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economist sunsuntribune transportation saturday june u 2005 photocity- of toronto archives this photograph looks north on yonge street at major mackenzie itan line the first publictransit system in york county can be seen to drive in richmond hill in the early 1 900s the tracks of the metropol- the right transit wor we but rising popularity of automobile stalled plans writes mitchell brown theresa paglias day doesnt usually stop until 9 pm when she finishes pick ing up some or all of her four children from their various activities the maple mother and child care provider can only sigh when asked how the traffic situation has changed the quali- tyof life in her neighbourhood over the years oh dear god she said with a half- laugh we used to come up on twolane dirt roads its changed drastically i cant even make a turn off my street onto barrhill at 5 oclock especially with the go station its awful eighteen years ago she and her hus band moved up from the city to maple in search of a home a little closer to the country since then the city has caught up with them between 1986 and 2001 when the federal census last occurred the popula tion of vaughan grew by almost 300 per cent with most of that growth occurring in new singlefamily residential develop ments clustered around already estab lished areas and at major intersections the state of like most in york region ms paglias is a twocar family with her husband using one vehicle for his work and her using the other to run errands and cart the kids aged 11 to 17 to baseball games and tae kwdn do practice she said he helps out as much as he can but there are days the traffic doesnt allow him to make it home in time and those days are more f frequent than they used to be its just gotten crazy she said we went from being a little communi ty and i feel like were living in a city its a feeling to which a lot of longtime residents can relate but those wishing for a return to the regions bucolic past should probably brace themselves right now urban planners in york region are wrestling with how to best serve a population expected to grow to 15 million by 2031 an increase expected to bring 600000 more people and 246000 more housing units into the region in other words if you think it takes a long time to turn left at a major intersec tion now part two of a fourpart series discussing public transit x in york region this growth is coming and its coming fast and we cannot build enough roads to accommodate it said brian tuck- ey commissioner of planning and development services with the region we need to c build transit now we need to get certain key infrastructure in theground and we needall three levels of government involved we are building cities now for their part regional planners are try ing to balance the need to accommodate more people with the desire to preserve the regions remaining rural spaces by pro- moting intensification in four regional centres or downtown hubs along the hwy 7 and yonge street corridors theyre also ramping up to launch the rapidtransit viva bus service in septem ber which will bring more frequent serv ice and 80 new buses to the region irs this new transit option planners hope will encourage more residents to leave their keys at home a tough task in a place where a recent report for the regions frapid transit steering committee conclud ed the car is king of course it- wasnt always that way explained adam birrell archivist for the society for the preservation of historic thornhill in the very beginning there was just the one road yonge street to be exact a 1 road carved out of the wilderness by then- governor john graves simcoe as a means of assuring military access to the northern great lakes theroad also brought settlers to the areas north of toronto throughout the 1800s york county was surveyed in a grid plan layout with lines and concessions spread out about 125 miles apart from each other many of the regions main arteries including 16th avenue and ninth line owe their names to those early sur veyors as such rural communities as rich- mond hill woodbridge and unionville grew into commercial centres serving sur rounding farmlands a few enterprising souls started private stagecoach lines tip and down yonge eventually running as far north as jack- v sons point it took about three hours to get to toronto from richmond hill mr birrell see planning page 8 men deserve a break too rhectfor all ages special gift gertificates jlqoking and feeling great 32 improve your game aromatic cleansing facial manicure t n v 1 hour massagetreatmcnt l hour massa pedcure 5hgrqvesb 2 6633 hwy 7 suite 304 markham 9052010343 vinatherapy treatments jme grape peel pedicure champagne facial pj relaxing foot bath with a champagne fizz ball grape this luxurious treatment combines the hydrating exfoliating and wwwashglovespacom massage arid grape peel mast removes the toughest cal- antioxidant properties of champagne and grape seed oil it is open mondav saturday 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