Metrolinx Park & Ride will create “traffic mess”, resident says

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

As a new Park and Ride facility in the city is celebrated as the first step toward pushing GO Transit east to Bowmanville, at least one resident was not joining in the cheer, in fact, he instead had many questions about the soon-to-be-launched operation.

Grant Karcich, whose family has lived on Drew Street for almost 60 years, says he has watched how traffic, in particular of large trucks and semis, has increased on the small local road.

“I’ve seen it as a kid, what the traffic was like and it’s hard to put a timeline on when it actually got really bad,” he says, noting that it has been a combination of factors, including the extension of First Avenue to Howard Street which was built many years ago and allowed easier access for cars to travel to the Drew Street on-ramp to Highway 401. The increase in traffic has also brought about an increase in nasty driver habits including waves of garbage that collect along local fences and nearby properties.

However, with the recent announcement from Metrolinx that a Park and Ride operation will be starting adjacent to the former Knob Hill Farms grocery store, and future site of a planned GO station, Karcich is worried that will mean for the street moving forward.

“I think you can understand my concern if they’re going to have GO buses now starting up here in about three or four months, with 70 parking spots, I don’t know how many buses that would make for,” he says. “There’s no information from Metrolinx as to when they’re going to have the service, how many buses and what routes they are going to take.”

What’s also concerning for Karcich is the fact that the Drew Street ramp to the 401 has been slated to be closed for some time now, but if plans are put in place with GO routes to use the ramp, he’s worried that closure may never happen.

“I don’t see the point in them having say GO coming through here and then stopping it when they build the GO train station. Once they get that in place, they might never stop,” he says.

During a recent appearance before council he requested that the city get involved to spur some action and prevent the “traffic mess”, pointing to the city’s success in convincing the province to change their minds when the extension of Highway 401 was meant to stop at Simcoe Street.

However, currently, the city is also left without much more information than Karcich as Metrolinx has remained mum in their plans for the new Park and Ride location.

“Routes, frequency and timing of bus service to both the new Park and Ride locations on the Bowmanville expansion are still being finalized,” states Vanessa Barrasa, a spokesperson with Metrolinx in an emailed response to The Oshawa Express.