Residents of West Hill,…

Residents of West Hill, Guildwood, Highland Creek, Centennial and West Rouge have long been subjected to heavy truck traffic originating from the Coronation Drive industrial area. While I am aware that traffic is not a MECP jurisdictional issue, I urge the Ministry to review this application in consideration to significant safety and noise considerations around trucking of materials to and from this facility.

What makes the application from Digital Specialty Chemicals greatly concerning is the content of those trucks. And, that a discrepancy in the number of those trucks has come to light. The Ministry must take action to provide clarity around what is in those trucks and the frequency of those trips.

There is always potential for a crash or pedestrian accident involving these trucks on our residential streets as massive tankers travel the long trek to and from the 400 series highways. We need to understand what harm could potentially be unleashed considering not only the size of the vehicles, but the cargo. Since most of the chemicals and substances within the application have been redacted from public view, I urge the Ministry ascertain from the proponent what is in those trucks, how much of those substances is being transported, and how often.

As fodder for your inquiry, please consult the Acoustics Assessment Report (AAR) provided in this application. I draw your attention to Page 169 of the ECA (5.3 Predictable Worse Case Impacts Operating Scenario or page 5 of 10 of the AAR). There, you will find a table that has several lines devoted to trucking. It shows what appears to be 24 trucks coming and going into the facility 7 days a week, daytime and evening (presumably 8 hours each), 365 days per year. However, when the community made inquiries directly to the proponent for clarification on this matter, their answer was as follows: “Truck traffic is only on weekdays (Monday through Friday) between 9 am and 5 pm. The average number of trucks per day is 6 or 7, but it can vary from 4 to 9 trucks per day.”

This discrepancy between the casual reported trucking volume and what is outlined in the AAR clearly needs thorough investigation. What is the “worst case scenario” if the report is not accurate, as the proponent suggests? This is crucial information that requires a suspension of this application until further clarity is obtained.

The Ministry needs to keep the City fully abreast of any information in this regard. This is particularly important in light of the City’s planning and transportation study currently underway for the Coronation Drive Employment Area.