Township of Perth East

Glenn Schwendinger, Chief Administrative Officer

P.O. Box 455, 25 Mill Street East Milverton, Ontario N0K 1M0 Phone- (519) 595-2800 Fax(519) 595-2801

Email: gschwendinger@pertheast.on.ca
April 23, 2012 Ms. Brenda Jamison, P. Eng. Consultant Project Manager AECOM 300 Water Street Whitby, ON L1N 9J2 VIA EMAIL Charles Organ C.E.T. MTO South Western Region Project Manager Planning and Design Section 659 Exeter Road London ON N6E 1L3

Re: Provincial Highway 7 & 8 Transportation and Corridor Planning and Class EA Study Follow-up to April 4th Meeting with Perth East Council _____________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for taking the time to meet with Perth East Council on April 4th to review the concerns that have been raised by members of Council and the Township of Perth East (Township) to this point in the Study. The purpose of this letter is to summarize the comments / concerns raised by Perth East Councilors on April 4th. If you require any clarification or additional information regarding any of these points please feel free to contact our office. a. "The northern bypass has not been carried forward, largely because the southern bypass has scored better in the weighting process." Some respectfully disagree, largely because of too many assumptions being made in some key Factors and Criteria b. It is belived that there were flaws in rejecting the northern bypass around Shakespeare and the discounting of the land already owned by the MTO between Stratford and Shakespeare previously obtained for Highway 7 & 8. c. 1.3.1 & 1.3.2 Ground water recharge and source/wellhead protection.....facts stated are incorrect and based on assumptions. It is the Townships understanding that there is minimal concern associated with placing a highway in a wellhead recharge area this distance away from the wellhead, with this type and thickness of overburden.

d. According to the Thames Sydenham Source Protection Area the wellhead protection zones are already in the built up areas. The 25 year time of travel is not a significant threat and can therefore be built over...no restrictions needed e. The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority has 120m of regulated area on either side of the Avon municipal drain... so there is at least 200m to build the new highway here with no concern from the UTRCA.

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OR move the well as was suggested in 2009 if the municipal water supply is still somehow a problem 1.3.2 Potential development objectives of private landowners has been identified as a factor in discounting the northern bypass route. These lands are not designated for growth areas in Perth Easts Official Plan. Perth East (and the province, based on current planning legislation) would not wish to see these properties to grow as much as assumed in the criteria used by the MTO in evaluating this option.

h. PPS probably won't allow Shakespeare to grow. There are about 250 lots available in Milverton (our only fully serviced area) plus some assumed/designated land in Shakespeare for future residential development. Perth East does not want to see Shakespeare become a larger bedroom community. The Township has no intention of pumping sewage uphill to service lands north of Shakespeare. i. 2.2.3 Urban/Rural Residential The evaluation of these options is unclear in these sections as the same justifications which are used to determine if the alternative is Most Preferred, Moderately Preferred, or Least Preferred are used in all three alternatives. This does not seem logical or defensible. 2.2.4 Commercial/industrial same comment as 2.2.3 above.

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k. 2.2.5 Tourist areas i. ii. l. Come as close to Shakespeare as possible(impact 4-6 farms maximum) thus minimizes damage to farmland and businesses BUT also keep the potential tourist traffic within sight of the hamlet and thus the economic development potentially still viable

2.2.6 Community Facilities - fail to see the explanation having merit, does not seem logical see Fire department access being improved in

m. 2.2.7 Municipal Infrastructure northern route n.

2.4.3 Agricultural operations - it would appear that 4 to 6 farms in northern route versus 15 to 20 farms in selected route and as such is unclear how the southern route is preferred as it has been deemed to have less impact. Coming as close to Shakespeare as possible minimizes the impacts. The reality is that these 4-6 farms are not presently farmed as intensively as the southern properties are, and are not likely to ever again due to the restrictions and proximity. It would appear that there are no nutrient management problems, no MDS concerns, no significant activity on these farms now. It is understood that two of these farms may be currently for sale, one has been used as a land source for a new phase of a subdivision every 10 years or so, and another is essentially operated as a hobby farm. In the view of some, none of these farms would experience serious impacts as compared to elsewhere, particularly the large scale farming operations which will be impacted by the southern route. 2.4.4 Agricultural Transportation Linkages The Township has significant questions/concerns with regards to transportation across the 7 & 8 corridor. It would seem that there would be more impacts with the selected route as it increases the number of crossings required. It is unclear how is it can be made to be safe crossing four lanes of traffic and two railroad tracks multiple times with associated farm equipment.

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2.5.3 Aggregate a. according to the MNR, no potential aggregate resource has been identified in this location to the County. Nothing is listed or designated on any planning documents that the Township is aware of. i. ii. iii. if an aggregate source did exist, It would seem logical for the MTO to use it and remove it in the highway construction process. What is visual today is an unpermitted dumping of subsoil from the subdivision homes and road building OPA for 9 hole golf course has lapsed and may explain some of the stockpiling of material

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5.5.2 Flexibility for Future Expansion new alignment could be seen as shortsighted by being built next to the tracks and a municipal drain as the potential for future expansion will be significantly limited.

Additional Points for Consideration

1. It is the Townships understanding that the traffic volumes utilized for the basis of projections for this undertaking were taken some time ago. The Township has noticed considerable changes in traffic volumes and traffic patterns in the area based on a number of contributing factors (including fuel cost) and would like to see the MTO confirm the current traffic numbers and resultant projections. 2. As stated previously to the MTO, traffic patterns and access throughout the area for Emergency Services is critical. The Township would like to reiterate that closing off access to any existing roads at intersections not be considered. 3. Farmland The use of the existing right of way is the most obvious and logical location to place the highway outside of the hamlet of Shakespeare. It is view of many that making this decision will minimize impacts in the area. The reality is that those who live along the existing corridor (particularly west of Shakespeare) fully expect the highway to be built in this location and over the past several decades have planned and operated their properties with this in mind. It is the Townships view that the selected route will introduce far too many new impacts to active farms which is needless and destructive. 4. The current plan will create a significant unnecessary redundancy within a very small area. This will result in 3 larger scale road all running parallel within a few kilometers. This duplication creates a significant waste of farmland and significant amount unnecessary asphalt. 5. It is the Townships understanding that the primary objective for the project overall is to create a safe, efficient highway with the least number of negative impacts on the local farms, residents, and businesses. By working co-operatively, the Township firmly believes that we can improve upon this route 6. Phasing Construction Timing of actual construction coming out of this undertaking is an uncertainty at best, and based on the information available is not anticipated any time soon. One point that came out through the discussions with the MTO was that the potential does exist to stage or phase this project. The Township fully supports this approach as this will allow the immediate concerns associated primarily with the portion between Shakespeare and New Hamburg to be resolved soon, and the

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remaining portions to be built when actually required and when funds are available. This would appear to be a win-win situation which the Township would fully support and which the Township would recommend the MTO strongly considers. 7. Access from existing/new corridor to Line 33. The Township understands that the decision to have traffic access the south end of Stratford is one of the objectives of this undertaking. The result of this has a significant impact on the lands immediately east of Stratford. The current plan shows two large sweeping curves apparently designed to convey higher speed, larger volumes of traffic through this area. The Township would much prefer to see the existing road right of ways used for this purpose, and not active farmland. Based on the information provided by the MTO, projected traffic volumes in the Study area are projected to be high in the New Hamburg area, with a fairly significant decrease in the volumes the further west one travels as traffic leaves the corridor at a number of locations heading south and north. As such, it is the Townships strong view that in light of that, and based on the MTOs own traffic numbers, it would be much more appropriate to install traffic lights at the intersections of 7 & 8 and Road 111. If traffic lights are acceptable to the MTO in the high volume Hew Hamburg area, they should be acceptable east of Stratford where traffic volume are and will be much lower. SUMMARY The Township of Perth East is supportive of the EA process and fully supports a reasoned approach to making informed decisions. The decisions being made today will have a lasting and permanent impact on the local residents, farms, businesses and environment. The Township fully believes that it is imperative that good decisions are made in this regard based on the best information available. In the current form, it is the Townships position that some of the decisions that have been made to this point are not as good as they could have been. It is the Townships desire and intent to provide the necessary information and assistance to the MTO which will enable the MTO to improve these decisions to get a better final result, which is definitely achievable.

Respectfully submitted,

Glenn Schwendinger Chief Administrative Officer cc Perth East Council

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