Good morning everyone, my name is Karen Rea. I am a resident of Markham Village and the president of Markham Village City Ratepayers.
I am here today to speak about the renaming Highway # 7.
I asked the Mayor of Markham on the weekend why it was even being discussed. He told me as the road was no longer a Highway, it needed to be renamed.
The definition of a Highway is: a main road, one between towns or cities, which is what Hwy # 7 is.
In the ad in the local paper it states that the name change will reinforce the new vision for the corridor of being an urban main street within York Region.
The definition of a Main street: is not only the major road running through a town but the site of all street life, a place where townspeople hang out and watch the annual parades go by.
No one is going to hang out on Hwy # 7. It is a minimum of 4 lanes, and in parts 6 lanes wide, we will also have a bus running down the middle of it. This by definition is a Hwy.
Hwy # 7, was first designated in 1920 and was once a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Highway 7 measured 431 miles in length, stretching from Highway 40 east of Sarnia in Southwestern Ontario to Highway 17 west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario. However, due in part to the construction of Highways 402 and 407, the province downloaded some sections of Hwy 7 to the regional jurisdiction. Highway 7 is a major arterial highway which traverses the entire southern half of Ontario. The highway is one of Ontario's most important routes, particularly through Eastern Ontario where Highway 7 serves as the only major through route north of Highway 401. Motorists seeking a more scenic alternate route between Toronto and Ottawa can use Highway 7 instead of Highway 401 and Highway 416. It is one of Ontario's longest highways.
I have found searches on the internet as far back as 2006, when York region tried to rename Hwy # 7 as Avenue seven… your logic back then was that avenue sounds more like a destination.
In 2010 you held public meetings in Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan 63 % of people did not want the name changed… so why 3 years later are we now looking at not only changing the name again but to something completely different to what was discussed at the meetings, now it’s International Drive?
Hwy # 7 is part of our history, part of our culture, you can pull pictures from the internet on what the road first looked like and how it has grown over the years.
We all want our history to remain. The richness that characterizes the communities is the stories that people can tell, about what used to be, the heritage, and our values, the buildings and the memoires of the people that made our villages and roads what they are today. That is our culture and the rich values that we all cherish whether we were born here or not. That’s what makes Canada what it is today. I moved here in 1978, kicking and screaming I may add, but because my parents thought we would have a higher standard of living here and there would be more opportunity here for us when we grew up. It’s probably the same reason why everyone moves here.
I would like to be able to tell future generations my stories of Canada and the history that I know and that we fought to keep it from being lost. I have grown up with Hwy # 7, and I would like it to stay as Hwy7. Just like Markham will always be a town to me, not a city.
I wonder how many hours have been wasted over the past 6-7 years debating on a name change. Are you going to pay to upgrade my GPS, the cost of all the road maps, signage and business stationary. What is even more silly, its only being changed from Donald Cousins Parkway. The left side of our bypass is one name and the other side is another name.
Reading through all the information on the internet I shake my head at all the wasted time and money spent on this, and the future cost of wasting more money. There is no need to change any portion of this road.
Yesterday Markham council voted unanimously to keep the name the same, Markham Village City RA supports their vote and respectfully request that you do not change the name of hwy # 7 and it is not rebought up again in a couple of years.
York region has no extra money, I have been told by a developer that we are almost bankrupt, so I believe that your time and our money would be better served trying to figure out how to get us out of the debt that we are in, resolve the congestion of our Town and to plan for our future infrastructure, and not add any extra money to the debt that we are now holding.
Thank you,
Karen Rae, President
Markham Village Ratepayers Association
Showing posts with label Region. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Region. Show all posts
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Renaming Hwy 7 to International Letter June 10, 2013 by Annette Cacorovski
The following letter was e-mailed to York Region and Markham Council:
Firstly, I am appalled that the Region and the Cities would consider a name change to a North American well known Hwy. This holds NO value. As a Region, we have many more value added issues that need to be addressed in a growing population with many traffic and transportation issues and cost effective measures!
Let's use our time and money wisely. Scrap this name change to HWY 7 and move on to transportation and safety issues for our Region and the City of Markham.
Regards,
Annette Cacorovski
Renaming Hwy 7 to International Deputation to Region June 12, 2013 by Jim Kwan
I strongly oppose the renaming of Highway 7. I think it is not necessary to spend the money on renaming the street. There is basically nothing wrong with it, in fact the existing street name is just fine. Why does York Region need to change it anyway? Why waste taxpayers’ money? People are not complaining about Highway 7, it is not a major issue with the residents or businesses to change the name.
York Region should spend time better to fix other problems like traffic instead of changing a part of Highway 7 name. It is renaming only the part that runs through York Region, not the entire highway.
Also the majority of people recognize Highway 7, just like 401 or Yonge Street. Yonge Street also runs through many communities but none of the communities have decided to change the name of Yonge Street even through it starts in Toronto.
In the last proposed name change back on Feb. 2012, the majority of surveyed residents did not like to change the name of Highway 7 because it may cause confusion for users of the roadway and general concerns about the necessity to rename the road. The change may cause confusion for emergency units or travellers and the affected residents and businesses will need to change the mailing address information, printed envelopes and letterhead.
The report said that Highway 7 is no longer compatible with the new vision for the corridor and this is one of the main reasons for the name change. Highway 7 is becoming more urbanized but even if Highway 7 is renamed, many people will still refer to it as Highway 7. The name change for a section of the roadway may be more confusing, such as 16th Avenue which has two different names, Carville Road and Rutherford Road, but it is the same stretch of road, Highway 7 is a unique road name because everyone knows where it is and there is no other similarly named roadway. It may not be exciting or reflect the new urbanization of the area, but everyone will know where it is.
York Region is making the rapid transit line on Highway 7 with new stations and shelters. The shelters look great, like a piece of art, but does it do the job to keep the sun, rain, wind or snow away from pedestrians? NO.
It is very dangerous to walk halfway across Highway 7 to the bus stop. It will be added danger for pedestrians who will jay walk across Highway 7 especially when they just get off the bus or chase after the bus. We can see it at the GO train station on McCowan just north of 7. Many residents do not walk across McCowan at the traffic light; they just walk across McCowan along the track. IT is also the same in downtown Toronto. Many pedestrians just cross in the middle of the road when they get off the streetcar, not just at the light.
Instead of spending time and resources on renaming Highway 7, maybe we should focus more on the safety and protection of the transit riders and improving the transit system.
Thank you
York Region should spend time better to fix other problems like traffic instead of changing a part of Highway 7 name. It is renaming only the part that runs through York Region, not the entire highway.
Also the majority of people recognize Highway 7, just like 401 or Yonge Street. Yonge Street also runs through many communities but none of the communities have decided to change the name of Yonge Street even through it starts in Toronto.
In the last proposed name change back on Feb. 2012, the majority of surveyed residents did not like to change the name of Highway 7 because it may cause confusion for users of the roadway and general concerns about the necessity to rename the road. The change may cause confusion for emergency units or travellers and the affected residents and businesses will need to change the mailing address information, printed envelopes and letterhead.
The report said that Highway 7 is no longer compatible with the new vision for the corridor and this is one of the main reasons for the name change. Highway 7 is becoming more urbanized but even if Highway 7 is renamed, many people will still refer to it as Highway 7. The name change for a section of the roadway may be more confusing, such as 16th Avenue which has two different names, Carville Road and Rutherford Road, but it is the same stretch of road, Highway 7 is a unique road name because everyone knows where it is and there is no other similarly named roadway. It may not be exciting or reflect the new urbanization of the area, but everyone will know where it is.
York Region is making the rapid transit line on Highway 7 with new stations and shelters. The shelters look great, like a piece of art, but does it do the job to keep the sun, rain, wind or snow away from pedestrians? NO.
It is very dangerous to walk halfway across Highway 7 to the bus stop. It will be added danger for pedestrians who will jay walk across Highway 7 especially when they just get off the bus or chase after the bus. We can see it at the GO train station on McCowan just north of 7. Many residents do not walk across McCowan at the traffic light; they just walk across McCowan along the track. IT is also the same in downtown Toronto. Many pedestrians just cross in the middle of the road when they get off the streetcar, not just at the light.
Instead of spending time and resources on renaming Highway 7, maybe we should focus more on the safety and protection of the transit riders and improving the transit system.
Thank you
Renaming Hwy 7 to International Letter June 10, 2013 by Elisabeth Tan
The following letter was e-mailed to York Region and Markham Council:
Since the renaming of Highway 7 has been a
somewhat hot topic recently, I feel that many Markham residents would
like Highway 7 to remain the same.
Some of the reasons are:
- Costs to business owners and Municipalities.
- Confusion for road users, especially when the new name will not be adopted outside York Region.
- The volume of traffic remains the same (it is a highway volume).
- Speed changes/streetscape along 7 should not warrant a change name.
The money, designated for this name change, could be
used for improving safety for cyclists/pedestrians when using this
major arterial road.
FYI, this morning was the official opening of the Sherbourne cycle track: Toronto's first dedicate bike lanes on Sherbourne start of bigger network . It is my hope, we will have an official opening of our first dedicated bike lane on Highway 7 in the near future:)
Best Regards,
Elisabeth Tan
Unionville
Renaming Hwy 7 to International Deputation to Region June 12, 2013 by Donna Bush
Committee Members,
I am here today to ask why?
Why are we even considering changing the name of “Highway 7”? Highway 7 has been around since 1920 -- 93 years. This road is approximately 535 km long. It goes from Sarnia in the west to Ottawa in the east.
People know where Highway 7 is. I really don’t care if it is actually a highway (in the true sense of the word) or not. It is a recognizable name. When a person is trying to find a home or business and hears Highway 7, they have a great start to getting there. If they have to stop and ask how to find Highway 7, most locals will be able to quickly direct them. Isn’t that what we want -- people to easily find streets they are looking for? GPS units of all kinds recognize Highway 7.
When I moved to Markham in March 1981, I remember someone referencing Wellington Street. I had no idea where they were talking about. I came to learn that at some point in time, there was a portion of Highway 7, called Wellington Street. Exactly what portion of the road called Wellington remains elusive to me, even to this day. And, frankly I really don’t care.
Recently, I have taken the opportunity to speak to a number of friends in Markham and ask them what they think of renaming Highway 7. The most common response is WHY?
The next question I ask is what do you think about a name change to “International” Road/Way/Street? The answer is a most infactic “NO!” Canada or Canadian something -- but NO, never International anything.
Residents are asking, “Isn’t there much more critical business for York Region to be concerned with, rather than wasting time and money on an unwanted and unnecessary road name change.
As a long-time Markham resident, I say, please focus on reducing our region’s debt and running necessary region business.
Yesterday, all Markham councillors in attendance at DSC voted to reject renaming Highway 7. Thank you to all of those councillors!
Please stop the make work projects and get back to basics.
Thank you,
Donna Bush
I am here today to ask why?
Why are we even considering changing the name of “Highway 7”? Highway 7 has been around since 1920 -- 93 years. This road is approximately 535 km long. It goes from Sarnia in the west to Ottawa in the east.
People know where Highway 7 is. I really don’t care if it is actually a highway (in the true sense of the word) or not. It is a recognizable name. When a person is trying to find a home or business and hears Highway 7, they have a great start to getting there. If they have to stop and ask how to find Highway 7, most locals will be able to quickly direct them. Isn’t that what we want -- people to easily find streets they are looking for? GPS units of all kinds recognize Highway 7.
When I moved to Markham in March 1981, I remember someone referencing Wellington Street. I had no idea where they were talking about. I came to learn that at some point in time, there was a portion of Highway 7, called Wellington Street. Exactly what portion of the road called Wellington remains elusive to me, even to this day. And, frankly I really don’t care.
Recently, I have taken the opportunity to speak to a number of friends in Markham and ask them what they think of renaming Highway 7. The most common response is WHY?
The next question I ask is what do you think about a name change to “International” Road/Way/Street? The answer is a most infactic “NO!” Canada or Canadian something -- but NO, never International anything.
Residents are asking, “Isn’t there much more critical business for York Region to be concerned with, rather than wasting time and money on an unwanted and unnecessary road name change.
As a long-time Markham resident, I say, please focus on reducing our region’s debt and running necessary region business.
Yesterday, all Markham councillors in attendance at DSC voted to reject renaming Highway 7. Thank you to all of those councillors!
Please stop the make work projects and get back to basics.
Thank you,
Donna Bush
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