Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph

[danbrotherston]

Dan, you're worrying about what will happen without planning.  But it's a fact that we do have planning: the region, the cities and the townships all have official plans.  All of these are fundamentally aligned in protecting farmland, containing urban sprawl, focusing development only in specific areas and promoting intensification (within the cities). 

It could certainly happen that thousands and thousands of single-family homes will be built in new subdivisions between Kitchener and Guelph.  But in order for that to happen, both the townships and the region will need to change direction, revise their development policies and update their official plans.  At this time no one -- not the cities, not the townships, not the region -- has indicated any desire or intent to do that, so I am not expecting it to happen.

Policies and plans can indeed be changed later.  But so can any legislation, or even the constitution.  At this point in time I have trust in our region, our cities and our townships that they indeed have the right direction, and they intend to stay with it.  Of course, if you cannot trust them to do that, then it's a whole different situation.

You're right.  We do have plans, and our current politicians seem to fully support them.  I don't think Wellington county has nearly as aggressive protection as we have.  Also, the area has no protection provincially, which I think should be fixed.

But you're also right, these things change, politicians change, policies change, and they bend to pressure from various developer interests.  So this is why I would oppose the highway and similar highways in other areas, why provide the temptation, they're much harder to change than politicians.

Anyway, I think this conversation has run it's course.  Lets see meet back in 50 years what Highway 7 looks like between Guelph and KW.  I hope I'll be proven wrong.