Bathurst Street runs north just past Morning Sideroad, at which point it ends after a bridge was deemed unsafe by the region in 1990s. There is a plan to reconnect the street, but it will likely take a couple of years.
Newmarket
August 16, 2008 09:32 PM
By: Sean Pearce
Gary Worters writes: I have tried to find out for months from various local government officials as to why Bathurst Street was closed a number of years ago, just north of Hwy. 11/Yonge Street. Would it not have made more sense to continue Bathurst into Bradford rather than stopping it north of Green Lane?
This road, although rough, used to go straight through and has now been blocked. It is a public roadway, so why was it closed? Anyone living in Newmarket knows how bad the traffic has become between Davis Drive And Yonge. Thank you for your time.
No problem at all and thank you. Living not far from the area in question, believe me when I say I feel your pain when it comes to that stretch of Hwy. 11.
While I can’t say precisely how much of my life I have wasted idling or stop-and-going up that route, a conservative estimate places it somewhere in the neighbourhood of about 237 years. Wild exaggeration aside, it’s a long time.
Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with this issue. Sometime ago, I did do a story about the severed ends of Bathurst, which can be viewed by following this link to our website:
http://www.yorkregion.com/article/73969.
Bathurst extends north of Green Lane and cuts off just past the Morning Sideroad. The dead-end past the aforementioned road has had its share of visitors over the years, despite the concrete barriers in its path.
All manner of trash litters the spot, including discarded furniture, car parts and even the odd newspaper box cracked open for its change. Locals have said the spot has become a frequent haunt for criminals and even the occasional suicide.
In better times, the southern portion of Bathurst connected to the northern stretch, which continues to the Graham Sideroad, via a bridge. The bridge was deemed unsafe by the region in the mid-1990s and closed to traffic. It has since fallen into disrepair and left to decay. One can barely tell it was ever there.
The region has plans on the books to reconnect both ends of Bathurst so through traffic can, once again, traverse it from Green Lane up to the Graham Sideroad. It’s just a matter of determining exactly how to make it happen.
When last I spoke to the region’s director of capital delivery roads, Dino Basso, he said the region is investigating how to route the new connection between the two severed ends of Bathurst so it creates the least impact to the local social, residential and environmental features, while still meeting all federal and provincial requirements.
Incidentally, Mr. Basso was also the source for a great deal of the background information on the history of the street.
To get an update on the project, I contacted York Region’s manager of engineering, Stephen Collins, who informed me the environmental assessment process is ongoing. Public meetings have been held on the matter and the region is also consulting with residents to ensure the final alignment of the reconstructed road addresses their concerns wherever possible.
The region’s preferred alignment, so far, would shift the road to the west rather than utilizing where the old bridge once stood. This hasn’t been a popular notion with everyone in the area, but Mr. Collins said it remains the preferred alignment as it causes the least impact to the area’s natural features.
Once the assessment work is complete, the region will compile the information and produce an environmental study report.
The next stage, if all goes smoothly, would be the engineering and design phase for the route, which could happen as soon as next year.
Depending on how long all of that takes, the shovels could be in the ground for the project by 2010.
Of course, Mr. Collins is quick to caution it could also take longer, depending on how each phase of the process moves along. There is still a long way to go.
Well Mr. Worters, I hope that gives you enough information on the broken Bathurst Street for now. We’ll keep you posted and, remember, you asked for it.