Petition Against Massive Traffic Congestion - Closing of Main St. South and bridge from July to December 31, 2014

Once again, major road construction is being planned on Main Street Markham. This time, the recommendation is to COMPLETELY CLOSE Main Street South between Highway 7 and James Scott Road from July 2 to December 31, 2014.

The 1000's of residents and visitors who use this route to access Highway 48 south, the 401 and Highway 407 will have to take 9th Line or McCowan Road instead. Northbound traffic, residents returning home or those intending to shop or do business on Main Street North or Highway 7, will face the same problem.

Residents and others using 9th Line and McCowan are already experiencing lengthy traffic delays, angry drivers and totally unacceptable congestion, especially during rush hours and peak times. This will make conditions unbearable, for those who already use those two roads to exit and return to Markham, but now also, to those who use the Main Street South route. This includes most residents of Markham Village, and a high percentage of residents who live to the north and east and west of Main street.

The traffic through this area is already facing a bottleneck, but based on the proposal, this tremendously inconvenient road closing will not have a positive result! Instead of 2 southbound and 2 northbound lanes across a new bridge, at the end of this incredibly costly process there will only be three lanes, two of which will be southbound only! This will not come close to handling the existing volume of traffic, or accommodating the additional very high volumes due to the newly built high-rise, mid-rise condos and townhouses on Main Street, Highway 48 north and 16th Avenue.

The report on which this recommendation is based claims the 6 month closure is the 'least expensive' option, but nowhere has it factored in residents' time and the loss of revenue to businesses.