Newmarket residents made their voices heard regarding concerns about the impact of a proposed 767-unit apartment complex at Davis Drive and Bolton Avenue.
Developer Fernbrook Core is planning to construct two apartment buildings, one on Davis and one on Bolton, which would include underground parking and some retail space along Davis.
But with the area already undergoing significant development, some residents who attended an April 29 council meeting about the proposal said they are worried about the impact on traffic.
“You guys need to do something and need to make sure planning is intentional,” Laura Merklinger of Watson Avenue said. “These aren’t highways. These are residential streets and I beg you to do something about it.”
Besides this condominium complex proposal, there is also a senior living facility proposed for the other corner of Davis and Bolton, and a four-storey apartment building is also in the works in the middle of Bolton, Watson and Lundy’s Lane.
Fernbrook Core is proposing to build a 15-storey structure on Davis and six-storey structure on Bolton. The application includes a traffic study that factors in the expected growth in the area. The developer is seeking to avoid the requirement to add a road into the area.
The study projects the development would generate 215 two-way gross trips during the morning peak hour and 261 during the afternoon peak hour.
“The results of the capacity analysis indicate that the proposed development can be supported by the existing road network under the proposed optimized signal timing plan,” Macaulay Shiomi Howson Ltd. said in a planning justification report.
But Merklinger said there needs to be more efforts toward mitigating traffic, floating the idea of left-turn access off Davis to Bolton.
“That is a significant amount of traffic going in and out of a residential street,” she said.
The area also continues to have parking issues due in part to the nearby Southlake Regional Health Centre on Davis. The town has tried to step up enforcement in the area, but residents brought up how that has only added to difficulties in the area.
“It’s only going to get worse,” Pat Giorno said. “Even if we build new roads or reconfigure, there’s still going to be increased traffic. There’s just no way around it. We need unobstructed, free-flowing traffic. We need it now more than ever.”
Councillor Jane Twinney said another road connection is worth considering, even though the developer has suggested it is unnecessary.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said the challenges are clear and the town will look at solutions to traffic issues in the area.
“Making sure there isn’t anything more we can be doing,” he said. “It’s clear that people are raising very valid points.”
The town made no decisions on the proposal at the meeting. From here, staff will work with the developer on feedback, with a recommendation report to come back to council sometime in the future.
