By Mike Kowali Town council may have an1 unexpected aii1y in its battie te step an ight-lane highway pro-1 posed for west Whitby.4 Durham Contre MPP Drum- mond White is prepared te fight Ontario government plans te build a freoway link in Whitby hotweon Hwy. 401 and the future Hwy. 407. But White cautions that hofore taking such a stand, ho must ho convinced the majOrity of Whitby residents oppose e link. Ho muet aise ho satisfied that project foos know exactly what it is they are opposing if ho is te take on his own government. "I have ne opinion (on the link) one way or the other,» White teld The Free Press following coun- cills decision last week te fight the proposod highway before the Ontario Municipal Board (0MB) if necessary. However, "I certainly would ho» willing te spoak against the link if that was the consensus of local residents, said White. 'II wasn't satisfied at ail with the two proposed routes, either ¶Runters and Bombers' to be shown atlInnushare (Regional Road) 23 or the one which slioed a nick off west Whitby,» he said. Althouh Town council bas steadfastiy ppsed plans for a coninecting link since the project was first announced three years ago, laet week's decision is its toughest action te, date. Gouncil has called on the Minustry of Municipai Affairs te, modlily Durham Regon's new officiai plan by deleting ail refer- onces te, a link in west Whitby. (An officiai plan is a document that specifies preferred land uses in a municipaiity. Durham's plan is awaiting final provincial approval.) Should the ministry obect te, Whitby's request, councîl has asked that the issue ho referred te, the Ontario Municipal Board for a decision. The Miniistry of Transportation wants the link te run botween Halls and Coronation roads and Durham Region has agroed te include thîs route in its officiai plan. But if the liin is te go ahead, Whitby prefers that it ho built alon akeridgRoad«L(Regional least disruption te, nearby rosi- dents. In addition, counicil is concor- ned that a sizeabie portion of Whitby will ho off limite te, further developnient for a signifi- cant period.2 Under the province's proposai, about 10 peor cent of Whitby's potentiai developmeflt area wiii ho frozen until the link is built in 25-30 yars. While council agrees there is a need for improvedi east-west traf- fic routes in Durhamn Region, such as Hlwy. 407 which will run from Hwy. 48 in Markham to Hwy. 35/115 in Clarington, it cannot suýpport the link. Counib eieves there wiii not ho sufficient traffic te, warrant a mao orth-south 'route in Whe however, argues that the link wilI be more than simply a connecting road between two Tn ikwill allow mnotorists travelling Hwy. 401 to bypass Toronoby making the sh'ort jaunt north to Hwy. 407, he said. 'The question is, do y ou want accese te a bypas4 of Toronto that is accessible ce you7' White asked. «Prom this interiink to (Hwy.) 48 is where the road (Hwy. 407) will ho built first. Then five te 10 yers later anothr part will be built,- he explained. White said he has discussed the matter on several occasions with Whitby. Mayor Tom Edwards and council. "r've been iobbied and have 1been iobbying on the issue," ho said. 'TMe position of the Town of Whitby and our community is central te, what wo have done at Queen's Park." Admitting that councii's feel- ings on the issue are "an impor- tant voice in this discussion,» White said he still wants te hear from the community at large. «I've ot ne problem with people whro say 'let's develop at our own pace,' that they don't want teiive' next door te a ILW ipeoele u nderstand what the alternative is -- more deve- lopment and subsequent higher values for their property -- and till b'et te a link, then "I have no proiem following through on that,» White said. oe i~ n-b et Pasr t jLy Cvîst ab ie af,buncz a, e snzotwhy. ~ _____ yeat GqLT&lkas N Tnnushare, a group of Durham women worldng together te help the Innu familles living at Davis Inlet, Labrador, invites the ublic te, view the Naional FilmBoa video <Hunters and Bombera' Thursday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., at St. Andrew's Preshyterian Church, Cochrane Street, Whitby. 'Hunters and Bombers is a 1990 documentary about the Innu People, the hunters Of SIheshatshit, Labrador. The bombera are the air forces of several NATOI countries who conduct low-level jet Ilights over the Innu's hunting terrain. For more information about Innuahare, contact Joyce at 668-5504. SAVE mu 9 DURHAMLARGESJ«<. TANNING CENTRE "T/w leader in Tanning since 1986" SUPER BEDS * 150 Min. Session $34 WITHTWIN * 300 Min. Session $59 FACIAL0 TANNERS - 450 Min. Session $70 Gift Certiqcatesfor ChrLUfl - Open 7 Days A Wéeek ON DEDUCTIBLE 0F MOST m&ci uim,&cAkII NOUflHIFLD CLAIMS 2'CCe4 ,RECEIVE DUNNER FOR TWO AT SWISS CHALET« flulo Glof; MPWP will oppose freeway if th e majrity say f0 Lk 111 Mdi 1 Il F il