The Midhurst Secondary Plan: Let’s think again!

By Bill Nieuwland Springwater News March 1, 2012

When I moved to Vespra Township more than forty years ago, it was an area of beautiful natural and agricultural landscape. Midhurst was a small village of mostly modest homes scattered along a few quiet streets. For the most part, residents wisely relied on the wooded terrain to enhance the settings of their homes. 

Subsequent small developments took their cue from the examples set before them. Thanks to the foresight of those who have come before, this village is a jewel of Simcoe County. Word of this bucolic hamlet soon spread. New arrivals were drawn to it because of the opportunities for a wholesome and healthy family and community life. However, it seems that some powers decided that all this was more than its residents deserved. And so, they imposed on it a planning regime that would overwhelm the community.

Unfortunately, before this latest fiasco, there were indications that imaginative planning would fall victim to short sighted objectives. Forty-five years ago, Bayfield St. was a highway heading north from the 400 and almost devoid of commercial development. It should have been maintained as the unrestricted northward thoroughfare it was meant to be. It could have been a tree lined boulevard, heralding the natural beauty that lay ahead. Double turning lanes could have been installed at a limited number of intersections that would lead to commercial concentrations set well back and virtually out of sight. I was among some of the people in both Vespra and Barrie who voiced objections to the development that ensued, and who suggested the kind of development just described. Now travelers heading north on County Road 27 have to endure the garishness and chaos that is Bayfield St. Incredibly, under the Midhurst Secondary Plan, the Bayfield commercial strip is to be extended even further north and even onto Finlay ill Rd. Welcome to Hey. 7, Brampton! The people who propose this must workshop at the altar of ugliness!

In addition, the integrity of the countryside has been severely compromised. Small housing and commercial developments have been built in areas where they should not be allowed. The Midhurst Secondary Plan will further fragment the agricultural areas and threaten their viability. The rural areas of Springwater Township have the potential, with careful planning and viable farms, to rival the beautiful countryside of England or France. Sadly, this does not seem to be a priority.

Now Midhurst is to be drawn and quartered. The streets that were laid in the heart of the village more than a hundred years ago are to become busy thoroughfares with tens of thousands of vehicles per day. There will be very few local employment opportunities for the thousands of new residents. The mass of commuters will need to go as far afield as Toronto. They will leave bleary eyed in the early morning and return exhausted in the evening. Commuting by public transit or bicycle will be all but impossible. Old Midhurst will become a pedestrian and cycling nightmare.

On the Simcoe County website there are links to the cities of Zurich and Copenhagen as examples of viable and sustainable cities. What the township has in store for Midhurst bears no resemblance to these cities or their outlying communities. Sound planning has the preservation of historic centres as a priority; commuter traffic is diverted away from the centre, not through it.

It is time for all citizens to become involved, not just in Midhurst, but in all of Springwater and Barrie. The impacts will affect everyone. There is still time to exert influence both locally and provincially. Sign the petition of the Midhurst Ratepayers. Check the friendsofmidhurst.ca website for ways you can participate. Let’s help our planner avoid the mistakes of the past.

Bill Nieuwland is a member of the Midhurst Ratepayerds Association