Part of the facts . Category: Traffic, Noise and Infrastructure
2,555 Trips a Day on Our Rural Roads
Imagine an extra 2,555 car trips every single day on the roads you drive. That is what construction of the Goldfinch data centre would bring — for as long as nine years across three phases. For a community built on quiet rural roads designed for farm equipment and local traffic, that is not an inconvenience. It is a fundamental change to how we live.
What We Know (and What We Don’t)
The developer submitted a traffic impact study, but as residents pointed out at the July 7 hearing, it has not addressed specific routes through our community. Which roads will bear the heaviest loads? What intersections become dangerous? How will emergency vehicles get through when construction trucks are lining the roads? These are not minor details — they are the difference between a manageable situation and a hazardous one.
On top of that, Range Road 264 would be partially closed — it is the primary access for multiple properties. Bylaw 2025-25, which would enable this closure, has only passed first reading. That is how early we are in this process, and how much work there is still to do.
Heather Gagne’s Story
Resident Heather Gagne, who lives 2.6 km from the site, laid out the reality at the hearing:
Increased traffic, 2,555 cars are anticipated during construction. Nine years of that. Their traffic impact study has not even addressed that.
She bought her 30 acres with her retirement savings, expecting the quiet, agriculture-focused lifestyle the county promotes. Now she — like many of us living near the proposed site — faces years of construction traffic with no clear plan for how it will be managed.
Horses, Trailers, and Road Safety
For our equine community, this is not just about traffic delays. Horses are flight animals. Transporting them on roads shared with hundreds of construction trucks every day carries real risk. Infinity Equine, a hunter-jumper operation directly adjacent to the site, depends on safe access for horse trailers, veterinary vehicles, and daily operations. The traffic plan does not account for any of this.
What This Means for Our Community
The county lists this as a project under review, but the clock is ticking. Council has already advanced key bylaws through first and second readings. We need to make sure the full traffic picture is understood before any more votes are cast.
Visit the campaign site to learn more, and encourage your neighbours to submit their traffic concerns to council. If you live on a route that could be affected, your voice is especially important here. Your safety, your commute, and your property values depend on getting this right.