Positive response from government on Highway 10
By Doug Beffort Ward 1 Area Councillor

An important part of my election platform for Caledon area councillor was the issue of widening Highway 10 through the Village of Caledon. During the campaign I wrote about the need to spur the provincial government to take action on the issue. I invited Donna Cansfield, the Minister of Transportation to coffee at Eddie Shack's and she accepted the offer.

At that time she suggested that if I was successful in becoming an elected official I should bring a group of Caledon council members to Queen's Park to continue the discussion. I was successful and would now like to bring folks up to speed as to what has transpired since election day.

Subsequent to the election Caledon council wrote to the minister requesting action on the highway. We accepted the renewed invitation and on Feb. 21 Mayor Morrison, regional councillor Richard Paterak, Detachment Commander Andy Karski of the Caledon OPP and myself attended a meeting at the minister's office.

At that meeting we reviewed as many points as possible to highlight the need for action. We reiterated what many folks are saying. We highlighted, again, the safety issues, bottlenecks, increased traffic, increased need for commuting to points north of Caledon Village, boarded up buildings, a visually deteriorating village core and a sense that we had been promised action but saw none. I wish to thank the members of the community who provided input.

The reaction appears to be positive. The minister has promised to act quickly and decisively to complete the purchase of all properties needed for the widening. She noted that engineering plans were well under way and would be completed in a matter of months. She requested her staff to renew the applications for the funding to make the project work. She directed her planning staff to meet with a group of Caledon business owners and residents to capture the ideas that will help to revitalize the village core and to put the village back into Caledon Village as the project proceeds. A commitment was made to our OPP to work together to minimize the disruption of traffic flow as work is done.

I would very much like to be able to give a final timetable for the project but cannot at this time. I do believe, however, that our efforts have been noted. I want to believe that the financial, engineering and planning work will be expedited to a point where we can see some action soon. I also understand the reality that a provincial election will be held this fall, which will interrupt the flow of any new initiatives.

It is imperative that residents of this area attend election meetings and question the candidates about their stand on this important issue and, specifically, get a response as to the timeline for its completion. It's time for action!