Questions raised on whether Yonge Street bypasses are fully equipped

Industrial Parkway was originally intended to be a Yonge Street bypass, particularly for large trucks coming through Aurora.

As anyone who has tried to make their way through the Yonge and Wellington intersection can tell you, this was a dream that was never fully realized.

But, as efforts are being made to see whether further promotion of Industrial Parkway North and South as a bypass will be successful, further questions are also being raised on whether it is a viable option for some of the larger transport vehicles.

“I take [the Yonge Street and Industrial Parkway] route quite often and it is designed for large vehicles, especially going northbound to go east on Industrial Parkway,” said Councillor John Gallo at the last General Committee meeting. “There was an accident there other day and there are many, many close calls there in the way it is designed.”

The Councillor asked staff whether there was a complete “history” on the intersection and whether it was indeed designed “to take the very large vehicles that are supposed to be taking that route and make a right and head onto Industrial Parkway.”

“I have just seen so many close calls there with a lot of difficulty with those 18-wheelers to make that turn,” he said.

Lisa Hauz, the Town's Acting Director of Planning, said the Town is looking at the traffic at Yonge and Wellington with an emphasis on the 18-wheelers turning at the corner and that staff will “bring that question back to Council with some ideas.”

“I have also had conversations with the Region with regards to what they can do at Yonge and Wellington and also Wellington and Industrial,” added Mayor Tom Mrakas. “They have added new signage along St. John's and also along Yonge Street just north of St. John's as well going south. They have added some new signage to see if that would help out as well to alleviate where people need to go, especially to get them to move away from the Yonge and Wellington Intersection.

“They're seeing how that works out first and then they will look at some other options as well because they know that those two intersections are problematic when it comes to 18-wheelers.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter