​​​OUR TOP CONCERNS

Hyper Density: It’s Gone From Bad to Worse 

• 11 high-rise towers with heights ranging from 46 to 59 storeys on just 5 hectares of land near the Oakville GO Station.

• 6,908 units, 66% of which will be studio or one-bedroom units.

• This end result represents a potential 14,000 people living on 5 hectares with a density of 2,800 people per hectare.

Two points of comparison to help understand this level of density:

1. the province’s original density target was 200 people and job jobs per hectare and the TOC proposal is an inexplicable 14 times greater than that target; and

2. the area of a soccer field, excluding stands, is approximately 1 hectare, so imagine trying to cram 2,800 people on a soccer field.

    

If the 43 hectares of developable land in Midtown were developed at this level of density, the population of Midtown would be 118,818. This is inconceivable.

Inadequate Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation studies have revealed that Midtown doesn’t have the road transportation infrastructure to even support the previously assigned target density of 200 people and jobs per hectare, let alone 2,800 people per hectare.

The serious traffic congestion and lack of capacity on Trafalgar, Cornwall, Cross Avenue, QEW interchange and others that traverse Midtown will turn into gridlock. These conditions will not only impede commuters heading to the GO station, they will also affect public transit, and everyday residents who drive, cycle, walk, shop or attend school in the area.

No Parks and Community Facilities

The TOC proposal acknowledges the fact that Midtown has no public parks or community facilities. Their proposed solution is for the 14,000 people to play and recreate somewhere else and use the parks and community facilities in nearby neighbourhoods. Presumably, the same strategy will be used for schooling. This will not build a complete and livable community and it shows the TOC has no interest in creating one. Midtown will become a doughnut with a centre that nobody uses except for sleeping.

Sustainability Not Addressed

While the TOC suggests sustainability will be promoted, it doesn’t commit Distrikt to anything beyond minimum regulatory compliance. We have consistently argued that Midtown must be developed to standards of environmental performance that go beyond minimum regulatory compliance, such as Green Development Standards being used by municipalities across Ontario who can provide models for standards, methods and use.

This Level Of Height And Density Is Not Needed

The level of hyperdensity in the proposed TOC is not only unacceptable, it isn’t needed to meet provincial targets.

The provincial minimum growth targets can be attained with low/mid-rise alternative concepts with reasonable building heights and density like those being considered in the Town’s new OPA. The level of density proposed in this TOC of 2,800 is 14 times greater than the provincial target of 200.

A Deal Developed Behind Closed Doors

The root cause of this badly flawed proposal is that it was developed behind closed doors under a confidentiality agreement led by people with vested interests and no direct ties to the community.

Provincial politicians and bureaucrats appear to have been pursuing their own agendas with no consideration of the needs and goals for liveabilty, or the infrastructure chaos and costs that will be imposed on the Town and its taxpayers.

THE OUTCOME

If allowed to continue, the “community” produced by this flawed process will create an unsustainable and isolated island of concrete, glass and steel in the middle of family-oriented communities. It will eventually collapse and slowly die due to its “way station” style of living. To quote Canada’s Smart Density:​​​

High-density neighborhoods are being built at a massive scale around the world, but the standard design approaches result in lacklustre neighborhoods that lose the potential introduced by their density. These neighborhoods tend to become defined by their tallest buildings; that is, with height come oversized streets that prioritize travel by car (even where transit is available) and open spaces that lack in human scale. The impact is felt acutely, as the opportunities for human connection – to place and to each other – are lost.