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TRANSPORTATION
York drivers have longest GTA commute Average York worker spends 32 minutes getting to job, compared to 23 minutes in Durham BY LISA QUEEN
F
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lqueen@yrmg.com
eel like you spend way too much time in your car driving to work? It’s not your imagination. York Region has the highest car ownership rates and the longest commute times in the Greater Toronto Area. “We like to own our cars in York Region. We have the highest car ownership of the five municipalities in the GTA,” Brian Titherington, the region’s director of roads and traffic operations, told a committee meeting last Thursday. The average York household owns 1.86 vehicles. That tops Toronto, where the average household owns 1.12 cars, Peel Region, where the average is 1.67 cars, Halton
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Region, with an average of 1.78, and Durham Region, where the average is 1.79. York residents also spend the most time commuting to work in the GTA, Titherington said. The average York worker spends 32.1 minutes getting to work, compared to only 23.6 minutes in Durham, 27.8 minutes in Toronto, 30.3 minutes in Peel and 30.5 minutes in Halton. York commuters spend the most time getting to work even though their average travel distance is only 21 kilometres, putting
the region ahead of Toronto’s 13.2 kilometres and Peel’s 19 kilometres, but less than Halton’s 26.4 kilometres and Durham’s 30.1 kilometres. Public opinion surveys indicate traffic congestion is the No. 1 concern of York residents, according to Newmarket Chamber of Commerce president Debra Scott. Through funding from Metrolinx, York Region and the Town of Newmarket, the chamber runs Smart Commute Central York, one of 13 transit management associations in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including associations in Markham-Richmond Hill and north Toronto-Vaughan. The associations encourage sustainable transportation choices such as carpooling, transit, walking and cycling, to improve traffic congestion.
Data show in the last 12 months, initiatives promoted by Smart Commute Central York, which takes in the region’s Northern Six municipalities, have reduced single-vehicle trips by more than 25,000, which would be enough cars to fill the parking lot at Upper Canada Mall five times, Scott said. “Traffic congestion certainly has health impacts on people not fortunate enough to work close to where they live and I think communities are impacted as well, in that people don’t have as much time to volunteer and get involved in their local communities,” she said, adding congestion also negatively affects a business’ ability to move goods. “It has far-reaching effects, whether it’s See page A8.
REMEMBERING VETERANS
HONOURING THEIR SACRIFICES
Council moved by video honouring vets Film is 150th committee’s final legacy project BY TERESA LATCHFORD
T
tlatchford@yrmg.com
STAFF PHOTO/TERESA LATCHFORD
Col. Len Wines salutes as students from St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School pay tribute during Aurora’s annual Remembrance Day ceremony held at the Aurora Cenotaph and War Memorial Peace Park on Wednesday.
MUNICIPAL NEWS
Residents file complaints about sales tactics BY TERESA LATCHFORD
tlatchford@yrmg.com
oor-to-door sales companies may have a new set of rules to contend with in Aurora. In October, the town sent out a warning after receiving complaints from residents about a door-to-door water treatment sales companies calling and canvassing local neighbourhoods. According to comments received by the town, the individuals claimed they worked for the municipality, were water-meter readers and told residents they needed to conduct a mandatory inhouse water test. The release issued by the town reminded residents it does not sell or endorse water treatment equipment for residents using the municipal water service and that the safety and quality of the local water supply meets or exceeds the
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WHAT IS your take on this issue?. Email tlatchford@yrmg.com.
requirements under the Ontario drinking water regulations set by the province. Spurred by the recent complaints, constituent reports and his own experiences, Aurora Councillor Tom Mrakas asked for council support to have town staff report back on rules, regulations for outright banning the practice. “As a council, we have a responsibility to look out for our community, especially for those who are most vulnerable,” Mrakas said. “There are a lot of hard-working businesses that use this sales method, but we just want to make sure See page A7.
Mulock GO train station being explored
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BY CHRIS SIMON
csimon@yrmg.com
potential GO Transit train station at Mulock Drive is being considered by Metrolinx, says a representative from the provincial transportation authority. Metrolinx chief planning officer Leslie Woo said the site is among more than 50 being considered for new stations. A shortlist of potential sites will be created over the next few months and a recommended slate of new stations will be determined in the spring. “We are expanding the length and amount of rail service,” she said, during a presentation to Newmarket’s committee of the whole Monday.
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Metrolinx to expand length and amount of rail service in the area, spokesman says this week.
Would a Mulock station change your commute? Email tkibble@yrmg.com
“GO regional express rail is a major step for the type of mobility we’re going to see across this region. Getting to this level of service requires a significant amount of infrastructure investment.” Over the next few years, GO will add about 150 kilometres of track throughout its network and increase service along the Barrie line — from 12 trains to about 32 on weekdays and zero to nearly 29 on weekends, Woo said. Metrolinx is also investigating potential locations
for passing track infrastructure north of Aurora, and the space requirements that would be needed for a third track up to the East Gwillimbury GO station, she said. The presentation was made at the request of councillors, who wanted to discuss plans for future rail enhancements along six kilometres of track within the municipality. The Tannery Mall hub, level See page A8.
Hallmark York Group Realty Ltd., Brokerage Independently Owned & Operated
905.727.1961 • 416.213.5772
info@susancowen.com • www.SusanCowen.com Susan Cowen Sales Representative C
M
Y
See page A7.
TRANSIT
Aurora council talks door-to-door sales ban
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he past, present and future united at town hall on Remembrance Day and brought those watching it to tears. On the heels of the Town of Aurora’s Sesquicentennial anniversary, the celebration committee recommended the creation of a video that would help all ages honour those who have fought, are currently fighting or will fight for the country. The committee’s final legacy project is a 31-minute video that touches on the history of the First World War and allows Second World War and contemporary veterans as well as Silver Cross mothers to share their stories. The video also touches on the future of cadets. “During that silence on remembrance day don’t think
I’ll get back to that thought and tell my friend after,” one local cadet said on film. “Think about what they (soldiers) must have been through, what they were feeling.” It was an emotional ride creating the video but 2 Thumbs Up Productions director and producer Joe Costa didn’t hesitate when he had the opportunity to take the project on. “It sounded like a simple project but when I started to delve into the research, there were so many ways we could take it,” he said. “I wanted to make something that could help people make a connection on Remembrance Day, even if they don’t know anyone who has served.” When he was young, he would sit in silence during the annual Remembrance Day
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