Background Report - Town of Georgina

TOWN OF GEORGINA, SUTTON SECONDARY PLAN REVIEW STUDY
BACKGROUND REPORT
2.4 TRANSPORTATION - EXISTING CONDITIONS SUMMARY
The review of transportation requirements within Sutton generally indicates that even at a future projected population
of 16,500 persons, which will include retirees, it will essentially function as a small community that will
generate minimal weekday travel.
With respect to road accessibility, at the Provincial level an extension of Highway 404 north of Ravenshoe Road
is not being considered prior to 2031. The Secondary Plan Study Area contains a hierarchy of existing roads.
The most significant facility is Highway 48 which is under Provincial jurisdiction and provides regional accessibility
and a direct link to the Greater Toronto Area. The existing regional roads such as Dalton Road, Baseline
Road, Woodbine Avenue, and Kennedy Road along with Park Road, Metro Road North, Black River Road, and
High Street will provide for daily travel demands in Sutton. Certain roads such as High Street and Dalton Road
will likely need enhancement over time due to their essential local service nature.
The transportation analysis indicates that within the existing roadway network, Highway 48 will continue to be
the most important road facility for the Sutton community because of its current and projected accommodation
of significant traffic flow. Sutton is serviced by two intersections (High Street and Park Road) with Highway 48.
These two intersections, designed to Provincial standards, provide very significant capacity for all vehicle turning
movements. In addition, existing roads such as Baseline Road, Woodbine Avenue, Park Road and Kennedy
Road will also be important in terms of accommodating increased vehicle demands.
It is observed that the predominant flow of traffic is to and from the south and is accommodated, to an acceptable
level, by the existing network of roads with the heaviest utilized being Highway 48, High Street and Dalton Road.
In fact, High Street and Dalton Road not only accumulate the traffic flows to access Highway 48 but also provide
direct access to the numerous vehicle generating activities located along these roads. The second most convenient
route to service the pre-dominant direction of travel is Woodbine Avenue and as a result both Baseline
Road and Woodbine Avenue serve increased traffic demand and are an alternate to Highway 48.
The transportation review indicates that the existing road network will have to accommodate the increased traffic
flows that will be generated from the proposed development areas through strategic improvements, over time, such
as additional lanes, signal timing modifications and intersection improvements within the available rights-of-way.
It concludes that the primary roadway focus to accommodate the planned growth in population in Sutton should
be to:
• Identify the most optimum roadway / intersection configuration in the Dalton Road / High Street and Baseline
Road areas;
• Initiate intersection improvements and modifications where necessary to accommodate the primary northsouth
traffic flow demand on High Street / Dalton Road between Highway 48 and Black River Road;
• Monitor the following regional roads and their intersections to ensure satisfactory operations – Baseline Road,
Kennedy Road, Metro Road North and Woodbine Avenue;
Traffic studies will need to be undertaken, when development is contemplated, to address the timing and type of
improvements necessary to accommodate the traffic flow demands.
Further details of the analysis are provided in Appendix D. It should be noted that Poulos and Chung Limited,
in a separate exercise, are currently conducting a detailed transportation assessment for the Sutton area. The
findings and recommendations of that analysis will be included as addenda to this report and Appendix C at a
later date.
The Planning Partnership • LGL Limited • Poulos & Chung • SCS Consulting • Cushman & Wakefield LePage | July 2008
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