Highway 7 & 8 Transportation Corridor Requirements - Hamlet of

Shakespeare
Dr Byers, President, Shakespeare Business Improvement Association
February 6, 2009

Perspective: MTO
“The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is undertaking the Highway 7 & 8 Transportation Corridor Planning and Class
Environmental Assessment (Class EA) Study, from Greater Stratford to the New Hamburg Area. The purpose of the study is to
identify and address the long-term transportation needs for the Analysis Area and prepare a preliminary design for the provincial
roadway components of the recommended plan.”

MTO Corridor Study Region

As is evident, the Hamlet of Shakespeare is front and center and is the real ”pinch point” in this KW to
Stratford Roadway Corridor Study Region.
 The primary driver for this project is the long-standing desire of the city of Stratford to be located on a
4 lane limited access highway, similar to 401, and to have a 4-lane connection to 401. Interestingly, the
concern and apparent need for a 4-lane begins and ends at Stratford.

“Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson wants four lanes on the entire highway to improve truck access for Stratford
factories. "One of the things we often hear is that our community has that hurdle of not having four-lane
access to (Highway) 401," he said….Mathieson wants faster action by the province. Mathieson suggests the
varied nature of the road, from a divided four-lane highway to two opposing lanes, encourages poor driver
behaviour behind some grisly collisions. "I think the province is allowing them to study this to death, which is
something that has happened in the past." "It was 1974 when they last looked at doing this, and because the
province couldn't build consensus, it never happened. We've lived with piecemeal work on that highway for
that 32-year period. And now it's time for them to get serious, get the planning done and get on with
construction." ”

Since the primary stated objectives of Stratford Mayor Mathieson, the acknowledged prime mover
behind this study, are for improved truck access to Stratford factories, and concern for road safety on this
particular section of Ontario road; those elements are also the primary focus of our required roadway design
considerations in providing the Hamlet of Shakespeare’s requirements to meet Stratford’s implied needs for
driving this project. We, like New Hamburg, value our heritage and our business and residential districts, and
will not accept any proposal that harms either component of our longstanding hub position for SW Ontario
business and commerce. Therefore – the design must not simply divert business from other communities to
Stratford, which, we are assured, is not Stratford’s intent.

MTO Options: The present PIC2B (December 2008) MTO options are not acceptable as starting
points for discussion, as they either carve up Shakespeare into separate North and South Hamlets, gutting
the business centre as they go (ie. Option for 4-lane through the heart of Shakespeare), or they bypass
Shakespeare and divert current business and tourist traffic from Shakespeare to Stratford and beyond, and
by reducing business traffic to ¼ of current business, decimate the business centre through financial means.
Either approach means the demise of Shakespeare, and cannot be tolerated.

Shakespeare’s primary road corridor option outlined in some detail below, with ancillary second, third
of fourth options, all provide more acceptable avenues for meeting the stated objectives of the parties to this
road corridor study. A quick peek snapshot of the developed traffic corridor solution appears in the next
pane.
 The primary option is the much preferred option, with others provided as much less desirable options
primarily for further discussion as alternatives to achieve the same ends. As is evident, this satisfies all
major objectives and maintains Shakespeare as a heritage and commerce hub fro SW Ontario and reclaims
Shakespeare’s heritage from the current long-haul truck over-run of the Hamlet. Without 3D perception, the
solution is nearly transparent to the Hamlet and to the world. The essence of this solution is:

4 lanes to Stratford---------------Shakespeare Surface-2 lanes/w turn lane—------------------------4-Lanes to KW

2-Lane Truck-Only Tunnel Below
The Basics of What Makes Shakespeare What it is Today-“and why a car bypass is unacceptable”

Shakespeare-the Hub of the Southwest-for exploring Yesteryears best,

for Today's restful enjoyment and for developing &
delivering Tomorrow's Technology for the World.

Shakespeare Festival Country.

The Hamlet of Shakespeare is the heart of Shakespeare Festival Country – a centrally located hub for
shopping, recreation, culture, sports, tourism, country cooking and gracious European accommodation.
Visitors are astonished at the quality and variety of antiques, quilts, crafts, and gourmet delights in our
unique shops. It provides visitors a one of a kind-unique opportunity to experience the sensations of
discovering yesteryear delights as they discover everything our delightful Hamlet -the Gateway to Perth
County and Southwest Ontario has to offer, while they rest and relax in the restful quiet comfort of our
accommodations and enjoy our Gracious European Hospitality.

Shakespeare's Alive-Come check us out-

Visitors can kick back and enjoy our hospitality, stay, shop and play in Shakespeare Country, and
enjoy all that Southwest Ontario has to offer. We offer for them to come stay and play in Shakespeare, and
enjoy the quaint ambiance and mystique of our world-class antiques, uniques, and country-craft shops,
savor our local organic foods and country dining, and enjoy the quiet ambiance of the gracious
accommodations and the rural countryside.

We are Shakespeare Country, and Shakespeare is at the very hub of the richest agricultural region in
the Province, and is the prime Gateway to Perth County for regional tourism from Shakespeare to the
Shoreline. The name "Shakespeare" was adopted in 1853 as the neighboring town was known as Stratford.
Stratford, itself, was named for the first Inn in that locale, The Shakespeare INN, now memorialized by a
plaque at 70 Huron St in Stratford, and which is the namesake for the current Shakespeare INN, the SW
Ontario anchor accommodation hub in Shakespeare. The village was once home to numerous businesses
including a mill, a tannery, a pottery, a carriage factory, a cabinet factory, a cooper shop, a tin ship, shoe
shops, general stores, tailor shops, blacksmith shops, and hotels. Shakespeare became a very important
marketing center.

The coming of the 19 century railroad has already once in the past led to the diversion of business from
Shakespeare to surrounding communities, including Stratford. Shakespeare weathered the storm, albeit in a
much diminished role for a century, before growing and assuming it’s rightful hub position once again. A
second version via a 21st century 4-lane bypass to finish off what the railroad started 2 centuries past will not
be tolerated. Our HWY 7&8 requirements reflect this longstanding position-we (Shakespeare) have been
there once before. Further, we are a SW Ontario traffic hub, with much/most of Stratford to the rest-of-
Ontario traffic traversing Shakespeare first, either from Woodstock and the South via 59, from Wellesley, St
Jacobs and the North via. 107, and from KW and the East via. Hwy 7 & 8-the focus of this road planning
study. The focus for Shakespeare must necessarily be larger in scope than the more limited planning
horizon that the MTO HWY 7 & 8 corridor study entails per se.

Shakespeare is at the core, a very rural Hamlet offering a simple lifestyle, attracting business and
residential customers and residents with like-minded interests. With yesterdays Heritage as our core, we
firmly believe protection of our environment and preventing diversion and compromising of our rich
Agricultural Heritage under our dominion is of utmost importance. Therefore, any plans for conversion of our
solar-driven landscape critical to our food, energy, and fiber production capacity must be avoided at all
cost. As a consequence, our required roadway options are specifically designed to assure very minimal
agricultural land conversion to concrete, and/or disruption of these production enterprises in any fashion
through islanding, watercourse interruption, business separation and the like.

Shakespeare early-on became a very important marketing center. Prior to the building of the railroad
farmers from the north came to Shakespeare with their grain and more wheat was sold at this point than in
Stratford. The building of the railroad changed all this. For years the village stood still, but in recent years,
the Hamlet has taken on new life as an Antiques Capital of Ontario and today the village of Shakespeare is
known to thousands of tourists from all parts of Canada, the United States and Europe as the Go-To place
for the very best in Antiques and Uniques in Ontario, if not Canada.

Bypass Implications for Small Communities

Shakespeare is an Antiques capital, yet is still very much an unintended or unscheduled drive-by “stop
and browse” rather than a destination type business or tourism scene. Eliminate the unscheduled travelers,
and you eliminate Shakespeare. There are no government offices, regional business centers, professional
districts etc. that would be required to sustain routine business customers following a traffic diversion or
bypass. Shakespeare is also of the size (under 2500 population-actually ¼ of the minimum) needed to be
self-sustaining following a traffic diversion. Further, Shakespeare, like other municipalities of it’s size, caters
to both automobile as well as over-the-road truck traffic. Thus both of these modalities must be retained for
Shakespeare businesses to survive and flourish. Based on several decades of research on bypassed
communities (extensive Canadian, US, and International documentation attached), a 4-lane bypass for a
small community under 1000 population like Shakespeare typically diverts 75% of actual village business
traffic away, leaving only 25% of original business traffic to support the community, with the inevitable
business sector, property and tax base and tax receipts decline. This is simply unacceptable, and cannot,
under any circumstances, be tolerated.

This being said, Shakespeare, like other similar communities would benefit from a separation of these
disparate traffic modalities, and eliminating accelerating, decelerating and turning long-haul trucks right in
the very middle of Shakespeare, heading South to Pork Road and on to Stratford. Elimination of this
extraneous truck traffic would enhance our environment, safety, comfort, solitude, enjoyment, provide noise
reduction, pollution abatement and other expected small-town lifestyle amenities. Our required plan also
takes this element into consideration in our road project planning horizons, and provides for long-haul and
through truck and automobile separation in a way helpful to Shakespeare as well as for Stratford.

Bottom Line Planning Options

Primary proposed option: We offer a unique Shakespeare-driven primary Hwy corridor plan, as well
as a layout for 3 simple but somewhat less desirable planning options for MTO consideration. All of these
involve use of the current Hwy 7 & 8 corridor, but also with some element of already established common
transit corridor and/or current roadways in second, third, and fourth choice options. The preferred option
would cost less than the projected cost for the KW Grand River Bridge alone for the KW-Guelph segment of
this same corridor, and considering the nearly 2 centuries of Heritage Shakespeare represents, would, we
expect, be a bargain for any road planner to eliminate the key “pinch point” in the roadway corridor plan.

Certainly, the Hamlet of Shakespeare is at least as important as a river bridge.

Secondly, our preferred option includes only road planning and road design strategies, already
implemented and in place elsewhere in North America, and with unique Toronto Canada based technology
and construction technologies at the core.

Our required, and simple yet elegant concept and layout is illustrated in the following panels. The corridor
follows the current Hwy 7 & 8 roadway with right of way enhancement on one or both sides as required, for 4
lanes with a divider to the Shakespeare Hamlet limits on Eastern and Western boundaries, then transiting to
a 2-lane for cars and local and agricultural and service vehicles with turn lanes through Shakespeare.

The unique centerpiece of the design is a standard TBM-cored 2 lane truck-only tunnel-pass diversion
directly under the Hamlet of Shakespeare, but servicing the commercial and truck-travel businesses
currently in place on either end of the Hamlet, requiring relocation of no businesses at either end.
Primary Option:2-lane Truck-only Tunnel-pass; 2-lane & turn lane in Shakespeare

The beauty of the 2-lane truck-only tunnel “underpass” under Shakespeare is that no or very little additional
agricultural (or other) land is required beyond the already planned right of way for the 4-lane road on the
current Highway corridor. The limited local surface agricultural implement and service vehicle traffic heading
North to Wellesley, or South to Tavistock and 401 would still use the local surface roads through
Shakespeare. The addition of the turning lanes would greatly improve local agricultural service and visitor
traffic flows. When, in the future, North-South traffic on the Hwy 59/107 corridor becomes excessive, a
West-end loop flyover connecting North and South entrances to the 4-lane just West of Shakespeare will
alleviate this traffic congestion issue as well. Perhaps that could also be pre-planned into the HWY 7 & 8
corridor study plan for integration and Shakespeare Hamlet-Centre diversion of this truck traffic as well.
Current MTO plans do not address the North/South Hwy 59/107 traffic management issues. The Hamlet of
Shakespeare, the SW Ontario connection hub for traffic in this region, must, unlike MTO, out of necessity,
address this traffic issue as well as the Hwy 7 & 8 corridor per se.

The other tight spot on the current corridor-could be resolved similarly without having to move the cematery,
Church or the historic Fryfogel Inn, the oldest remaining building in all of Perth County. This could likely be
accomplished with cut & cover tunnels rather than TBM bored structures and/or with simple elevated road or
flyover sections, used around the world to avoid disrupting fragile ecosystems, or historic structures.

The standards for and essence of this Canadian Engineered technology as it is used around the world by
Toronto based Lovat and European industries is illustrated on the following panes. Road applications are
routine projects implemented with this TBM technology. Complete tunnels ready for road placement are
constructed in a single pass with these TBM systems.

An illustration of using this innovative Toronto-based (example is Lovat, division of Caterpillar Int’l) TBM
technology shown below, currently in use in Canada and elsewhere, provides minimal disruption to the
Hamlet of Shakespeare as all construction is done through the entrance portal.

Surface construction through Shakespeare required, will include standard lane upgrades and putting some
key left-turn-lanes in place at strategic intersections, and the primary notice will be a slight rumble as the
TBM moves underneath the feet of the citizens of Shakespeare. In contrast to the MTO option also providing
4-lanes from KW to Stratford, through the Shakespeare corridor, this solution, also providing 4-lanes from
KW to Stratford, will be accomplished with having to remove the historic heritage buildings of Shakespeare,
that our visitors and tourists come to visit. We accept and fully endorse the merit of a 4-lane road providing
better and safer infrastructure for accommodating road corridor traffic, but do not accept the consequence of
destroying the heritage of Shakespeare either through demolition of these buildings for road widening or
through bypass of our customers to other communities providing, instead, financial suicide-which are the
current MTO options on the table. Our’s is, we are confident, a much better option. Entrance and exit
portals are screened and blend into the agricultural landscape-surface and underground features.

West End truck portal Shakespeare Hamlet 2-lane with turn lane on Surface East End truck portal

Truck-only tunnel-pass---Shakespeare Truck Tunnelpass-TBM bored 2-lane---Truck-only tunnel-pass

In this design, automobile and local traffic would use the 2 center surface lanes into Shakespeare, and the
outer truck lanes would divert under the center 2 lanes and re-appear on the opposite end of Shakespeare.
The 4 lane would not be limited access in or near Shakespeare, or perhaps the remainder of the corridor as
well. Since Stratford’s primary concern is truck traffic, this novel solution, coming in at less than the cost of
the Grand River Bridge on the same corridor, eliminates the “pinch point” without carving up farmland or
destroying the historic Hamlet of Shakespeare. This small-footprint environment and Ag-Industry friendly
approach has many advantages and include the following among others:

1) Unfettered 4-lane truck access to Stratford- satisfies Stratford’s no. 1 external objective-truck route
2) Diversion of HWY 7&8 long-haul truck corridors under Shakespeare-satisfies Shakespeares’s no.1
objective to remove long-haul truck traffic and reclaim the Hamlet Centre district
3) Streamlined auto access through Shakespeare-satisfies HWY travelers objective
4) Bolsters Shakespeare’s central position as”
a. SW Ontario commerce hub- E, W Hwy 7&8 traffic, N,S Woodstock/Wellesley link
b. SW Ontario tourism hub-Shakespeare to the Shoreline
c. Gateway to Perth County Tourism
d. First entry into Shakespeare Country
e. Core hub for Agricultural trade movement
f. Travelers accommodation, service and rest-stop center
5) Recognizes the importance of Shakepeare’s heritage function
a. Does not run a 4-lane through it-and decimating it
b. Does not bypass Shakespeare with a 4-lane-and destroy it’s business
c. Encourages further growth of the important heritage tourism industry
6) Allows current businesses to thrive and flourish
a. Travelers services-fuel, country style food, coffee stops
b. Accommodation- European INN & B&B’s
c. Retail stores, craft shops
d. Antiques and Uniques mecca
e. Locally produced/organic foods and food products
f. World Class antiques and Uniques shops
g. Commercial businesses
i. Truck Center
ii. Lumber & hdwe
iii. Feed Mill & Ag Commodity Products Supply
iv. Ag Environmental Services & Engineering
7) Allows 4 lanes of traffic from KW to Stratford-for safety-yet maintains property values and tax base
a. Enhances HWY 7&8 road safety-second objective of Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson
b. Provides for auto and truck separation through our hamlet-enhance safety-Shakespeare goal
c. Achieves 4-lane commerce and travel safety goal without gobbling up precious farmland
8) Enhance quality of life in Shakespeare
a. Eliminates accelerating, decelerating and turning long-haul trucks right in the very middle of
Shakespeare and improves:
i. environment,
ii. safety,
iii. comfort, solitude, enjoyment,
iv. noise reduction, pollution abatement and
v. other expected small-town lifestyle amenities.
b. Streamlines vehicle flow at intersections
i. Minimizes turning ques and risks
ii. Reduces standing traffic
9) Enhances local trade and commerce
a. Local truck traffic is much improved
b. Easier servicing of commercial businesses
c. Simplifies North/South corridor traffic flow
10) Recaptures Shakespeare Country as a tourism destination
a. Creates a quiet-tourism-friendly pedestrian Hamlet centre zone.
b. Encourages further development of boutique shops
c. Creates a “St Jacobs like” ambiance with long-haul trucks out of the mix
d. Fosters growth of our Perth County Artisan market
e. Reclaims Shakespeare as the Gateway vs. Raceway to Shakespeare Country adventure
=================================================================================

Secondary Option: Trenched train with truck flyover. The 4-lane would be built as in option 1 to the East
and West Shakespeare Hamlet limits, then transiting to a 2-lane with turn lanes through Shakespeare, as in
the first option. This option is less desirable than the elegant and cost effective (less than a Grand River
Bridge) Shakespeare tunnel underpass, but provides a workable option for consideration. By trenching the
train and providing an elevated dual truck lane flyover following the existing train around Shakespeare, a

short corridor the length of Shakespeare can be developed with only minimal acquisition of additional land.
The truck-only flyover would leave the 4-lane near the Shakespeare Hamlet limits, as with the more
preferred tunnel-pass option, and would require land acquisition from the 4-lane South to the rail corridor on
each end of Shakespeare, as well as a flyover above the 4-lane the truck route diverts from.

Shakespeare Option 2 Schematic detailing truck loop flyover above trenched rail
A grade level underpass would be required for the Hwy 59/107 crossing under the flyover and over the rail
trench, with ramps and an interchange for truck transit to Hwy 59/107 also provided through this bypass-as
an option. The flyover returns to the 4-lane on the West end of Shakespeare, near the truck-oriented
businesses.

Noise and emissions associated with acceleration, deceleration and climbing would be a potential concern
to be addressed for the residents of Shakespeare, as this corridor is right on the South limit of Shakespeare.
Also, additional land must be acquired on both the East and West ends of Shakespeare for the 4-lane to rail
elevated road flyovers. These are the principal disadvantages associated with this option, as compared to
the preferred option. Aside from these issues, the primary objectives of all parties (Stratford, Shakespeare,
travelers) are still met as with the preferred tunnel-pass design.

With this option, Hwy 59/107 truck traffic from the Woodstock and South can be diverted and routed East or
West on HWY 7 & 8 without entering Shakespeare, which would be a traffic management advantage to this
approach.

==================================================================================
Third Option: Trenched train with truck-only flyover from current Hwy 7&8 rail bridge to western
Shakespeare Hamlet limits. The 4-lane would be built as in options 1 and 2 to the East and West
Shakespeare Hamlet limits, then transiting to a 2-lane with turn lanes through Shakespeare, as in the other
options. The truck-only lanes would exit the 4-lane at the current East-of Shakespeare rail crossing, and the
flyover returns to the 4-lane on the West end of Shakespeare, near the truck oriented businesses as in the
second option. This option is also less desirable than the elegant and cost effective (less than a Grand
River Bridge) Shakespeare tunnel underpass, but provides a further workable option for consideration.

By trenching the train and providing an elevated dual truck lane flyover, beginning where the rail line
crosses HWY 7&8 East of Shakespeare to the Western end of Shakespeare, the train and truck route can
share a common transit corridor, minimizing the need for additional land acquisition along the right of way.
The truck-only flyover would leave the 4-lane near the East of Shakespeare rail crossing, and would require
land acquisition from the 4-lane South to the rail corridor on west end of Shakespeare, as well as a flyover
above the 4-lane the truck route diverts from on each end. A grade level underpass would be required at the
Hwy 59/107 crossing, with ramps and an interchange for truck transit to Hwy 59/107 also provided through
this bypass-as an option.

Noise and emissions associated with acceleration and climbing would be a potential concern to be
addressed. These are the principal disadvantages associated with this option, as compared to the preferred
option. Aside from these issues, the primary objectives of all parties (Stratford, Shakespeare, travelers) are
still met as with the preferred tunnel-pass design. With this option, Hwy 59/107 truck traffic from the South
can be diverted and routed East or West on HWY 7&8 without entering Shakespeare, which would be a
further advantage to this approach.

==================================================================================
Fourth Option: Truck route from Punkydoodles corners to Stratford. The 4-lane would be built as in
options 1 and 2 to the East and West Shakespeare Hamlet limits, then transiting to a 2-lane with turn lanes
through Shakespeare, as in the other options. The truck-only lanes would exit the 4-lane at the current
Punky Doodles Corner intersection, with re-development of small country surface roads to support a 2-lane
truck-only flyover intersecting with and then following Pork Road to Stratford.

This option is by some measure, by far the least desirable of the 4 options, and in a whole different class
than the elegant and cost effective (less than a Grand River Bridge) Shakespeare tunnel-pass, but provides
a platform for discussion for development of a further workable option for consideration. This option
consumes larger amounts of farmland along the re-developed country roads, and mixes long-haul trucks
over farm tractors, paralleling but above what the current existing Pork Road does. This does achieve a
bypass of long-haul trucks around Shakespeare, but the trucks will completely bypass the Western
Shakespeare truck oriented commercial businesses, requiring these businesses to pick up stakes and to
relocate near Pork Road, chewing up more farmland. As in options 2 and 3, bridges and ramps will be
required as Pork Road crosses Hwy 59/107. It is, in our mind, questionable whether farm tractors, combines
& implements and trucks can really coexist on a truck road, as a long term solution, especially if
Shakespeare truck oriented businesses must relocate to Pork Road, and may require co-located service
roads to service both sets of needs, further engulfing farmland. We are confident, however, that they could
effectively co-exist, with trucks on a limited access 2-lane elevated truck road, located above Pork road.

Therefore, Option 4A was developed as an alternative in Option 4, with an added flyover above Rd 108 to
HWY 7&8 West of Shakespeare which then allows connection to current Shakespeare commercial truck
oriented businesses, reducing their need to relocate to the Pork Road truck flyover corridor.

This option, like Option 4 itself, is by some measure, still by far the least desirable of the 4 options, and in a
whole different class than the elegant and cost effective (less than a Grand River Bridge) Shakespeare
tunnel-pass, but provides a platform for discussion for development of a further workable option for
consideration. This option consumes larger amounts of farmland along the re-developed country roads
supporting the flyover truck-only lanes, and mixes long-haul trucks over surface roads with farm tractors,
paralleling but flying above what the current existing Pork Road does. This does achieve a bypass of long-
haul trucks around Shakespeare, and the trucks can connect with the Western Shakespeare truck oriented
commercial businesses, not necessarily requiring these businesses then to pick up stakes and to relocate
near Pork Road, reducing the need to chew-up more farmland. As in options 2 and 3, bridges and ramps will
be required as the Pork Road Flyover crosses Hwy 59/107. As in options 2 and 3, bridges and ramps will be
required as Pork Road crosses Hwy 59/107. It is, in our mind, questionable whether farm tractors, combines
& implements and trucks can really coexist on a truck road, as a long term solution, especially if
Shakespeare truck oriented businesses must relocate to Pork Road, and may require co-located service
roads to service both sets of needs, further engulfing farmland. We are confident, however, that they could
effectively co-exist, with trucks on a limited access 2-lane elevated truck road, located above Pork road. An
advantage of the flyover truck bypass road is that it, in and of itself, will not bring commercial and retail
development out in the rural countryside, along Pork Road, as would a surface level truck route.