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Truckin' out of town
This week’s decision by Uxbridge Council to finally try to get the trucks off busy Uxbridge streets (see our story on page 13) is long overdue, but apparently just in the nick of time. The upgrading of the Greenbank airport over the next three years will severely up the noise and danger quotient on streets like Brock, Main and Reach Streets, and it’s only logical that the huge amount of gravel truck traffic be re-routed.
But will the Region of Durham, which has responsibility for all these major thoroughfares, see the logic and grant our request? Councillor Highet is pessimistic.
We would ask councillors to think back three summers to the Big Dig on Brock Street. The Region works department was responsible for that job, too, and was adamant that it wanted parallel parking to replace the angle parking on the south side of the street. They were backed in that desire by the mayor and the Downtown Revitalization Committee (and the small voice of the Cosmos as well). But the Brock Street retailers kicked up such a fuss that the Region eventually backed off; the angle parking remained.
On this issue, virtually the whole town is united in its wish to see the end of trucks using Uxbridge as a through route: the business community, the Council, probably 98% of the citizenry. In their hearts, most of the truckers would probably be relieved as well. Currently, they’re coming through town for one principal reason, to save time and therefore money. But we suspect the saving on both counts is minimal, and hardly makes up for the headache of the tight turns and multiple gear shifts required for a trip through town.
Speaking of tight turns, we don’t buy the argument that the intersections on the major routes surrounding Uxbridge don’t provide enough space for safe turns by big rigs. If a truck can make the turn from Main Street South onto Reach Street, it can negotiate just about any intersection anywhere.
It is to be hoped that the Region will make a swift decision on Uxbridge Council’s request, before the summer construction season gets into full swing. As has been pointed out by readers many times in these pages, it is only a matter of time before some pedestrian, focussed on his dog or his companion or his cell phone, fails to notice the giant gravel truck turning left from Brock onto Toronto Street, trying desperately to beat the through traffic from the west, and pays the ultimate price.
But of course it’s much more than a matter of safety, although that is the prime selling point to senior government. As Mayor O’Connor points out, a major increase in truck traffic will sound a death knell for downtown business in Uxbridge. With the Foster, the Leaskdale historic site, the train, the trails, and an increasingly energetic and creative Brock Street business community, Uxbridge is poised to make tourism a significant part of its economic life.
But nothing will squelch an upsurge in tourism faster than a continual parade of gravel trucks through town. There are too many alternative places to go, and those who go will not soon be back.
July 14, 2011
