The effects of a proposed Dissette Street townhouse development on traffic congestion could be a “recipe for disaster,” one Bradford West Gwillimbury resident told council Tuesday.
Cachet Harbour Development Inc. is proposing seven blocks of “back-to-back townhomes” and two blocks of mixed-use buildings, with ground floor commercial use and upper floor residential.
There would be only one entrance in and out of the development — a curved driveway off Dissette Street.
“I don’t know how it’s going to work without a set of lights in there. It’s just a recipe for disaster,” said BWG resident Michael Walsh. “It’s supposed to be a bypass. It’s just going to gum it up.”
The Planning Partnership’s Bruce Hall, who was at the meeting to address potential concerns, said the proposal allows for a greater “sight distance” than what is required for drivers exiting the development onto Dissette.
Developers are also requesting the 2.4-hectare property on the west side of Dissette south of Jay Street include 264 above- and below-ground parking spots — less than the 368 that would normally be required by the town for such a property.
The visitor and non-residential parking would be shared, according to the proposal.
Hall said the lower number of parking spaces is due to several factors, including the development’s overall compact design and its proximity to downtown Bradford and GO Transit. The latter is about 900 metres north of the station.
For Walsh, parking is still a concern.
“In this town, we have a crisis just trying to find parking as it is,” he said.
In response, Hall said a “pool” of parking is an approach that is being taken more often, with more commercial traffic during the day and more visitors in the evening.
Several members of BWG council expressed their support for the development’s general concept but shared their concerns about traffic.
“This is something council’s been looking for. I like the concept of it … and that people can assumably afford it,” said Coun. Peter Ferragine.
But with fewer parking spots, “now you’re overlapping on spaces,” he said. “The visitor spaces are basically going to take up the commercial (parking) units all the time.”
Coun. Ron Orr said he is concerned the developer expects a number of the residents to walk across a busy Dissette Street to get to the GO train station.
BWG Deputy Mayor James Leduc also suggested the developer add a left-hand turn lane to help people entering and exiting.
“It’s already backed up now,” he said.
The development is an opportunity for more young people to move into BWG, but parking is still an issue, said Coun. Mark Contois.
“Parking is always an issue in this community. That’s the No. 1 thing most of them actually complain about. There are sight-line issues and we can’t have that on Dissette.”
BWG council did not make a decision about the development Tuesday. The presentation will be referred back to town staff for a full review.
