Editorial: A Tale of Two Yonge Streets

As Newmarket prepares for planned growth under the Places to Grow Act and the town's Official Plan, infrastructure has to be a consideration.

The Town's planners decided on a bus rapid way that would connect Mulock with Davis Drive along Yonge Street. It is a curious decision because the planned growth in East Gwillimbury far exceeds any growth for the corridor chosen. The question why the Town didn't connect people to residential and employment intensive growth along Yonge Street to Green Lane remains unanswered.

With the construction of this bus lane, we are seeing alarming economic effects. All along Yonge Street in Newmarket, vacant buildings dominate where once he had retailers, restaurants, and car dealerships. With these businesses closing, out Town has already lost hundreds of jobs and construction is only getting started.

In comparison, our neighbour Aurora is booming. On June 5th, Aurora held its annual Yonge Street festival. Thousands of people packed the street to meet with hundreds of retailers, service providers and community groups that set up stalls. It was a display of economic vibrancy that is lacking in Newmarket.

On top of that, Aurora's Yonge Street has multiple new condominium developments underway. No such activity exists in Newmarket.

The Town of Newmarket needs an economic development strategy before we fall further behind our York Region neighbours.

#economy #Newmarket #Aurora #YongeStreet #YRT #VivaNext