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When the bridge first opens, the foreâ€" cast is for an average of 16,000 vehicles a day, according to Dave Bloomer, manâ€" ger of design, Public Works partment, Town of Oakville. "The ridge has four lanes to start with," loomer explains, "but it is designed for six lane corridor in the future. By 11, it is expected traffic will increase o 20,000 vehicles a day with 2,800 oving over it during the peak hour." Not only will this bridge serve the wing population of North Oakville, it ill also link Dorval with Neyagawa oulevard, a future road planned for the est side of River Oaks. "When these onnections are made," says Bloomer, will be a significant increase in on the bridge." "I have a feeling there will be a uction in traffic across the Queen lizabeth Way because of this new idge," says Bloomer, "but there are no projections." Roy Foy says services are another The second area, West Oak Trails, will be located on the vacant area north of Glen Abbey at the junction of Upper Middle Road and Highway 5. Bellows says this will be higher in density comâ€" pared to Glen Abbey and more pedestriâ€" an oriented than other areas in Oakville. Hcsaysd;epmjec(edrmiduuialpop\m- tion for 2001 is 8,200. the century that will also benefit from this new bridge. The first, which will be known as the Uptown Core, will be a commercial downtown core for North Oakville, located at the southwest comer of Trafalgar Road and Highway 5. Here, a large regional shopping plaza will be found along with office space, mixed residential/commercial, retail, instituâ€" tional, high density residential townâ€" houses and a park. Bellows predicts the residential population to be 300 by 1997 and 2,000 by the year 2001. Planner Bruce Bellows, of the long range planning section for the Town of Oakville, says this bridge will help the growing northern Oakville population access the rest of the Town. Iroquois Ridge North, for example, currently has an estimated population of 6,000. By the year 2001, a conservative population estimate is 11,500. Today, River Oaks has a population of 9,000 but by 20001, it‘s expected this will rise to 13,600. Glen Abbey which has a population of 18,500 today will have approximately 21,000 by 2001. NEW DEVELOPMENT There will also be two new areas developing between now and the end of ‘"We‘re tremendously pleased to see this bridge," says Foy. "It was first proâ€" posed in the ‘60s, engineering work began in 1976 and we started seriously with the environmental assessment in 1983." Foy explains that there was pubâ€" lic protest when the environmental assessment began, but he says there were public meetings and the process was quite open. In the end, most resiâ€" dents were satisfied with the final design of the bridge which has a minimal impact on the valley. h areas like Glen Abbey and River aks, especially during morning and ernoon rush hours when the Queen 7 Way is congested with comâ€" uters. Residents in the north may also nd pizza and other food delivery serâ€" ices to be slightly faster. Furthermore, embers of the Glen Abbey and River aks Recreation Centres, who are able ) take part in activities at both locaâ€" fircls. will find it easier and faster to h these places using the bridge. "Transit services across this bridge ve also been considered," explains Y, "but because of budget constraints is may not be immediate." This bridge is bringing more than ea expected to benefit because of this idge. Police, fire and ambulance serâ€" ces will now find it faster and easier to "Someone once told me if I can‘t get from point A to pint B in my communiâ€" ty in 15 minutes, something is wrong," says Ron Foy, deputy manager, developâ€" ment and community planning for the Town of Oakville. Up to now, residents in North Oakville were often hardâ€" pressed to get from one end of Oakville to the other in 15 minutes. Because of the Sixteen Mile Creek, people have been forced to use the busy Queen Elizabeth Way for local trips. Now, with the new Upper Middle Road Bridge which crosses this creek, residents have a much faster alternate route which should keep local journeys within the 15 minute time frame. Special to the Beaver By SHELLY SANDERS GREER ""With a more direct route, we feel the bridge will make getting to Oakville Place and Sears much easier," says Chuck Loewen, manger of Sears in Oakville Place. ‘"Until now, people have had to take the Queen Elizabeth Way and once they‘re on Cross town in 15 minutes The verdict is unanimous. The new Upper Middle Road Bridge can only have a positive impact on local retail businesses. "It can only be beneficial because it will open up the area and it gives more people access to our centre," says Carol Hyams, general manager, Oakville Place. "It will definitely bring in more people from Glen Abbey and since we are a familyâ€"oriented centre and Glen Abbey is a family area, it is perfect for us. I‘m looking forward to the opening of the bridge." Frank Smith, dealer for the Canadian Tire store on Kerr Street agrees. "For our location it will mean a lot of business by bringing people from the northeast part of town. We‘re predicting a 10% increase in business and have geared up for this with extra fall and Christmas buying. This bridge will sort of bring everyone together and we welcome our new neighbors." By SHELLY SANDERS GREER Special to the Beaver New bridge has positive impact on business just an alternate route in Oakville. It is bringing neighborhoods closer together and closer to major shopping areas. It is also a reminder of the future developâ€" ment expected in this town. For people concerned that Oakville is getting too big too fast, Foy says the Town is comâ€" mitted to making sure people are comâ€" fortable shopping, living and doing busiâ€" ness here. "It all depends on how we deal with the scale of development," he adds. "We are planning to meet resiâ€" dents‘ needs for increased recreational areas, schools, and churches. We are making sure we pay attention to detail." Elizabeth Slodkowska* Maryann Thompson* Sylvia Vandenhalven* Jackie van‘t Hullenaar® Kate Vanderburgh* Richard Weima** «" Helen Skube* } m m J » t «M Jim Snow* Pat Bingham* Bill Stor=* Murray Orn* * Sales Representative ** Associate Broker 338 â€"3737 Jan Siler* Says Brent Kearse, executive director of business development for Halton Region: ‘"There could be some economic benefits because of the accessibility of Glen Abbey and River Oaks. I know that I live in Glen Abbey and it will make travâ€" elling to Oakville Place a lot easier. I think it will also make the transportation of goods easier. I think you will see more subtle differences.." To help increase the awareness of the Upper Oakville Shopping Centre, owner Terrence Tyers says he has been placing extra ads in local papers to help entice new shoppers to take a look. ‘"‘More and more people will see how much easier it is to get to the eastern side of the Sixteen Mile Creek," he adds. ‘"There‘s been a psychologiâ€" cal barrier in the past and we think that with this new bridge, this barrier will be overcome." Lalonde believes the bridge will affect people‘s decision regarding what is most convenient. "There are many people in River Oaks who don‘t even know the stores in our centre. I think more people will now venture over because of this bridge." ‘"‘From our standpoint, it will definitely be a plus to the Abbey Plaza. We‘re a full service strip mall," says Mile Volpe at Not Just Flicks at the Abbey Plaza, Upper Middle Road and Third Line. "We‘ve all been here for three years. We‘ve waited for that bridge. We‘re very anxious to serve those people living in River Oaks, College Park and Iroquois Ridge. it will be up to the merchants to run some flyers to let peoâ€" ple know we‘re here. Any retail outlet needs continuous traffic. We will begin to be busy once the bridge opens and we see West Oak Trails fully developed." "This bridge will make it easier for everyone to get around," says Randy Lalonde, chairman of the Shop Oakville Committee for the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and owner of Blazer for Men at the Oakville Town Centre I. "With the bridge, people north of the Queen Elizabeth Way can expect to take up to 10 minutes off of any local trip. And services like dry cleaners who pick up and deliver as well as pizza places that deliver will also benefit." ‘"We‘re hoping this bridge will drive more traffic in front of ou Lester Gracez, store manager for the Canadian Tire at Upper Oakyv Centre. ‘"We‘ve increased out inventory with the hopes that someone side of the bridge will come in to buy it." the road, they tend to go to Burlington and Mississauga malls bridge‘s opening, Loewen says Sears has done some addi they‘ve sponsored the Glen Abbey Summerfest for the fir awareness of Sears within this community. Royal LePage at 281 North Service Rd. Now There‘s A NEW A 5pecial Leanne Schmid* Amelia Persaud* Wendy Pearson* Doug Pearson* _ Elizabeth Nerkowski* _ Mary Morra* Aoth an unfixpecktgd increase én sa}esv axllld o_téred recent relocation alrlllcli] expansion have us very busy! Well pri ?emes are selling quic%y now, oftenywith m[l)xltiple% ers. Are you thinking of buying or selling a property? Let Royal LePage HomeMatch "BRIDGE THE GAP" Call me today for more information. Arne Clarke* Anne Cousland* _ Manuel DaRosa** e and ()ak\;i,lle R?‘Xsilwla‘eyls)?)% the Move! cial Manf You,! to all those involved in the planning & construction of the Bridge. A Job Well Done! Fast Sale! Now it is easier with the Opening of The Upper Middle gggge. Shank Ypr! Royal LePage Real Estate Services Lid., Broker ROYAL LEPAGE oo ||||||||||||||||||| mm ||||||||||)||||||||| More Buvers! Best Price! auga mails. â€" In anticipation of the some additional advertising and for the first time to increase the iffic in front of our store," says ire at Upper Oakville Shopping on the other Associate Broker /Sales Manager Pis | Cindy Humphries of Century 21 Miller is number NORTH SERVICE RD. W., OAKVILLE f Nancy Edgar* Wednesday, August 18 For All Your Real Estate Needs In North Oakville "Bridging The Gap" / % % Naica F aircloth In Barbara MacMillan* Helen Mirrlees* Jeff Mahannah* Peter Meyer** Ron Krayewski* Marija Kolesar*® Helen Fedeyko* Al Lillicrop* Hans Kopp* Fred Garvan* Liz Harley Bridge Opening â€" 3