Section of Silvercreek Parkway could reopen next year

Friday, November 25, 2011
Rob O'Flanagan, Mercury staff

GUELPH — The southernmost section of Silvercreek Parkway has been closed for just over 35 years, but the City of Guelph has entered into a formal process that could see it reconstructed and reopened by next year.

Running about one half kilometre in length between the end of Waterloo Avenue and Paisley Road, the section extends through a former gravel pit that is now the subject of a proposed land development that could see about 250,000 square feet of retail space on the west side of the section, and a mixed-use office/residential development on the east side.

Silvercreek (Guelph) Development Ltd. obtained the necessary approvals to develop the property as a mixed-use development in 2009, after a lengthy process of negotiations with the city, a residents' group and the Ontario Municipal Board.

There was much opposition to the developer's original plans, which proposed roughly twice as much retail space as was eventually agreed upon.

As part of the 2009 settlement, the city was to examine options for reconnecting the section of Silvercreek Parkway between Waterloo and Paisley, and constructing an underpass, or subway, at the CNR mainline near Paisley. A railroad crossing with lights and gates would go in at the south end of the section, where there are also railroad tracks.

The environmental assessment is underway, and details of it were made public for the first time Thursday night during a public information session at city hall. A similar session will be held in January.

Members of the Howitt Park Neighbourhood Resident'’ Association — most of them living in close proximity to the proposed development — were on hand for the information session.

The group fought the original development proposal for several years, and managed to get the size of the retail component significantly reduced.

Those association members present Thursday night are still not happy with what is being proposed for the site. They said a large-scale retail development of the "big box" variety would be overkill for the west side, damaging other businesses in the area and downtown Guelph.

And such a development, they said, would cause a major increase in traffic flow through their neighbourhood.

Rajan Philips, Guelph's manager of transportation, planning and development engineering, explained that a large development of the type proposed by Silvercreek (Guelph) Development Ltd., required two access points, one off Paisley, the other off Waterloo.

"The nature of the development is such that it requires access on both sides," said Philips.

The city, therefore, has come up with three variations on a theme that would involve entirely reopening the section, which closed in 1975 in conjunction with the construction of the Hanlon Expressway.

"The other factor is that when you want to connect with Paisley it has to be through a grade separation — it can't be at grade," he said, explaining the regulatory restrictions surrounding the CNR mainline and the need for an underpass.

The 53-acre parcel of land has sat largely idle and unused since being closed, and is a popular dog-walking and hiking area in the neighbourhood. The development proposal would leave a large easterly section in parkland.

All three options involve an underpass at the CNR mainline, with each option differing in terms of variations in the roadway's alignment. What is being called alternative C-2 in the environmental assessment study involves refinements that meet Transportation Association of Canada engineering standards, one of those refinements being a paved access lane off the main street and into the office/residential portion of the development.

Philips said the street work could proceed as soon as next year if the environmental assessment process is completed in the next few months and is approved by city staff and city council. Once approved, the environmental assessment is filed for a 30-day public review process.

"At the end of it if no one objects, the process is complete," Philips said. "Once it is done, we plan to start the grade separation (underpass) construction next year. And the development activity will follow that. It could begin in 2013."

Husband and wife Rob Fischer and Oshea Davidson live on the east fringes of the subject land and are part of the neighbourhood group. They continue to have a number of concerns about the development proposal.

"It's not what the community wants,”"Fischer said. "Anyone you talk to doesn't want a big box store two kilometres from downtown. The other issue is the amount of traffic that's going to be coming through that residential area."

He said the traffic flow will increase by several hundred times current levels. (The south access to Silvercreek from Waterloo remains open.)

"A lot of people in Guelph aren't cognizant of this development, and they don't know the impact it will have on downtown Guelph, and on the two malls close by," Fischer said. "It is inevitably going to draw business out of those other areas that are struggling."

Fischer said the association favours the mixed-use component of the development, but would prefer a "village style" retail development that is walker friendly and involves lots of green space.

As well as the 245,000 square feet of retail space (145,000 of that for a big box store), the site is also approved for a high-density residential component of 340 units, and 42,000 square feet of service commercial space spread over seven buildings.

roflanagan@guelphmercury.com