Businesses will walk from Pickering: Coun. McLean
June 25, 2008 - 02:11
By Reka Szekely
PICKERING -- The Region of Durham has gone with the needs of the many, 45,000 drivers daily, over the needs of business owners along Brock Road by deciding to install a median on the stretch between Hwy. 401 and Bayly Street.
Businesses along the stretch fought against the median, buoyed by support from local councillors Doug Dickerson and Bill McLean. At last week's council meeting, however, councillors decided to go with the recommendation from Regional staff and install the median.
After public meetings about the issue, the best deal Region staff could work out was installing the median with a break at Plummer Street with a traffic light there. Though the lights aren't warranted by traffic volume, the Region offered to pick up the full cost of installing them as opposed to asking the City of Pickering for a share.
At a works committee meeting earlier this month, at least one business owner, Rob Dinsmore of Lev-co, said he would have to move should the median go in.
Mr. Dinsmore gets deliveries with large pickup trucks and said the 53-foot trucks making deliveries to his company are too large to make right-hand turns.
"The minute it goes in, we have to find another place to do business," he said.
Others would follow, said Coun. McLean.
"I know there's going to be businesses that are going to be walking out of Pickering because of this median."
But Region staff say a traffic light at Plummer and a legal U-turn will take care of access to the majority of the businesses along the strip. As to the other business, it would be up to the property owners to build a common driveway that leads to the lights.
While Coun. McLean questioned whether 87 accidents along the stretch of road in six years was a cause for concern, fellow Pickering Coun. Rick Johnson thought it was and sided with the Region's recommendation.
"It only takes one accident to lose a life, safety comes first," he said. Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan also said he supported the staff recommendation to err on the side of safety.
Coun. Johnson acknowledged it was a difficult situation for Lev-co, but said the building was not intended to accommodate 53-foot tractor trailers.
Region staff said it would prefer to do nothing to the road rather than to widen it to five or six lanes with a centre turn lane. Works Commissioner Cliff Curtis said that was bad design and would make the road substantially more dangerous.
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