Highway Access Only

I must admit I have seldom considered highway access for the new hospital. To me it is a ridiculous concern when we have so many possible sites with decent road access within the framework of the city. I have however thought about access to EC Row, the central corridor for the bulk of the primary population served.

Yet looking around the province I've see other places mention highway access as a serious consideration.

In Vaughan it was very blantant in this statement:

"Hospital will be directly accessible to Highway 400 and the connecting 407 and 401 Highways providing ease of access for patients arriving by ambulance or their own vehicle."

In Vaughan though, there was previously no local hospital so vehicle access was previously necessary. The new location however is within the framework of the existing city. Still it's surprising they don't mention people who aren't going "by ambulance or their own vehicle"

In Niagara Falls they state:

“As far as the roads go it’s prime,” said Campion, pointing out the location, with easy access to a currently expanding Highway 406 and Highway 140 provides a short drive to much of south Niagara."

So it becomes more clear that highway access may be a provincial criteria.

Our own site selection included about 12 of the 32 criteria that focused on road access. I considered it almost comical that they almost exclusively listed road access under accessibility. They did say there was potential for a transit route, and the plans were to have sidewalks and bike routes, but no mention if the distance to where most people actually live.

14.4% of the local work force do not drive their own vehicles to work, but 32% of the population is not in the work force. With about 25% of the population living in poverty, we might guess that about 25-33% of the adult population doesn't drive either because they can't afford to or they don't need to. To most of us, distance whether by walking, bicycle or by transit is the most important factor to consider for fair accessibility for all.

When it come to highway access though, the site also fails. As I mentioned above, the EC Row corridor seems more vital than any other for vehicular access for the primary population served.

When considering the secondary and teritiary populations served though, most would assume Highway 3 would be important to the county, and the 401 for patients in other counties. These two highways intersect, and near that intersection are lands already developed or open for development. The selected site is neither as close to an existing highway or developable lands as other equal sites listed for selection.