The revitalization of downtown Bradford is closer to reality than it ever has been.
During a special meeting June 14, Bradford West Gwillimbury councillors voted to endorse the recommendations contained in an Environmental Study Report (ESR) and send it to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for approval.
It’s been 10 years since the town had gotten this far.
The municipal class environmental assessment was launched in January, acting as an update to an environmental assessment undertaken in 2012. Then, as now, the corridor along Holland Sreet East and Holland Street West, between Bridge Street and Professor Day Drive, was studied. Consultations were had, alternatives were identified and presentations were made.
But no action was taken. The ESR was not filed at that time, and minimal changes at best were made to the area throughout the ensuing decade, save for an expansion of Carrot Fest, seasonal beautification and the temporary patio program spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite that, the vision hasn’t changed.
“This is where the process has been gummed up in the past,” said Coun. Jonathan Scott. “We’ve really been talking about this project for two decades and it’s had stops and starts…. We’ve done everything else that the town – and I think the businesses – have had within their control. The road’s the problem and filing the ESR tonight lets us move forward with fixing the road and making downtown Bradford a destination.”
The goal of the current environmental assessment – “to transform Holland Street into an inviting, walkable, people-friendly shopping district that will serve as a destination location for residents and visitors to enjoy” – matches the objective set out by the Downtown Bradford Revitalization Strategy adopted by council in 2011.
The report council endorsed June 14 is the result of 12 scheduled meetings, where the public and stakeholders provided input into the improvements needed to create a vibrant, engaging and healthy downtown.
Based on the more than 600 comments provided in the first round of meetings, consultants prepared their preferred option for the future of Holland Street. They separated the street into two corridors: from Dissette Street to Toronto Street in the east, and from Toronto Street to Professor Day Drive in the west.
For the eastern corridor, 18 options were looked at, with varying combinations of vehicular traffic lanes, on-street parking, active transportation and amenity zones.
The preferred alternative for this section sees two lanes of traffic (plus turning lanes), with alternating on-street parking between the north and south sides of the street. There would also be approximately five-to-six metres of amenity zone.
“It provides the greatest benefit to local residents and businesses with the highest potential to revitalize the corridor (and) the best opportunity for improving and adding to the natural and cultural heritage environments with street trees, plantings, and public art,” the staff report said.
For both options, there remains ample discussion to be had to finalize how the street will actually look.
“The exact location of these parking spots and amenities is not finalized," said Katy Modaressi, manager of capital projects. “This is not the end of the discussion…. There is a total discussion that is going to take place after the (environmental assessment) is filed.”
The aim of the discussions is to adjust the design to best accommodate how the downtown businesses operate and help to ensure their success through this project, she added.
In the western section, 30 options were evaluated, each with different lane structures, types of active transportation, amenities and on-street parking.
The recommended option for this section sees Holland Street West reduced from its current four lanes to one lane in each direction with a shared turning lane. A 12-to-13 metre amenity zone would be included, providing “the best opportunity for improving and adding to the cultural heritage environments with street trees, plantings, and public art,” the report stated.
Having three total lanes through this section would also create “a smooth transition between the four-lane portion of Holland Street. from Highway 400 and Professor Day Drive to the recommended two-lane portion of Holland St. from Toronto Street to Dissette Street.”
This was ultimately what led Coun. Gary Lamb to be the lone councillor to vote against the recommendation, who not only recalled what the road was like as a two-lane road decades ago but also looked to what could happen in the future with the undeveloped land in that area.
“I’m not certain why we would want to make the street only three lanes at that particular portion (because) on the north side there's not existing intersections and there’s not existing house and such,” he said. “I want to make sure that we have options…. I’m in favour of doing something, but I’m not sure of just sending an ESR in that is cast in stone. So, tell me it’s not cast in stone.”
The report provides half of what Lamb was looking for. Minor changes – such as adding a turning lane at an intersection – wouldn’t require an addition to the environmental assessment. However, if a full lane of traffic was to be added, the assessment would have to be re-opened and go through the approval process all over again.
The environmental assessment looked at traffic concerns in conjunction with the town’s transportation master plan that was being completed simultaneously, and also presented to councillors during the June 14 meeting. Assuming completion of the Bradford Bypass by 2031, “the traffic analysis found the majority of the corridor operating with good conditions” and that “The change in travel time across Holland Street is insignificant,” the report stated.
The analysis was completed with the town’s current traffic signal infrastructure. Upgrading to smart signals that are coordinated with each other would improve efficiency and help traffic flow through the corridor with greater ease.
The smart signals are just one of the factors highlighted through the detailed design phase of the project. That won’t begin until the fourth quarter of 2022 - following approval from the Ministry - and is expected to take a year. Assuming the 2023 urban roads projects – as well as the Southwest Arterial Road and the County Road 4 early works associated with the Bradford Bypass – are completed on time, the Holland Street project will go to tender by the end of 2023, with construction beginning in 2024. Town staff are confident in the work being completed by 2026 or 2027.
As their term winds down, councillors were asked to endorse a project which might not see completion until after the next term of council ends. That wasn’t acceptable to Mayor Rob Keffer.
“What really ticks people off is to have roads closed and not see workers working,” Keffer said. “If you say two-and-a-half years, that can stretch into three years pretty easily. I think you put your finger on the timing of this right at the start, right in the environmental assessment and shorten the timeframe.”
There were enough votes in favour at the council table so that Keffer wouldn’t have had to officially join Lamb in opposition, however, he was reassured by staff and his colleagues that the timeline was somewhat of a worst-case scenario.
“The environmental assessment that is ahead of you doesn’t really tie us to the duration of the construction,” Modaressi said. That will be solidified during the detailed design process based on the design itself and whatever variables were found during the exploratory process.
“We certainly have no intention to be in that area any more than we need to be,” she added.
Deputy Mayor James Leduc interpreted the construction timeline to take place over two seasons, only one causing extreme inconveniences.
“The major construction would be done in the first season and the cleanup and final toppings in the second season,” he said. “I’m sure (it’s) minor deficiencies in the end that shouldn’t impact us at all.
What could lead to a worst-case scenario is what might be found underground. In 2020, the town initiated a servicing study to identify the water, wastewater and stormwater servicing needs for growth to safely occur. That study found that some sections downtown will require “upgrades and upsizing.” That work is set to take place during the revitalization project and could result in the largest impact on downtown merchants.
“We have pipes in the ground that are so end-of-life… that could impact, at any time, for us to have a major project because of failed pipes,” said Coun. Ron Orr. “I think we have to look at the fact we’re doing the road, but we have to be more proactive with modern installations on this street.”
What the construction will mean for business owners has been at the forefront of the debate all along, especially in the context of the hardships caused by COVID-19 restrictions. A project liaison group will be created, comprised of town staff, area merchants and the Downtown Revitalization Committee. This group will work together to understand the needs of businesses to keep their doors open during construction, as well as look at ways to minimize and mitigate the impacts on the area.
Previous large-scale construction projects in town show this kind of group is essential to the process.
“The Dissette Street project was a good project; it was important to this town and it helped us a lot. But, in my mind, it could have been handled better when it came to the business community,” said Coun. Raj Sandhu. “I hope there was a log kept of lessons learned that we can access and see we don’t make those mistakes.”
Coun. Mark Contois agreed.
“I’m glad we’re looking at this the same way we did with Dissette because there should be lessons learned there,” he said, calling the liaison between businesses and the construction project “vital.”
Since the last budget revision in 2017, of $18.6 million, the cost of the Holland Street revitalization project has increased to about $28 million, in line with the 4 per cent annual increase seen in construction costs over the past five years.
The impact on the tax levy will be minimal, however, as the portion of the project that is a benefit to existing residents – about two-thirds of the 2017 budget – will be voluntarily funded by the participating developers, through the EPA #3 agreement.
