Highway threatens ‘historically significant’ site: Greenbelt Coalition

The Holland River, Bradford West GwillimburyJackie Kozak/BradfordToday

From BarrieToday, August 17, 2021
By the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition

‘We know that the environmental studies are out of date, impacts to Lake Simcoe and climate haven’t been studied and that the traffic congestion won’t be solved long term,’ says executive director

A property of extraordinary historical significance on the east shores of the Holland River in East Gwillimbury is directly in the path of the proposed Bradford bypass highway and would essentially be destroyed by its construction.

Recognizing the rarity of the site and the destruction that would result, the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition (SCGC) has formally requested Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Culture, to use her authority under the Ontario Heritage Act to protect the site of the Lower Landing.

“Former ministry staff have described the Lower Landing as being more significant than 95 percent of the historic and archaeological sites in Canada,” said Bill Foster, founder of Forbid Roads Over Green Spaces (FROGS). “We are sacrificing an irreplaceable historical site to build an elevated highway similar to the Gardiner Expressway.  There’s no way to save this site if the highway goes through. It will be lost forever.”

The Lower Landing site on the east shore of the East Branch of the Holland River is identified as part of the route of the province’s proposed Bradford bypass, a 16.2-kilometre long freeway connecting Highway 400 and Highway 404. However, the entire eastern shore of the area is recognised for its cultural heritage significance to Indigenous peoples and for its association with the Euro-Canadian colonial exploration and settling of what became Upper Canada via the historical site of the Lower Landing.

SCGC is looking to the minister to ensure the long-term protection of the shoreline.

Margaret Prophet, executive director of SCGC, believes that provincial priorities are not aligned with the needs of Ontarians.

“We know that the site meets the Ontario heritage provincial criteria, but the question is whether this government values anything more than highways and sprawl. We know that the environmental studies are out of date, impacts to Lake Simcoe and climate haven’t been studied and that the traffic congestion won’t be solved long term. That the province is willing to invest hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into an outdated highway while hospitals, schools and long-term care homes go underfunded while we’re in a pandemic and climate emergency is baffling.

“As we’ve said before, this isn’t just a typically destructive highway project. They are bringing the adverse impacts of a freeway to significant ecological and historical areas. Preserving and protecting these areas while truly solving traffic problems in a way that makes the affected communities healthier is our goal, not paying back developer buddies.”

Although this is a seldom used provision of the Ontario Heritage Act to designate the site as a Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest of Provincial Significance, the significance of the site is equally rare.

To date, SCGC has not received any correspondence from Minister MacLeod or her office about the request and next steps.

Foster states, “The province is pushing this highway through without proper study so time is of the essence to conserve this site.”

See the original article here