Town council has stepped up its efforts to land a GO train station on Highway 50 in Bolton. The move comes after last month’s rezoning of several parcels of land in Caledon, including a high-rise development planned for the south side of Highway 50 at Industrial Road projected to bring more than 3,500 families to town.
The notice of motion was brought forward to the Planning and Development Committee by Ward 5 Coun. Tony Rosa, a long-time advocate for transit in the community.
“Caledon needs more transit options, and the time to plan a new GO train route to Bolton is now,” said Rosa. “Caledon must grow to 300,000 people by 2051 and residents want and need access to the transit infrastructure already enjoyed by communities of similar size. The recent rezoning of parcels along Highway 50 means we will finally have the population density needed to support a GO train.”
Transit also supports local businesses and attracts new businesses. Brampton Transit’s Route #41, which started in May, is already successful in supporting the Highway 50 and Coleraine Drive employment areas.
Bolton is home to Caledon’s largest business cluster. The town said employment growth is critical to creating good-paying jobs close to where people live. It will also provide important new tax revenue that help pay for services and offset the residential tax burden as the community grows.
“Transit planning was one of the key drivers behind the 11 rezoning by-laws passed last month,” said Mayor Annette Groves. “The by-laws provide infrastructure partners like GO more certainty to plan their services around our growth, so it’s critical that we increase our advocacy efforts for the Caledon-Vaughan rail line now while Metrolinx is working on its Regional Transportation Plan.”
The proposed GO train line to Caledon has two stops – South Bolton/Hwy 50 and Macville. The motion prioritizes advocacy for the Highway 50 location because water and wastewater infrastructure to support high-density residential development is already in place.
