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8 stouffvute suntribune b thursday aug 30 2007 write about your library experiences if youve been bitten by the writ ing bug there is still a month to go to enter the whitchurchstouffville public librarys writing contest the contest is open to all residents of whitchurchstouffville who are invited to submit an entry of up to 500 words outlining an experience they had with any public library submissions are encouraged from all ages only one entry per resident will be accepted the contest deadline is sept 28 prizes are to be awarded during ontario public library week in october the winning entries will be posted on the librarys website whitchurchlibrary hwy 404 to stretch into georgina onca for more information call catherine sword at 9056427323 ext 224 bvsirm community organizations are you looking for free materials checkout reuseful yorkregioncoms free online trading post for gently used items yorkregion com it clicks home byseanpearce staff writer your drive north will improve whitchurch- stouffville after what seems like an eternity of specu lation the drive to and from georgina is about to get a whole lot faster for york region com muters the longheralded extension of hwy 404 will gradually become a reality over the next five years ontario transportation minister donna cansfield announced last week some details still need to be worked out but ms cansfield said the project is moving ahead the next five years it will be extended right up to ravenshoe road from green lane she said the environmental assessment is being done weve got the acquisitions and it will be built along the preferred route and you will play a large role in choosing that route ms cansfield said open houses are being scheduled for your input the extension from green lane to raven- shoe will extend the highway by 13 kilometres the first phase of the construction will be a new northbound bridge at green lane the 26rnillion project will be built by toronto zenith contracting limited of con cord and construction of the bridge is slated to be completed by years end during construction some of the ramps at the green lane interchange may be closed temporarily but the work will be scheduled for times that will cause the least disruption ms cansfield said the extension of hwy 404 has been a long time coming but ms cansfield said until now the money just hasnt been there to make it a reality there was a huge deficit in infrastructure in the past she said adding the mcguinty government has since corrected that by investing billions of dollars in the provinces roads and highways the news was met with enthusiastic approval from georgina mayor rob grossi who said the highway extension will comple ment much of the planned commercial devel opment in the area but added the fiveyear timeframe is a concern the sooner it happens the better mr grossi said faster safer trips we are happy and excited to see the con struction begin at green lane however we do think the province should perhaps fasttrack the project so that it arrives in this community sooner as opposed to later east gwmmbury mayor james young was also pleased with the announcement and said he expected the highway extension to bring a number of bonuses to the community not the least of which would be a reduction in traffic congestion the extension of the highway will not only get people around faster but also improve safety mr young said but he cautioned some concerns need to be addressed we still have to be cognizant because there is still agriculture going on mr young said we dont want to hinder that or growth overall in east gwillimbury york north mpp julia munro agreed the extension would be a boon to the area but questioned the timing and why it had taken so long for action i think its sort of interesting seeing that were about 30 days away from an election the conservative mpp said they had four years to do this and so all of a sudden shovels go in the ground right around the time of an election when this was outlined as a priority previously by our gov ernment despite her concerns ms munro said the highway extension should do wonders to help ease traffic congestion and will likely improve the mental and physical health of area resi dents timing has little to do with it ms cansfield said adding the hwy 404 project is just one of many infrastructure upgrades to which the mcguinty government has committed the important thing is we need to do our work because theres been such a deficit she said road users are going to be annoyed with some of the construction around the province put it needs to be done for their part georgina residents were cautiously optimistic about the highway headed north robert caldwell whos lived in the area for 40 years said it would help with his daily commute but hes heard this song sung by many successive governments as a result hell believe it when he sees iti again he said with a laugh oh sure it would help anybody travelling down wood bine avenue knows its a nightmare glenn grosskurth also of keswick said he travels extensively for work and often ends up south of hwy 401 as such the extension would be a big bonus it would muchly improve my drive he said ive been waiting 20 years for it for every single scoop purehaseai vouget double fi r m if trl iml 5 iia wththd biiyona receive a uiiise one instead dollar freestyte stimtad freesty to sfltrop the beach 1 976 queen st e toronto on m4l1h8 tel 4166983103 millwood 1530bayviewave toronto on m4g3b6 tel 4164871531 t f 1 t 7 fgfuftfn jl jl stoutfville 5892 main st stouffvilleonl4a2s7 tel 9056423133 i i t this offer is only valid at these 3 locations 2007 br ip holder llc all rights reserved expires october 31 2007