MINUTES FROM THE MEETING OF THE

 

MAIN STREET MARKHAM COMMITTEE

 

Town of Markham

York Room and Ontario Room - Civic Centre

February 17, 2010

 

Members                                                                    Regrets

Ibrahim Ali

Phil Howes                                                             

Deirdre Kavanagh

Diane Kobelansky

Jonathan Mingay

Richard Morales (Heritage Markham Alt.)

Diane More

Councillor Carolina Moretti

Peter Ross

Keith Thirgood                                                       

Helen Walter

Councillor John Webster                                         

 

 

Staff

Regan Hutcheson, Manager of Heritage Planning

Alan Brown, Director of Engineering

Dale MacKenzie, Capital Works Engineer

Alick Wong, Manager of Infrastructure and Capital Works

Kitty Bavington, Committee Clerk

 

 

The meeting of the Main Street Markham Committee convened at 5:40 pm with Councillor Carolina Moretti as Chair.  Regan Hutcheson took over as Chair at 6:50 pm when the two Councillors left the meeting.  The meeting moved to the Ontario Room at 7:10 pm.

 

 

1.         ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MAIN STREET

            MARKHAM COMMITTEE MEETING OF JANUARY 20, 2010

 

THE MAIN STREET MARKHAM COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS:

 

That the Minutes of the Main Street Markham Committee meeting held on

January 20, 2010, be adopted.                                                               

                                                                                                                            CARRIED                                      

           

 

2.         MAIN STREET MARKHAM ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

PRESENTATION

 

Martin Scott of McCormack Rankin, Consultants, gave a presentation on the Main Street Markham Environmental Assessment. He identified the study area and provided an overview, discussing the background studies including the Main Street Markham Streetscape and Traffic Management Study.  Mr. Scott acknowledged the project team, the community advisory group, technical agencies and public stakeholders that were involved.

 

Discussions included the context and approach of the study, consultation and appeal processes, and issues and opportunities that were identified. A major consideration is whether 2, 3 or 4 traffic lanes would be established at various sections of the road. Preliminary conclusions are that only two lanes are appropriate from Highway 7 to 16th Avenue, with four lanes north of 16th Avenue. A three-lane combination is being considered south of Highway 7. Renderings of the potential street development were displayed.

 

Peter Ross, is the Main Street Markham representative on the EA community advisory group and was seeking consensus from the committee on a position.  He spoke about the efforts to support the Main Street Vision document and to preserve the valley and the natural environment as a gateway feature for the Heritage District. Although the clear preference is to maintain the two lanes south of Highway 7, an appropriately-designed three lane option with one sidewalk could be accepted as a compromise as it would allow the heritage buildings to remain and have minimal impact on the valley. The Committee was asked for a consensus on this issue.

 

Keith Thirgood, representing the Old Markham Village Ratepayers, advised that at a recent meeting, the majority of that group supported the two lane option.

 

Lengthy discussions included traffic patterns, alternate routes, the pinch-point related to the heritage buildings near the bridge, incorporating the linear park and pathways, and preservation of the gateway impression.  It was indicated that the status quo did not appear to be an option and 4 lanes would gut the human scale of the streetscape and affect access to the Valleylands.  It was determined that it would be best to go forward with a consensus viewpoint from this committee to avoid the potential of 4 lanes, which from a pure transportation perspective, would be the preferred option.

 

All ten citizen members of the Committee indicated unanimous consensus of support for the three-lane option as described by Peter Ross.

 

The next steps will be a presentation to Markham Council in March, and to the Heritage Markham Committee. A further Public Meeting is required. The Committee thanked staff and the consultants for the presentation and for their work on this project.

 

3.         UPDATES

 

a)         Heritage Conservation Entry Signs

 

Phil Howes provided an update, advising of discussion regarding white vs. black lettering. Regan Hutcheson noted the absence of a sign on 16th Avenue , west of Main Street as well as some deficient features on the entry sign near the Museum and indicated he would follow up.

 

b)                  Incoming Planning Applications

 

Staff advised that several proposals are being considered, but formal submissions are still pending.

 

The retail-commercial redevelopment proposal for 58-72 Main Street North (Sierra Developments) has been approved at Development Services Committee.

 

c)                  Public Washrooms

 

Regan Hutcheson reported that Town staff were still in discussion with the consultant regarding design treatment and access.

 

d)         Budget Subcommittee

 

Keith Thirgood indicated that there was nothing to report at this time.    

 

e)         17 Mill Street

 

Regan Hutcheson indicated that he had placed a call to the TRCA and was waiting for a response.

 

f)          New Membership

 

Deferred to the next meeting.

 

 

4.         NEW BUSINESS - none

 

 

5.         NEXT MEETING -  The next meeting will be held on March 17, 2010.  

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

The Main Street Markham Committee meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.