The Municipality of Clarington yesterday issued a call to the province to make Highway 407 toll-free for heavy trucks carrying aggregates in north Durham.
The noise from gravel trucks early in the morning and on the weekends is disturbing residents in the small hamlets of north Clarington, said a municipal statement.
“While the municipality does not wish to restrict commercial traffic to specific roads or times, we need to protect the safety of local residents in these neighbourhoods. The heavy truck traffic is passing through Clarington to deliver construction materials to support housing being built west of the municipality,” the statement said.
It said the provincial government is prioritizing new housing development.
“Therefore, the Municipality of Clarington is asking the Ontario government to waive toll fees on Highway 407 for heavy trucks carrying construction materials in North Durham for a trial period of one year,” said the statement.
“Let’s get these heavy trucks off our rural roads. The disruption they cause to our residents and, quite frankly, the destruction of our local roads is unreasonable. These big, heavy trucks want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, so Highway 407 makes all the sense in the world,” said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster.