Donsley, Gravenhurst

Donsley, officially the Town of Donsley (Spring 2010 population 73,813), is a town located just east of the City of Archemedes in Gravenhurst Region in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas. Donsley is the largest suburb of Archemedes since 2003, when its population first exceeded 10,000 (the population of the City of Borden).

Donsley is the largest town in Gravenhurst Region, and is much bigger than many other cities in terms of population. Despite its qualifications regarding population, it has not had the title of city conferred upon it by the region, and retains its legal status as a town. Donsley is the 7th largest municipality in the region, just after the city of Mapleview (population 50,102)

The majority of the town is part of the Archemedes CMA, while the community of Williamson (in the extreme eastern end of the town) is part of the Lisi CMA. Residents in the town are called Donsleyers. The town has been crowned as one of the fastest growing municipalities in the region.

History
Donsley was a new community created in 1954. It was originally intended to be a satellite community and a bedroom community for the City of Archemedes. Its town centre was exactly centred 25 km east of Archemedes, located at the intersection of Highway 3 (known as Sydenham Road in 1954) and Highway 506 (known as Highway 6 in 1954).

Donsley started out in 1954 with population 0 and had a legal status of a village. Donsley boomed in the following 50 years, having an average growth rate of 25% every year since. Since 1958, the king had abolished the classification of a village, though existing municipalities may keep their legal status as a village until they desired to switch their classification to a township or upgrade to a town. Donsley switched its legal status as a township at a population of 1,259 in the year 1978, and obtained its legal status as a town at a population at 4,004 in the year 1989. The growth sped up in the late 1980s as Highway 6 was upgraded to Highway 506, and with the completion of the Golden Corridor Line through town.

In 2008, the town of Donsley officially merged its two southern neighbours, the Township of South Donsley and the Township of Welford.

The rapid development of the City of Lisi and the recent commercial / industrial developments fuelled the growth of Donsley. Also, Donsley is also the next door neighbour to the future Downtown Archemedes. People are expecting the market price of their properties in Donsley is going to rise, hence fuelling Donsley's growth as well. The planned extension of the 505/506 Corridor Line of the Linx Subway is also expected to enhance growth.

Geography
Donsley is a typical town in the region, covering one parcel in size. The town is bounded by Baudelaire Avenue to the north, Williamson Road to the east, Welford Line to the south, and the Golden Corridor Railine to the east.

Climate
The town generally follows the same climate patterns as the City of Archemedes, and is only one or two degrees cooler than Archemedes on an average day.

Neighbourhoods
. Donsley is generally divided into six neighbourhoods: Donsley Centre, Williamson, Tennessee, Welford, South Donsley, and Saint Andrews.

Smaller communities include Little Lake.

Donsley Centre is the town centre, sometimes locally referred to as the Town Centre Core. It contains most of the commerical buildings of the community, and many townhomes in the area. Most of the economic activities are in this area, including the Donsley Strip Mall, Donsley Industrial Park, and the Donsley Village Mall. In the late 2000s, through the $11.7-million revitalization project of the town centre core area, the town centre, including some of the abandoned strip malls and industrial areas, underwent a major renovation, in which the Donsley Town Square, a large open-space park in the town centre, was built. The Town Square serves as a common area for all the people of Donsley, and surrounding the area, there are the civic buildings of the town (which also underwent renovations and rebuilding with the revitalization project), and new medium- to high-density condominiums and mixed-use buildings.

Williamson is a community that straddles along the Donsley - Lisi border. Unlike the other parts of the town, it is part of the Lisi CMA. It is a hemlet with about 80 houses along Chef Vlad Blvd. on the Donsley side as of 2007. In 2008, the government of Donsley issued permits of construction just south of the railway, making a new subdivision to be part of Williamson. The community, on the Donsley side, currently has about 200 houses. On the Lisi side, there are only 20 houses, but the government of Lisi is recently launching a residential project named "The Williamson Village" with over 110 houses planned to be built in the area.

Tennessee is a hemlet located at the intersection of Highway 3 and the Donsley Thruway. It used to have a historical significance. The community, prior to 2008, was located at the border of the Township of Welford and Town of Donsley. Most of the developments, however, is located on the Donsley side.

Welford is a former township that merged into Donsley in 2008. Welford is a hemlet with a population of about 115 in 2008. The community's town hall is now used as a community centre.

South Donsley is also a former township that merged into Donsley in 2008. Prior to the merge into Donsley, the locale was known as Paris. South Donsley had a population of 68 in 2008.

Saint Andrews is a massive area in the town stretching from Borough Drive in the east to the town's western limit. Saint Andrews is a massive housing project that was declared to be launched by the Donsley Town Government in 2006. Saint Andrews features smaller communities like Lloydtown. It is expected to be completed by 2011, and house over 80,000 people, a little more than the triple of the town's current population. Up to today, the area east of Riverside Drive is completed. The community mostly feature modern style single-detached homes and several apartments / condos near major roads, such as City View Drive.

Developments in the Town
Donsley has one of the fastest population growth rate in the region. To accomodate these growth rate, the municipal government acquired acres after acres of land along the Highway 506 Corridor.

In Summer 2009, the town saw its new peak in its population growth, with its population jumping from 25,134 to 37,146 within a matter of about 4 months. The rate of growth is as high as 48.9%.

In 2006, the government of the Town of Donsley announced the massive development in Saint Andrews. The community would sustain a maximum population of near 80,000. The parts of the development east of Wall Street passed the Environmental Assessment in late 2008, with developments scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2009. The entire development plan has recently, in May 2009, passed the Environmental Assessment (EA), with developments schedule to be completed by fall 2010.

Due to the ongoing growth and the demand for more residential zone in the town, the town announced on May 25, 2009, a massive development plan along the Highway 506 corridor from Borough Drive all the way to Williamson Road. The development consists of sustainable medium-density residential developments, along with minor mixed uses of lands. The area could hold an extra 100,000 residents. The area is known as the Donsley Extension, which comprised of smaller communities such as the Confederation Village, the Trenton Village, and the East Borough Town Centre. The area is currently under EA, and is expected to be approved by 2011, followed by completion of construction by 2012.

Although not officially announced, the general public can also expect growth south of Highway 506, along the future extension of Bur Oak Avenue and Frank Lloyd Boulevard. According to several government officials, the area could be the next massive residential development after the Donsley Extention, with construction beginning as early as 2014, followed by completion by 2016. The area is estimated, based on the projected population density of the Donsley Extension, could sustain a population of as high as 130,000. This could mean Donsley's population could be as high as 335,000 by the end of 2016, about 13.5 times of its current population.

Media
All media outlets are relied on being supplied by the City of Archemedes and the City of Lisi.

Transportation
Donsley is primarily served by Gravenhurst Regional Transit (GRT) with about 15 bus routes running in town. Donsley also have three GO Transit stations within town, and they are Donsley GO Station, Causeway GO Station, and Williamson GO Station. A proposed GO Station, East Perimeter GO Station, is planned to serve the eastcentral parts of the town.

There is a proposed and under construction subway line stretching through the middle of the city, and is planned to serve Donsley Town Centre by 2011.

There is currently only one bus terminal within town, which is located within Donsley GO Station. However, another one is proposed to be built within the Saint Andrews Community Complex in late 2009 to serve the massive community of Saint Andrews.

The town is also served by Highway 505 and a proposed expressway temporarily named as East Perimeter Highway.

Nearby Municipalities

 * North : Courners
 * East : Lisi
 * South : Gravenhurst, Unorganized
 * West : Archemedes