Brighton council approves new gas bar for downtown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzYx5Tu9sq4
Video by Justin Medve
The Municipal Centre in Brighton was overflowing with spectators Monday night as town council began discussion about allowing a Mac’s Milk convenience store and gas bar downtown. Photo by Stelios Pappas, QNet News
BRIGHTON – After months of back-and-forth and heated opposition, a Mac’s Milk convenience store and gas bar will open in downtown Brighton.
On Monday night, discussion of the new store and gas bar dominated town council and led to a nearly six-hour meeting.
Council chambers had an overflow of people large enough to have Mayor Mark Walas ask the public repeatedly to move away from blocking the fire exit and for councillors to move their desks up to accommodate more seats.
For 10 months Brighton council has deliberated over the proposal to put the store and gas station at the corner of Elizabeth and Prince Edward streets.
Take a look at the undeveloped site below:
On Monday, council finally voted in favour of the site plan.
When the proposal was first put forward in January there was immediate opposition, and residents formed a protest group called BADGaS (Brighton against downtown gas station). The committee has approximately 15,000 signatures on a petition against the gas bar. The group raised over $22,000 to fight the application.
“In our opinion the predominant number if Brightonians who live in the urban area don’t want this gas station at this location,” David Green, one of BADGaS leaders, told QNet News during a break in the meeting. “It’s all about the location. It’s not about Mac’s – it’s about where they want it.”
The plot of land has been empty for years. The last business on it was an Esso gas station. Because of soil contamination from lead and other heavy metals, as well as gasoline and its byproducts, it is difficult to build anything other then a gas station at the site.
Council received the newest site plan from Mac’s Milk last week, and made it available to the public as of Monday, Oct 26.
“We’ve had (the plan) studied by (traffic) engineers and there’s a great number of deficiencies,” Green said.
Among the problems that Green cited in a presentation at Monday’s council meeting:
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Issues with the gas-bar project as presented at the council meeting by David Green of the opposition group BADGaS. Photo by Stelios Pappas, QNet News
Garbage trucks leaving the site would be dangerous to the public and other cars because the streets in area are narrow.
- Long fuel-delivery trucks would cross multiple traffic lanes when passing through town.
- Fuel tankers exiting the gas bar would cut off traffic and congest the the roadway.
- Vehicles turing into the gas station could hit one another.
- Trucks delivering other goods to the store and gas bar would cause traffic congestion.
As Green made his presentation, audience members nodded their head; at the end, there was a loud round of applause.
But in the end, council voted four to three in favour of the site plan, with Mayor Mark Walas and councillors Roger McMurray, John Martinello and Mary Tadman in favour and councillors Steve Baker, Laura Vink and Brian Ostrander opposed.
Walas said the concerns of the public would be taken to the developers.
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