Submitted to St Marys Cement as input to the proposed Flamborough Quarry Haul Route Evaluation Study: Name:______________________________________ Address:____________________________________ Preliminary Haul Route Concerns -------------------------------- Our roads are more than just haul routes – they are the social, economic and cultural links between our communities and they support cars, school buses, slow moving agricultural vehicles, pedestrians and joggers, cyclists, horseback riders, and more, as we access work, shopping, play and recreation. We are concerned about key issues such as: - significant infrastructure costs and who would pay to widen the roads, upgrade structure and pavement, and address interchanges - ongoing infrastructure maintenance costs given the heavy truck usage - increased property tax burden for residents to pay for road infrastructure with either no offsetting income from the quarry operation (extraction royalties would be paid to Hamilton where the proposed quarry is located not to the Region of Halton and its municipalities where the some of the proposed haul routes are) or nominal fees to Hamilton not covering costs. - extremely significant increase in (truck) traffic volume with health, safety, and environmental impacts described more fully below - restricted road and driveway access due to truck queuing o experience at the existing quarries suggests that the trucks begin to “line up” at the quarry gate beginning at 3 a.m. lining the roads, blocking intersections and driveways, and idling until they move forward o this represents a significant volume of complaints to the local police force - truck traffic and queuing impacts exacerbated by existing train crossings o the lines carry some 40 trains per day with some up to 7,000 feet long o current average wait time is in excess of 10 minutes per train with resultant traffic queues - increased risk of pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicular accidents, injuries and fatalities, i.e.the off-duty officer hit by an aggregate truck while biking on Tremaine - compatibility of fast moving trucks with frequently stopping school buses - slower emergency response times from the Reid Sideroad EMS due to truck traffic volume and queuing - poorer air quality and health implications due to air pollution, diesel exhaust emissions and particulate including increased incidences of asthma - noise o The proponent’s Noise Study confirms that residences up to 500 m from the road centre lines may experience some influence of haul route noise (in excess of Ministry of Environment quiet conditions). Corridor residents all the way to 400 series highways could be noise impacted from very early morning to late evening. - potential impairment of woodlands and wetlands, and their species, as well as possible contamination of groundwater from road salt, oil and diesel fuel releases, etc. as well as the destruction of these features from any required roadway upgrades - no economic benefit to local businesses from aggregate haulers due to “just in time’’ delivery and fee structure – the trucks will simply pass through the towns - negative impact on local businesses due to traffic impacts for regular customers, especially tourists, cyclists and motorcyclists Recommendations for Citizen Engagement in the Haul Route Evaluation Process ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To be successful, we believe that citizen engagement needs to be a quality process, rewarding to all participants, and should produce meaningful results. St Marys Cement should genuinely listen and respond to our community needs, priorities and concerns in both the design and logistics of the consultation process and the substance of the consultation. - Stakeholders: All stakeholders with a legitimate interest in the transportation/haul route issue should be identified and contacted. This means, at a minimum, residents, agricultural operations, businesses, property owners, and public facilities (schools and daycares) located along the alternative haul routes; regular “users” of the routes such as CN/CP, emergency services (fire/EMS/police), bus carriers such as Attridge, school bus drivers, cyclists/organizations, et al.; individual stewards and organizations, like the Hamilton Naturalists, who are involved in land and species stewardship along the proposed haul routes; and public health expertise related to transportation, air quality and health issues. - Notice o Stakeholders should be directly and indirectly informed of meetings. Canada Post Ad Mail and local community newspapers should be used. o Genuine advance notice should be provided. A full two weeks notice before the meeting is the bare minimum for busy people. Longer notice is preferred and should definitely be provided when the meeting is being held near or during summer vacation and other holidays. o The notice should contain meaningful information : * show the haul route study area and proposed alternative haul routes; * identify where the proposed quarry site is * clearly state the purpose of the meeting and * provide links to further information and resources to allow stakeholders to prepare for the session and provide meaningful feedback. - Location: The location should be relevant to the proposed development and our affected communities, within a maximum 10 km radius of the proposed development. - Content: Stakeholders should be provided with enough information to prepare for the meeting. Background assumptions, questions for consideration and draft materials should be provided before a meeting. - Meeting Format: Active and interactive participant involvement should be allowed. Stakeholders should be able to talk with the proponent’s traffic consultants to review background, route and evaluation material. There should be a formal presentation segment along with moderated question and answer sessions. - Written Feedback: There should be an opportunity for stakeholders to provide written comments to the proponent. Stakeholders should be given a minimum of four (4) weeks to submit comments after a meeting. Again, longer timeframes should be provided based on seasonal/holiday proximity and on complex subject areas.