Mississippi Mills believes the proposed ALTO High Speed Rail Project is more of a burden than a benefit to the municipality.
Mayor Christa Lowry is writing Member of Parliament Scott Reid to outline local concerns, and urges residents to do the same.
It’s concerning because one of the proposed ALTO corridor options would cut a 10 kilometre wide swath through the municipality.
A fully fenced, grade-separated high speed rail corridor risks creating dead-end or orphaned road segments, could result in longer travel times for fire, ambulance, and police services, and see impacts to school bus routing, snow clearing, and waste collection.
Recreational trail networks would be disrupted. Bisecting active farmland would destroy its viability and interfere with drainage systems.
Temporary construction employment or site restoration activities do not constitute meaningful or lasting economic benefit for rural host communities.
Returning farmland or environmentally sensitive lands to pre-construction condition is not a benefit but a baseline expectation.
By Rick Stow