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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 5, 2013 | 8 Building transit to make it a viable alternative continued from p.6 "Congestion can divert traffic and can divert traffic into areas that aren't really meant to support traffic," said Nikolaos Yiannakoulias, an assistant professor at McMaster University's school of geography and earth sciences. "Traffic is like water, it takes the path of least resistance," said Partridge. Motorists trying to get around traffic congestion create an influx of vehicles travelling on residential streets and that brings numerous impacts, including social and environmental. "The noise, the air pollution and the safety issues are all kind of dumped on you by drivers," said Yiannakoulias. According to the Province's environment ministry, modes of transportation are the leading source of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions, as well as minuscule airborne particles. This particulate matter, PM2.5, is small enough to be inhaled and can have detrimental effects on a person's health. Air monitoring studies, conducted by the Ministry of the Environment in Hamilton and the Oakville and Clarkson areas, have shown high concentrations of pollutants near major intersections and along heavily-used roads, said Jennifer Hall, the ministry's senior communications adviser. The high level of pollutants is directly linked to the traffic emissions from cars, and light- and heavy-duty trucks. Despite the known environmental and health impacts, Darren Scott, a full-time professor and associate director of the school of geography and earth sciences at McMaster University, believes these issues aren't top-of-mind for most motorists, who simply want to get from point A to point B as conveniently as possible. And in many cases, driving is the most expedient mode of transportation, said Partridge, who explained a trip that, on average, takes 25 minutes by car would take more than 45 minutes by transit. "Until we make it less attractive to use a car, you are not going to get people... to use transit," said the councillor. Dan Cozzi, the Town of Oakville's director of engineering and construction, said the municipality is looking to develop a more balanced transportation system that provides a variety of travel options. Its 20-year Transportation Master Plan aims to prepare for the future and promote sustainable transportation options, including public transit, walking, cycling and ride-sharing along with strategic roadway improvements. "As the community grows, you can't just keep widening roads. It's not sustainable," he said, suggesting people need to get out of their vehicles and carpool, walk, cycle or use public transit. Oakville's transit system -- at one time featuring buses with no air conditioning and uncomfortable plastic seats that travelled in circuitous routes -- did little to get residents out of their cars, said Flynn. Since the Town's implementation of a grid network in 2009, the local Liberal MPP has higher hopes. "I don't think we are there yet, but I think we are starting to see the emergence of a system Oakville Transit is in a state of transition as politicians look to upgrade public transit to make it more attractive -- and a means to alleviate road congestion issues. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) that makes sense," he said. "I think what we have had is rush hour service to and from the GO stations. We haven't really had a transit system to date, but I think we are starting to make some progress in that regard." Oakville plans to further improve its transit service over time by providing additional routes and buses. The Town's current 20-year transportation plan features a $145-million investment to upgrade the transit system. It also includes $730 million and $50 million to be spent on road improvements and active transportation initiatives, respectively. Halton Region, too, is making significant investments. It has developed a 20-year, $2.4-billion capital program to meet transportation demands to 2031. According to Halton Region Chair Gary Carr, the plan includes improvements to segments of 15 major regional road corridors that will provide additional capacity and 153 km of new lanes. By 2016, these enhancements will have increased the east/west capacity on portions of the regional roads by 16 lanes and the north/ south capacity by 14 lanes. More than 215 km of shared or dedicated on-road lanes and offroad, multi-use pathways will also be developed by 2016. "Transportation has been a real key for us," said Carr. "We made this a real priority." These infrastructure and transportation investments haven't gone unnoticed by big corporations like Lowes, Target and Siemens that have turned to the region to set up shop. "One of the reasons they are coming is because they can get around much better in Halton than they can in other areas," said Carr. Hamilton is looking to support multi-modal mobility and promote inter-regional connections -- important factors when it comes to I don't think we are there yet, but I think we are starting to see the emergence of a system that makes sense. I think what we have had is rush hours service to and from the GO station. We haven't really had a transit system to date, but I think we are starting to make some progress in that regard. Kevin Flynn Oakville MPP moving people in the GTHA -- an area that spans 63,359 km of lanes, according to a report penned by the Conference Board of Canada. Flynn said previous Provincial neglect of the GO Train system and the downloading of responsibility for the service onto municipalities resulted in setbacks for investment, which he said caused problems in parking availability at GO stations and problems with train frequency and size. In recent years, the provincial government, however, has since reinvested in GO Transit, which led to parking improvements at the Bronte and Oakville GO stations and an increase in frequency of service along the Lakeshore West line. "We're invested in the process. We understand this isn't something that you just fix and it remains fixed," said Flynn. "This is something that has to be invested in and managed for the rest of the life of the system." The switch to 30-minute GO Train service in Oakville has yielded excellent results, with ridership increasing 25 to 35 per cent since June. "That's just unheard of," said Flynn. "Those sort of figures are something that just outpaced everything we'd forecast." GO Transit service is non-existent in Flamborough. However, a local councillor and an area resident are determined to change that. Waterdown resident Hamish Campbell commutes to his workplace in Mississauga, a drive that takes about 45 minutes. If GO buses serviced the community, he'd readily hop on. "I would really love to ditch my car, hop on a bus and go to work," said Campbell, who is petitioning GO Transit to extend its bus service into Waterdown. In a motion unanimously supported by Hamilton council earlier this year, Partridge called on Metrolinx and GO Transit to develop a strategy for a transit service extension into Waterdown that could consist of a bus service that would run along Dundas Street between Waterdown and Toronto's Kipling subway station or a deviation of the GO bus route that runs along the Hwy. 407 corridor to McMaster University. "I'm hearing the need not only from residents but I'm particularly hearing it from employers," said Partridge. The Oakville Chamber of Commerce endorses The Big Move, the Province's $50-billion, long-term plan for transportation infrastructure. "We just have to bite the bullet and get on with it," said Sawyer. "We can't wait any longer." Next week: Moving forward with The Big Move and other solutions to alleviate congestion in the GTHA.