The world moves to Brooklin
`Small-town feel' fades as Whitby experiences highest growth rate in Region of Durham
Mar 14, 2007 04:30 AM
Carola Vyhnak
Staff reporter
When Michelle Giotis moved to Brooklin almost seven years ago, she was surrounded by fields and had to drive 20 minutes to get a coffee.
Today, she looks out on new houses in every direction and can get to a Tim Hortons in less than two minutes.
"Everything exploded about three years ago," says the mother of two young children. "It's been growing like crazy but it still has that small-town feel. Everyone loves it here."
The numbers bear that out. The town of Whitby, of which Brooklin is one part, is the fastest-growing municipality in Durham Region, with a population growth of 27 per cent, according to the latest census figures.
But the region itself is a study in contrasts, with big gains in areas like Whitby and Ajax, and stagnation or declines in other areas. The Township of Brock in the region's rural north end, for example, saw a 1.1 per cent drop.
"We're not scared by it," said Mayor Larry O'Connor. "We're going to grow, but it will be slowly. That's actually quite wonderful because it means the community will have some say in how we grow."
It's a different story to the southwest, where Ajax grew by 16,600 people, or 22 per cent, well above the Durham average growth rate of 10.7 per cent.
The numbers confirm that "more and more people view Ajax as a quality community in which to live, work and raise a family," Mayor Steve Parish said. The 16,600 extra residents tallied by StatsCan are families, senior citizens and "multi-ethnic" newcomers, he said.
"We've always been a very young community. We get a lot of people from the city who can't afford a home there, but can in a place like Ajax, which is still a reasonable commute for those who work in Toronto."
Growth is a "double-edged sword," Parish said, because while it brings business and money into the community, it also puts more demands on services and infrastructure.
"But we're handling it well. We have a long-established growth-management plan in place."
Oshawa and Pickering realized only minor gains of 1.8 and 0.8 per cent.
Oshawa Mayor John Gray suspects the additional 2,500 residents that StatsCan counted is on the low side.
"We've enjoyed very stable growth over the last number of years. And that's not just homes but job opportunities as well. We're not a bedroom community," he said.
When Oshawa's 20-year development plan comes to fruition, the area will offer the ideal balance of urban and rural, with all the "character and charm" that go with it, Gray said.
Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan is more frustrated than suspicious about the new figures, which put the city's population at just under 88,000.
"Quite frankly, we're being beaten up as the sprawl capital of the GTA, but that is not the reality," he said.
The city wants to do its fair share to support growth, but its hands are tied because senior levels of government have locked up two-thirds of Pickering's land over issues like the proposed airport and greenbelt, Ryan said.
Meanwhile, business is booming in Brooklin, where new schools, churches and stores spring up like mushrooms.
To long-time resident Bruce Church, however, it's all too much, too fast.
"Everyone moves out here for peace and quiet, but now we've lost that. We're just like a big city," grumbled the 74-year-old retired school principal.
Which is probably another key explanation for the demographic situation in Toronto...