Halton Hills Council is calling on Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney to reconsider her stance and prioritize a long-term strategy for local truck traffic.
A motion to that effect, put forth by Mayor RIck Bonnette and seconded by Councillor Mike Albano, was passed unanimously by council during its Tuesday meeting.
The resolution asks the Province to make the strategy part of its Southern Highways Program - a five-year plan for construction projects along highways in southern Ontario.
“We need this to happen,” said Albano. “We hear about noise, safety and vibration of trucks going by.”
The motion goes on to request provincial funding in the short term for a feasibility study that investigates alternatives to address truck traffic, including a review of the need for an Acton truck bypass.
It's not uncommon to see large trucks rolling through downtown Acton along Mill Street and Main Street, often making wide turns that make residents nervous. Georgetown and Norval are not immune to the issue either. Hwy. 7, Trafalgar Road and Maple Avenue have residential areas impacted by truck congestion.
In 2019, Mulroney said that developing such a strategy for Hwy. 7 through Halton Hills was not a priority. This was after Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott put forth a resolution to develop the strategy in 2017, which passed unanimously.
Council is concerned the now-approved Hidden Quarry near Rockwood will only make the situation worse, with Bonnette saying he thinks the inevitable increase in dump trucks is "going to be very harmful to the (Acton) BIA area."
The motion will now be forwarded to Mulroney, Premier Doug Ford, various others at Queen's Park and area municipalities.
