What would happen if Hwy 534 didn't end in Restoule? What would the area look like if Hwy 534 connected to the Dokis Reserve Road?
Looking at a map of the area and getting an overview, the two routes almost appear to be heading towards each other. Hwy 534 ends at the entrance to Restoule Provincial Park, and once the Dokis Reserve Road crosses the French River, it turns southwest and follows the river into the southern portion of the Dokis First Nation. The extension of Hwy 534 could cross (at two points), then follow the Restoule River before linking up with the Dokis Reserve Road. It would shorten the Lake Nipissing Circle Route, and make it more to the lake itself then extending well beyond what is even considered to be lands near the lake.
Would it change the demographics on either side of the French River? South of the French, the population is almost exclusively English-speaking Caucasians, while North of the French the population is predominantly French-speaking Caucasians, with the small population of Dokis Indian Reserve No. 9 being near 200. It could, but would most likely not. In this part of the country (and can be said for most rural areas), people usually tend to stay near home (if they don't move out to a larger city elsewhere in the province) and don't move to towns or areas that they have no connection to.
The benefits of such an extension of Hwy 534 would be the opening up of the northern reaches of Patterson and Hardy townships, which have no road access. However, this is a controversial idea. While Restoule appears to be isolated at the end of a dead-end highway, it appears many residents like that isolated and secluded feel to their locale. Recently the bridge crossing the Restoule River on Hawthorne Dr was rehabilitated, and instead of widening it to 2 lanes, as is modern common practice, it was kept as a one lane bridge as voted so by locals (the vote was apparently very close). The vote went this way because of a fear that a two lane bridge would entice logging company's to be more free to cross it and therefore there would be more logging trucks on cottage roads and the forests would be denuded of their trees. (It seems rather backwards for the 21st century to be constructing 1 lane bridges which constrict traffic flow, be it commercial/industrial, or local/tourist).
Going along with that stream, it would seem next to impossible to extend Hwy 534, as its western terminus is at the gates of a provincial park, the extension would therefore push through the park and divide it on a north-south axis (mind you, there are plenty of traffic calming options to mitigate any problems that may arise), as it is already divided east and west by the continuation of the Restoule River between Restoule and Stormy lakes. The most logical route for the expanded highway would follow the course of the Restoule River, which has become an extension of the provincial park itself, all the way to its mouth at the French River, which too is a provincial park. I can only see a hard fought battle of words between, on the one side: environmentalist, conservationists, cottagers, hunters (either side of the argument), First Nations groups, locals, isolationists; and on the other side the province(?), local businesses(?), and those looking for a new piece of land to perhaps build a cottage, or home, for themselves.
The traffic flow, or it should be said, the type of traffic that frequents Hwy 534 and Dokis Reserve Road, wouldn't change. The highway wouldn't offer a faster trade route between Barrie and markets further south and Sudbury in the north. That traffic would remain on Hwy 400/69. Tractor-trailers would find no advantage to the route, unless they had deliveries in Restoule and Monetville. It would make it easier for local companies to transport goods between communities on either side of the French, and in all actuality, it would open up more markets for local businesses. Newly arrived cottagers would bring money to be spent in local businesses, which is something that cannot be denied (cottagers always need groceries, gas, amenities, etc). An extension of the highway would provide for more business opportunities, as with more people, more services are needed, so not only would already existing businesses reap the benefits, so too would those who are looking for a start-up opportunity themselves.
There would be more cottagers, which bring tax dollars for the property they own which would be funneled into the local municipalities (it should be noted that Restoule is not a municipality, but rather a local service board, which gets 50% of its budget from the rest of the province. That should irk some to know that their tax dollars paid for a 1 lane bridge). Municipalities with a larger tax base can afford more, so they can upgrade more roads, buy new equipment such as snow plows and fire engines, and provide enhanced services to their residents.
An area in need of jobs, in need of something to revitalize the local economy, is not in a position to be turning down growth or expansion. Sure some are happy to be living the life they choose, but no one can deny living a chance to live better. For those who live in Restoule, they'd have quicker access to Sudbury if they so desired to go there, for whatever they cannot find in North Bay, which is already not a fast drive. The people of Dokis and North Monetville would have a choice to take either Hwy 400/69 or Hwy 11 south. The fishing lodges along the French River would have a new direction for clientele to arrive from. Those looking for a chunk of accessible and peaceful wilderness would be able to find it, as new properties would pop up all along the route (and with Muskoka and Haliburton all but spoken for, Almaguin and the French River are the closest area with vacancies nearer to the larger markets).
The main player in this idea would be the provincial government, they'd have to be presented with a need to open up a new highway to justify the millions spent on its creation, and the spending of those millions in an area of the province it is all too easy for governments to forget about. They'd argue the added cost of paying the private contractors to maintain the highway. But on the other hand they'd be receiving their portions of tax dollars, for schools and hospitals. Opening up the province by making it more accessible is what generates long term revenue through property taxes. It might even spur the creation of a Municipality of Restoule, which would take them off the provincial dole (the permanent local population of the area already makes it larger than some existing incorporated townships).
I'm sure this entry will be greeted by a lot of flak from the NIMBY's out there, the ones who begrudge cell phone towers (even if it allows greater capability for local fire departments to respond to emergencies, and even if it allows them to be saved in potential life threatening situations. But that won't happen to them, right?), the ones who talk about the new family as though they are not to be trusted without having even met them, and the ones who, I suppose, have something to hide, and the more folks passing by their house may expose their secrets (if they are even that interested to concern themselves with the lives of people they don't know). It'll be bemoaned as the destruction of pristine wilderness, the proverbial 'paving paradise' argument. Really what it boils down to, is that some don't want others to have what they do, or to enjoy the things that they 'believe' they have exclusive rights to. Heck, the opposition could come from the local real estate sphere, who would see an expansion as flooding the market and diluting their inflated prices.
What benefits some may not always benefit all, but if the pros outweigh the cons, then there isn't much of an argument. More exposure puts more dollars in the hands of locals, and the economic prosperity of locals is something that should never be sidelined by someones self-centered agenda and ideology.
