday afternoon for a protest against the controversial Bradford Bypass and Highway 413 projects.
"We are here advocating for traffic solutions that don't make climate change worse, that protect Lake Simcoe and build sustainable communities," said Margaret Prophet of Springwater, executive director for the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition and one of the event's organizers.
More than 100 people stood along Mount Albert Road with colourful signs opposing the building of both the Bradford Bypass and Highway 413.
Members from local environmental groups spoke to the crowd about their concerns with the Ontario government's plans for building the highways.
"Thank you, everyone, for coming out and standing up for the climate, the farmlands, for future generations, the wetlands and endangered species, you guys are the leaders we need for tomorrow to ensure our kids, our grandchildren are going to be in good hands," said Prophet.
The proposed Bradford Bypass highway will extend from Highway 400 between 8th Line and 9th Line in Bradford West Gwillimbury, will cross a small portion of King Township and will connect to Highway 404 between Queensville Sideroad and Holborn Road in East Gwillimbury.
Prophet says there are better solutions the government can look at when it comes to traffic congestion and gridlock.
An investigative report by the Toronto Star a few weeks ago stated that the province recognized as early as 2014 that there were alternatives to building the Bradford Bypass that would provide traffic solutions.
"The studies that were done in 2014 show they should be looking at directing truck traffic out of the downtown through bylaws, connecting different roads or interchanges, more transit investments," said Prophet. "There are all kinds of things that they said would make good alternatives that would be cheaper and deal with the traffic better than a highway. The highway will not reduce traffic congestion, it will bring more."
Premier Doug Ford was in Bradford last Monday to announce the full funding for the Bradford Bypass project, which is part of the province's COVID-19 recovery plan, expecting to create more than 700 jobs per year on average during construction and generate more than $70 million in annual real GDP. He also squashed rumours that the highway would be a toll road.
"Them (the government) not promising tolls means that now all Ontarians are going to be paying billions of dollars for this highway," said Prophet, who argued the money could be better spent on things like helping those struggling from the pandemic: small businesses, families, and health-care workers.
Ford said the highway is a critical part of building Ontario, and that communities in the area have been asking for the link for decades.
And while Mulroney says the traffic in the area is only going to get worse with the population of Simcoe and York expected to increase by two million in the next two decades, the environmentalists argue building the highway won't stop the traffic and will cause induce demand.
Claire Malcolmson, one of the event organizers and executive director with the Lake Simcoe Coalition, said she drove north through Bradford on Friday night and hardly had to touch her brakes.
"Sometimes there are traffic jams in Bradford, I understand that, but I don't think we have to throw Lake Simcoe under the bus to fix the traffic jam," she said.
"The biggest problem that I have with this proposed highway is that it is proposed to go through the Holland Marsh wetlands...it is supposed to be protected by our province and its policies," said Malcolmson. "The province of Ontario proposing to put a highway over those same wetlands I say, in a climate emergency, with Lake Simcoe's health rally ailing, that is not OK."
The last environmental assessment (EA) for the bypass was completed almost 25 years ago, which critics say is now out of date.
Paul Jafine from local organization FROGS (Forbid Roads Over Greenspaces), warned that with the Bradford Bypass being built, Lake Simcoe will become a dead lake within 38 years.
"Think about Lake Simcoe being dead, no marine life, no fish, no turtles, no frogs," he told the group of protesters.
He also had a message for all municipalities and councillors in support of the highway project:
"Do you want to tell your children and your grandchildren that you voted for the Bradford Bypass that directly led to the death of Lake Simcoe? And if the answer to the question is yes, you should be ashamed of yourself" he shouted.
Last month the Ontario government decided to exempt the Bradford Bypass highway project from the requirements of the province’s Environmental Assessment Act, in a decision by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. However, when the Ford government committed to reviving the project, they promised to update and restart the EA currently in progress.
"It will take a little bit more time to complete, and we'll be in a position to put shovels in the ground once that EA is complete," said Mulroney on Monday.
"Even if the bypass is not going to harm the environment, it is not going to resolve the local traffic issues," said Malcolmson. "How can we build our communities more sustainably so we don't have to rely on highways, and how can we build the regional road and transportation infrastructure to address the problems that we actually have?"
Earlier this month the province announced its fiscal review, with $2.6 billion being invested in the Ontario Highways Program, which includes the Bradford Bypass and more than 580 other expansion and rehabilitation projects. No exact number has been given on how much the Bradford Bypass will cost yet.
The bypass has received support from local commuters, Bradford West Gwillimbury Council, and the Holland Marsh Growers' Association.
"This lack of an east-west artery hurts our quality of life, it harms our environment, it hurts our downtown businesses, and the ability to revitalize the downtown into a walkable destination," said Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Rob Keffer. "The Bradford Bypass will unlock employment lands and lock in Bradford's urban boundary, ensuring that we grow in a smart, sustainable, compound way."
Birder Kevin Shackleton stood outside at the protest Saturday in his bird-watching gear in support of saving the wildlife that could be affected if the bypass is built, in particular Black Terns. He suggested Green Lane be extended as opposed to building the bypass.
"Why not extend it to the 400 and then it would bypass both Bradford and Newmarket?" he said. "You already got Green Lane, so why go more north and expropriate more land at more cost to the taxpayers than just expanding Green Lane?"
"We need to be focusing on how to best build community," said Mary Asselstine from Schomberg, who suggested creating higher density, walkable communities with good commerce in the community, eliminating the need to travel on paved highways.
King Township resident Jordan Oxley, who was at the demonstration on Saturday with his son Aslan, says the highway will only create increased demand.
"There's enough development right now, and I do believe if you just build another one (highway), it's going to fill in and in another decade or two you will have to do another one," he said.
Vaughan resident Irene Ford spoke at the event, representing the group of 413 highway protestors.
"I live in Vaughan and if highways solved traffic congestion, Vaughan would be very well served," she said, noting that the town already houses multiple highways yet the main issue among residents continues to be traffic congestion. "They are not getting to the root problem."
The groups say they will continue to host these protests in the future until they can make their case to stop the highway from being built.
