Factory workers rushing home clogged the streets, already rumbling with the heavy flow of transport trucks coming and going from one of the town\’s many busy industries.
Today, the south Niagara city still sees congested traffic, but the destinations have changed since Atlas closed its doors a decade ago.
Now the traffic flows out of town as hundreds, if not thousands, of commuters hit Hwy. 406 for the daily drive toward jobs elsewhere.
Commuting has become common practice for many small-town Ontarians.
It takes a toll on the workers and their local economies — a fact communities across the province are learning firsthand.
The closure of Atlas, and several other factories since, has left Welland broken.
And it’s not alone.
Ontario’s population is expected to increase by 3.9 million people by 2036 with most of those people locating in the Toronto area.
While large urban centres grapple with how to address the population influx, smaller centres have the opposite problem.
Already towns and small cities all over the province — and beyond — have witnessed the decline of main industries, leading to closures of schools and churches as people go elsewhere for work. Small hospitals are on edge.
Service clubs, once responsible as leading the charge for major community projects, have folded due to a lack of members.
In Welland, the Main Street Bridge hovers over the original namesake canal that put Welland on the map and allowed it to thrive.
From a distance, the landmark stands tall. Impressive. Historic.
But, like the town itself, the signs of neglect and cracks of time, are apparent.
Known as the Rose City, some say Welland is making strides toward blossoming again. Others say it has withered too far.
One thing is for certain, its growth has been slow.
Between 2006 and 2011, Welland, with a population of roughly 50,000, saw only a 0.6% increase, compared to the national average of 5.9%. While the city’s growth is minimal, some Ontario communities have actually seen stark declines in population.
The northern Ontario town of Hearst, for instance, dropped 9.4% to 5,090 in 2011 from 5,620 in 2006, and the southwestern town of The Blue Mountains decreased 5.5% to 6,453 in 2011 from 6,825 in 2006.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at
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