A public meeting was held recently to update citizens of the Whitby area about the Port Whitby Secondary Plan. It involved consultants and members of the planning and Alliance team.
The area’s population is expected to increase by as many as 10,000 over the next 20 years. In order to accommodate this jump in population, there will have to be changes made in road and traffic patterns, the number of residences available for ownership and rent, and also the number of employment opportunities. Feedback was being sought from the public about what the expansion to the neighborhood should look like.
Whatever changes take place, it’s important that the principles of sustainable development are applied to the plans; this includes enhancements to the current GO commuter transit station.
The Port Whitby Secondary plan will build upon the improvements that have already been put into place during previous years. One of these was the Sustainable Community plan, which was initiated last summer.
Once concern that has been raised by the local residents is that there are enough employment opportunities to support an influx of people, and this is definitely being taken into account. Part of the plan includes an improvement in access to the increasing number of office jobs available in the surrounding areas. This is part of the rationale for the enhancements to the Whitby GO station.
It is expected that this growth in the number of businesses will lead to a rise in the need for companies which provide services such as business card printing, food services, and office cleaning.
