Project Overview

The Transportation Master Plan identifies continuous bus lanes on Merivale Road between Baseline Road and Slack Road to address the City’s mobility needs in the future. An Environmental Assessment is needed to identify a recommended functional design for the corridor and confirm property requirements.

The Environmental Assessment study will be undertaken in accordance with the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act, fulfilling the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process for a Schedule C project.

The Environmental Assessment study will assess alternative designs aimed at improving transit, cycling and walking conditions, while continuing to accommodate vehicles and trucks.

The Merivale Road Transit Priority Corridor is approximately 4 kilometres in length between Baseline Road and Slack Road. The study limits are illustrated in Figure 1.

Study area: Merivale Road, from Baseline Road to Slack Road

Integration of Secondary Plan with Environmental Assessment Study

The Official Plan and Secondary Plan vision for redevelopment and increased density makes it a more supportive environment for residents to take transit.

Continuous bus lanes can provide faster bus service with connections to the future Transitway on Baseline Road and connections to O-Train at Algonquin Station.

The Environmental Assessment study will analyze road alternatives to assess continuous bus lanes and improvements to walking and cycling. Traffic volumes and Merivale's role as a truck route will be considered.

The Secondary Plan's connectivity and mobility concepts will be assessed, specifically their impact to the transportation networks.