Mississauga Cyclists and Pedestrians Fight to Bring Back Cancelled Bridge
A bridge crosses Etobicoke Creek farther north in Centennial Park. Photo by Utcursch
Cyclists and pedestrians want to revive plans for a footbridge that was
planned for a Mississauga park and then cancelled.
The bridge would have crossed Etobicoke Creek, connecting a pathway
along the creek to Orchard Heights Park, just south of the QEW highway. Back in
May of 2018, councillors unanimously approved a partnership with the Toronto
Region Conservation Association to construct the bridge. Council approved
contributing up to a maximum of $160,000 for the project.
But the project is now deferred due to an online survey done in
2021, City of Mississauga spokesperson Irene McCutcheon tells inSauga.
“The decision was based on the survey that was coordinated by the City
and sent to the residents in the Orchard Heights community,”
said McCutcheon in an email.
The project will be reassessed in 2023, with plans for a fulsome
public engagement with the community on the project, she added.
Petition to get the bridge built
A petition aims to keep the bridge on council’s mind, as advocates argue
it provides safer access to the lakeshore. Cyclists and pedestrians can avoid
busy streets that will likely get busier once developments such as the Lakeview
Village are complete.
“I have never felt safe on Dixie Rd and that means I have to drive even when
cycling would be more convenient (no parking), better for the environment and
decrease traffic,” one person wrote on the petition. “Yet the city continues to
prioritize cars.”
Wolf Ruck, who wrote the petition and is an Orchard Heights resident,
says the bridge would “help promote the potential for people to engage in
outdoor, active living.”
The residential developments will “create huge traffic problems” on
Dixie Road, Ruck says. And eventually, Orchard Heights residents will have
difficulty accessing the waterfront. He thinks the bike lanes on Dixie Road
will be removed.
“Residents in Orchard Heights will essentially be relegated to using an
automobile to get out of their community for anything from going to school,
shopping, or…trying to get down to the waterfront trail.”
Ruck started the petition in the summer and it currently has 187 signatures.
“There are people who want this bridge to be built,” he says.
Survey of Orchard Heights Residents
Ruck claims a small group of residents opposed the bridge and created a
“flawed” online survey to lobby the city to cancel the project.
The Orchard Heights Homeowners’ Association conducted an online survey
back in 2021. A spokesperson for the group, David Blakey, tells inSauga they
“took care in the development of the survey.”
The survey done by the City of Mississauga received only a 13 per cent
response rate and was sent to residents of Orchard Heights and those who live
outside the neighbourhood.
Ruck says the Orchard Heights Homeowner’s Association survey was flawed
because it was “not a neutral survey done by a neutral third party.”
But Blakey says this isn’t the case.
“It is easy to call a survey flawed, especially when the outcome does
not align with their perspective,” he wrote in an emailed response. “The
developers of this survey were done by individuals in OH (Orchard Heights) who
were both in favour of the footbridge and those who were opposed, ensuring a
fair and balanced approach.”
The survey asked about the benefits of the bridge, such as car-free
access to the trails and green space but it also suggested concerns could
include more traffic and parking in the neighbourhood. It also mentioned
“increased crime” as a possible outcome.
The survey, with 345 responses, found 50 per cent opposed the bridge, 40
per cent in favour, and 10 per cent unsure. But they found there were 2.5 times
more comments of concern than support. And based on this, they determined
the result would be 54.5 per cent against and 45.5 per cent in support of the
bridge.
For more information on the survey,
see the report here. To see the petition, visit the Install
the planned & approved Orchard Heights Park foot/bike bridge site.
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The OHHA Survey Report, upon which the City of Mississauga based its decision to put the 2018 approved & funded and November 2019 scheduled Orchard Heights Park Foot-Bike Bridge “... on hold indefinitely ...” states that “19% of respondents were unaware of the bridge”.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that 19% of survey respondents were “unaware” (i.e. uninformed) of the bridge is a major flaw in the survey which, among other shortcomings, is detailed in Orchard Heights Park - Foot/Bike Bridge - OHHA Survey Issues
The OHHA Board, Mississauga Mayor Crombie, Ward 1 Councillor Dasko and the Mississauga Cycling Committee were duly copied on the Survey Issues and the related OH Park Bridge SWOT Analysis.
Nevertheless, the Foot-Bike Bridge originally scheduled for installation in November 2019 was cancelled.
To date, it remains unknown exactly Who? How? When? made the decision to put the Orchard Heights Park Foot-Bike Bridge “... on hold indefinitely ...”.
The reply to inquiries at the City of Mississauga Public Information desk, states: "For these record you will need to submit a Freedom of Information Request. Instructions can be found here: https://www.mississauga.ca/our-organization/submit-a-freedom-of-information-request/. Upon paying the $5.00 application fee please email the confirmation number as well as the access or correction form to privacy.info@mississauga.caI."
1) INFORMATION & CONTEXT
a) While an “…‘Introduction’ was provided in order to ensure clarity/understanding of the Survey…”, the absence of comprehensive background information in the Introduction to the Survey to contextualize any issues of concern by means of links to existing information, resources and references (e.g. The City of Mississauga Master Cycling Plan, related OHHA and Parents/Residents Facebook Group posts, # tagged discussion threads, posted SWOT Analysis, etc.), there are no parameters available in the Survey Report’s Questions & Answers with which to gauge and weight the degree to which respondents are, or are not, INFORMED of the planned OHP Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge. The absence of contextual references may constitute an Information Bias which potentially diminishes the quality and validity of the Results published in the Survey Report.
b) This absence of any reference to background and context in the Introduction is exacerbated by the fact that no thorough overview of the OHP Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge in the context of the overarching City of Mississauga Master Cycling Plan appears to have been carried out prior to the Survey being conducted (e.g. OH Community Meeting(s) with Ward 1 Councillor and City of Mississauga Cycling Committee Staff, Consultants, etc. to answer OH residents’ questions and address concerns.)
c) Assuming in the Survey’s simple Yes/No question that every respondent to the Survey is 100% “aware” of the project is not the same as respondents being INFORMED on the issues (e.g. Fully aware; Somewhat aware; Not at all aware; Need more information, etc). The absence of nuance in this Question may constitute a Response Bias which potentially diminishes the quality and validity of the Results published in the Survey Report.