The Holland Marsh Highway proposed by the provincial government plans to increase connectivity in the region but at the expense of the wetlands’ well-being
C/O Bryan Hanson
Plans for the Bradford Bypass, also known as the Holland Marsh Highway, is an east-west, four-lane highway between Highways 400 and 404 that has been in the works for decades. The proposed highway would connect York Region and Simcoe Country, to ease traffic congestion and support commuters from both communities. Environmental groups say that these benefits would be at the expense of the well-being of the Holland Marsh Wetlands.
Initial studies were conducted by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. All of the studies concluded that there was a need for this type of provincial highway.
The ministry studies cited expected significant population growth in the region. An environmental assessment was conducted in 1997 and the project received approval in 2002.
The project was then shelved due to its incompatibility with the provincial A Place to Grow Act. It was not until August 2019 that the Ministry of Transportation approved its re-commencement.
The highway is one of two controversial transportation projects resurrected by the provincial government in 2019. The other was Highway 413 which was shelved by the previous Kathleen Wynne Liberal government due to similar concerns regarding its potential to harm the surrounding natural environment.
The Ford government sought to fast-track these developments by exempting them from the Environmental Assessment Act. It has also recently been reported that there are nearby large expanses of real estate owned by eight of Ontario’s most powerful land developers.
Half of these developers — which include John Di Poce, Benny Marotta, Argo Development and Fieldgate Homes and the Cortellucci, DeGasperis, Guglietti and De Meneghi families — are connected to the Ford government through former members of the party or current officials. Most have donated a great deal of money — at least $813,000 — to the Progressive Conservative party since 2014.
The Bradford Bypass had and continues to have strong support from municipalities, which have grown substantially over the past four decades. These areas are expected to continue to grow in the future.
"For decades, commuters in York Region and Simcoe County have been demanding a connecting link . . . The Bradford Bypass will bring relief to drivers, support development in York Region and Simcoe County and bolster Ontario's economy following this pandemic,” said Natasha Tremblay, a spokesperson for Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney, in a statement to the CBC.
While the main benefits of the highway will be less traffic congestion and the connection of York Region and Simcoe Country, supporters of the project have pointed to its economic benefits, particularly as part of the province’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
The project will generate a number of jobs during its construction. Once completed, it would further support the creation of more local jobs by connecting communities to major job centres in the Greater Toronto Area and encouraging more business within the area.
However, the Holland Marsh Highway would pave over the provincially significant wetlands. It would impact endangered species, migratory birds, aquatic life and generate significant groundwater contamination.
“Lake Simcoe is stressed by development impacts, salt from the expanding road network and excess nutrients already. Historically, the Holland Marsh filtered pollutants from the waters that flowed into the lake. It is extremely sensitive and a wholly inappropriate place to put a highway,” said Claire Malcomson, the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition's executive director in an interview with Barrie Today.
Local groups, including the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, have consistently voiced their concerns about the project and called on the government to reconsider, at the very least, conducting a more up-to-date environmental assessment.
Student organizations on campus, including Mac Climate Advocates and McMaster Outdoor Club, also have similar concerns about the project and its impact on the marsh.
“So because it's been in the works for quite a while, [because of] the connectivity issues, I think the actual standards that they've been using to conduct these assessments is probably even older [than the initial 1997 assessment]. As mentioned before, just to reiterate, so much has changed in the last 30 years or so,” said Vidushi Saxena, co-president of Mac Climate Advocates.
Students also raised concerns about how the construction of this project might encourage urban sprawl and new housing development, further damaging the wetlands and its impact on farms in the area. Holland Marsh is considered a significantly productive specialty crop agricultural area.
“[The highway] will encourage housing developments in rural areas and that will damage wetlands and farms and those are two things that have been really important throughout the pandemic . . . Having local agriculture is super important to climate change and it's been important throughout the pandemic because it's more affordable to transport food locally,” said Jenn Cross, the other co-president of Mac Climate Advocates.
Additionally, Cross noted that given the rise of remote work due to the pandemic that many have noted is likely to continue, it is possible that the need for such a highway is no longer quite as high.
“There'll always be a reason to go through with [projects such as the Holland Marsh Highway] but we have to be sure that we're looking at it holistically, looking at the big picture and recognizing the significant consequences that might arise . . . There is always an alternative as well” said Saxena.
“There'll always be a reason to go through with [projects such as the Holland Marsh Highway] but we have to be sure that we're looking at it holistically, looking at the big picture and recognizing the significant consequences that might arise . . . There is always an alternative as well.”
Vidushi Saxena, co-president of Mac Climate Advocates
Madeleine Hayes, the environmental coordinator for McMaster Outdoor Club, also stressed the importance of students being aware of developments and projects such as this highway.
“I think it’s important for students to get involved . . . There are students from that area too, right? The more you get involved in local [advocacy], the more — globally — different things are going to happen, right? Because that's how change happens, a little bit at a time. So by bringing attention to local issues like this, I think it really makes a difference,” explained Hayes.
After multiple delays and high anticipation, the multi-million dollar Gerald Hatch Centre for Engineering Experiential Learning is almost complete. With the referendum by the faculty’s students years ago to raise money for the new space, it only grew in function and scope as interest and funding increased for this central hub of student-focused experiential learning initiatives.
The building is separated with each floor serving a particular function. The basement and penthouse serve as a separately funded space on sustainable energy.
Despite dedicated sections, Dr. Ishwar Puri, Dean of Engineering, mentioned the importance of sustainability throughout the building and the priority towards it.
“It’s not only a building that was designed with sustainability in mind, but it was also designed as a living laboratory because there will be panels and other readouts that will be accessible to students so that they will actually be able to see how sustainability works in a technical sense.”
The first floor, known as the build floor, will be primarily focused on workshops and a large build space for clubs and teams to work on large format projects in addition to housing the David Wilkinson Lounge and the relocation of The Drain, a store run by the McMaster Engineering Society.
The second floor, known as the meet floor, will feature the offices for the MES, clubs and teams in addition to meeting rooms and an open social space called The Junction.
The third floor, known as the support floor, will feature academic counseling, Engineering Co-op and Career Services and a collaborative learning room.
“It’s a recognition that no one discipline will solve the problems of the world. The world creates issues, problems and requires solutions. Engineers, by themselves, are not going to solve all of the world’s problems. They will need to work with others.”
Dr. Ishwar Puri
Dean of Engineering
Despite these functions that would be more commonly associated with engineering students, one of the things that Puri hopes is achieved with the new space is increased integration between the faculty and other disciplines around campus.
“When we build these spaces, we expect them to be collision spaces. It’s an extension of our philosophy — how we built a collision space outside of the John Hodgins Engineering Building, the lobby of the engineering building. You don’t have to have an engineering student ID to be there.”
These collision spaces have the benefit of allowing additional faculties to use the area in a way that benefits both non-engineering students and engineering students.
“It’s a recognition that no one discipline will solve the problems of the world. The world creates issues, problems and requires solutions. Engineers, by themselves, are not going to solve all of the world’s problems. They will need to work with others,” said Puri.
One of the other indirect benefits of the building was the student feedback on the project. With the previously mentioned referendum and funds put by students towards the building, they continue to have a large deal of influence when it comes to the building’s function and design.
Puri considers them to be equal stakeholders. This student feedback and influence allowed them to work through a large-scale project, have the ability to receive the benefits and make difficult choices along the way, which is an experience that cannot be understated.
“Not all of the faculties’ suggestions were incorporated into the final design, and not all of the students’ because you have a wish list, but once you have a wish list, then you have to prioritize. … It’s very easy to put in. It’s very painful to take out,” said Puri.
He also mentioned that he reminds all of his staff workers and faculty members that it is all about the students. Their feedback, experience and learning are always the top priority for the faculty and will continue to be a top priority.
One of the issues that has come with this, however, is the demand for space in the building.
“We now realize that, because there is such a strong culture for experiential learning and just the example of the building encouraged others to form clubs, teams and extracurricular experiential learning opportunities, the number of requests the MES is getting for occupancy far exceeds the capacity of the building. What we need is another Hatch centre.”
Moving forward, these priorities on sustainability, collision spaces and students will continue to be important for Puri and the rest of the faculty. The hope is that the centre will be fully completed by the time students arrive in September.
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When the Engineering Centre for Experiential Learning initiative reached its initial $8.5 million goal last fall, both Engineering students and faculty were excited. ExCEL was designed as an outlet for students to study, solve problems, and observe real-world applications of class material. Not only was the building proposed to contain a variety of workshop and study spaces, it was all designed to be eco-friendly. In short, the initiative is an engineer’s paradise.
At the recent McMaster Engineering Society Semi-Annual General Meeting it was announced that the Faculty of Engineering was contributing another $2.5 million to the project, bringing the total cost to $11 million.
“They aren’t taking previous student space,” explained Ryan Rogers, the MES VP of External Affairs. “They’re adding new space for themselves.”
Rogers also explained that the Faculty and the MES are in the process of drafting agreements to ensure the Faculty only gets the space it has paid for, and he confirmed that the faculty being added to the building are student services who interact with the entire engineering student body.
But every paradise has its problems, and ExCEL is no exception. Former Dean of Engineering David Wilkinson’s original building proposal of 22,000 square feet was recently deemed unfeasible.
“Unfortunately no one gave him better advice on what the ‘all-in’ costs were... for example he wasn’t including building permits,” said Kelton Friedrich, the liaison between the McMaster community and design consultants.
Friedrich said the most recent drawings show the building to have a total area of 23,000 square feet, approximately 17,000 of which belong to students.
“Unfortunately the net square footage is not as much as we wanted. For example, nobody ever planned for having a big mechanical room in the basement, so that costs money to build,” he said.
Friedrich projected the final design will be between 21,000 and 25,000 square feet.
This diminished amount of student space has angered some engineering students. When the initiative was first proposed three years ago, the MES had a referendum on whether or not to begin collecting a $50 fee from students to contribute to the building costs. This was before any design plans were released, and some students feel cheated because the Faculty began collecting this levy before any of the building’s details were set in stone.
The details are still not confirmed. According to Rogers, the schematic design phase of the project extends into December of this year, after which point the size and layout of the building will be finalized. Design development will be complete by the end of March. Contractors will have final blueprints by October 2015, and a year from now construction is set to begin. Rogers said that the project is on schedule.
“The goal of the building has always stayed the same... and that is to support students through experiential learning,” said Friedrich.
He maintained that ExCEL will focus on dynamic, active learning environments where students can share their ideas and work collaboratively, and even between different engineering departments.
Rogers was also adamant that the reduced space will not affect the building’s potential to house student innovation.
“All each floor is lacking is 500 square feet,” he said.
In order to add that relatively small amount of space, the array of environmentally friendly features would be compromised.
Friedrich was adamant that the changes to the building’s size will not reduce the features designed to give engineering students a better understanding of how the building works, such as plexi-glass floors in places so the building’s foundations are visible.
Since the project is still in a phase where elements can be changed, Rogers confirmed that the MES welcomes any student concerns.
“We’re their eyes and ears on the building board and we want to ensure that the building reflects their goals and aspirations for the project.”
Do you ever plan your route around dilapitated streets, routinely change lanes to avoid gigantic potholes and curse Hamilton's aging asphalt as your car lurches over yet another bump in the road? Then a new list released by the City of Hamilton detailing the city's worst roads will already be familiar to you.
Here, the city's worst roads are listed along with the planned year for reconstruction and the budget for the repairs.
No other details about specific construction timelines or road closures have been released at this time.
The Phoenix Bar and Grill reopened at the Refectory Rathskeller on Tuesday to a busy crowd eager to size up the new venue. The relocation of the 43-year-old campus bar from Wentworth House to the Refectory has been an ongoing project since summer 2011.
The Phoenix runs on reduced hours this week and will host an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Sept. 10. President Patrick Deane will attend the event along with members of the university administration, Graduate Student Association representatives and MSU executives. VP (Administration) Roger Couldrey will kick off celebrations.
Covenant, a new art installation, was cemented in front of the McMaster Museum of Art right before move-in weekend. The life-size bronze sculpture of an encounter between two coyotes is by Canadian First Nations artist Mary Anne Barkhouse. The sculpture adds to McMaster’s collection of over 7,000 art pieces.
Installation of a new $3 million outdoor track with a turf field nears completion after 4 months of construction during the summer. The eight-lane track, to be used by students and possibly rented for public use, has a new high-tech synthetic surface. The facility is expected to be ready for use in mid-September.
Second-floor expansion of the Psychology Building has reached the structural steel stage. The addendum will be home to a Large Interactive Virtual Environment (L.I.V.E.) performance laboratory. The lab will be dedicated to research bridging music and neuroscience, and will include a small concert hall. Construction is expected to finish by spring 2013.
As part of the City of Hamilton’s backflow prevention program, four water lines on campus have been undergoing construction, including one outside the Engineering Technology Building facing Main Street West (shown above).
Pipeline enhancements will prevent the university’s wastewater from entering pipes throughout the city.
The initiative is in compliance with a by-law passed in May affecting all commercial, industrial and institutional buildings over four storeys high.
Edwards Hall and Chester New Hall, both over 45 years old, now back onto a new walkway. Similar walkway and pedestrian crosswalk improvements have been made near the Burke Science Building, the Main Street West entrance at Forsyth Avenue South and parking lots I and E.
