The majority of Picton’s housing stock consists of single-detached homes on medium-to-large lots. Higher density building could create rapid population growth over the next five to ten years. Traffic engineers expect many major intersections will hit capacity and require “signalization improvements.”

In the short term, Picton is looking to make “multi-modal” travel safer and more inviting, encouraging “active transportation” like cycling and walking as well as public transit.

In the longer term the report anticipates thousands of new residents, at Base31’s “constellation of villages,” and at Cold Creek and other major developments in and around Picton.

The new Transport Master Plan studies Picton’s unique demands. How do people get to work? In Picton, 56 percent of residents drive, while the County average is 61 percent. 13 percent walk — the County average is 4 percent; only 1 percent cycle, and less than 1 percent use transit. 

About 22 percent of the Picton workforce works from home. Across the County, the average is 28 percent.

The capital cost of the infrastructure recommended by the TMP over the next 20 years totals nearly $104 million, but just $1 million is needed for “active transportation” improvements. These include “on-street cycling improvements that only require paint and/or signage, short connecting multi-use paths, and trail-crossing safety enhancements.”

More expensive short-term recommendations include $9.5 million for ten intersections in support of an alternate truck route, a “ring-road” that uses mainly existing routes.

Medium-term active transportation improvements like paved shoulders along numbered County Roads and bike path projects would cost $4 million. One such path would run through Delhi Park to connect Picton Main Street to Base31.

Long-term, a reconfiguration at the wretched intersection at the Cenotaph where Ferguson, Chapel, and Main Streets collide is recommended. 

Other notable proposals include creating “Mobility Hubs,” where travellers can integrate different modes of transportation.

Public transit would be encouraged between Picton and Belleville, but the Picton Loop portion of the fixed route will go, replaced by an on-demand service for Picton.

The report recommends the municipality ”consider prohibition of motorized vehicles on the Millennium Trail along the Settlement Area boundary.” In other places, ATV use could be supported with signage and signals. Comments welcome until 13 December. The full 70-page report is available here.