Traffic congestion is a major issue in the GTA — especially in areas that have experienced considerable growth in recent years.

The city’s roads that move people and goods across the GTA, and beyond, have not kept pace with the increase of vehicles.

Our provincial government has long talked about a designated stretch known as the GTA West Corridor: a proposed transportation corridor running from York Region, through Peel Region to Halton Region which would provide a critical east-west connection.

The potential corridor would include a 400 series highway, a transitway and features to give priority to the movement of goods.

This project has been on-again, off-again and is once again under consideration by the province. The corridor would not only help alleviate traffic congestion, it would allow the impacted municipalities to move forward with their plans for development in the area.

The need to make a decision on the corridor is important for everyone. Moving people and goods is an essential part of our quality of life in the GTA. Traffic congestion is a huge concern across the region that will only get worse without the proper infrastructure planning.

Over the next 20 years, the Greater Golden Horseshoe will grow by 100,000 people and 80,000 jobs annually. This means approximately 1.5 million additional passenger and commercial vehicle trips per day in the GTA West Corridor area by 2031.

The corridor would be more than just a highway. Its central location will connect urban growth centres, facilitate the growth of new employment and businesses and create greater economic competitiveness.

The GTA West Corridor would not only ease transportation infrastructure challenges that come with growth, it would allow the government to design a transit corridor that could integrate new technology and prepare for emerging technology such as electric vehicle charging stations, autonomous vehicles and drones delivery along with the coordination of more utility services to support greater connectivity between Waterloo Region and the GTAH.

We strongly support a transportation network like the one the GTA West Corridor would enable. It plays a significant role in sustaining the type of development that is in line with the province’s intensification policies. It would allow us to plan and create complete communities within the area which is needed to meet future population growth.

The current uncertainty of the corridor is not only preventing land-use planning efforts, but also affecting the economic development initiatives that strive to make the region an attractive place to do business.

Provincial employment targets in Peel Region to 2031 and beyond are likely unachievable unless the GTA West Corridor gets approved. Plus, a significant component of the GTA’s existing warehousing and goods distribution sector is located in the “905,” in areas such as Brampton and Caledon that would directly benefit from the corridor.

Concerns surrounding the fate of the corridor have brought the land-use planning of local and regional governments to a standstill in some areas. From a regional perspective, future growth areas in the corridor are effectively frozen and years of good work are currently in limbo.

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The corridor is an essential and long-awaited improvement to our infrastructure. The province needs to make a decision so that the opportunity to plan for its development is not lost and everyone involved can move forward.