Minutes
Environment, Transportation & Public Safety Standing Committee
Wednesday, August 26, 2020

• 4. THAT the City Solicitor BE DIRECTED to prepare the necessary documents to amend the by law; and,

• 5. THAT a pre-commitment of $7,003 against 2022 for the School Neighbourhood Policy program (project OPS-001-18) BE APPROVED; and,

• 6. THAT Administration BE REQUESTED to provide the active transportation analysis for this area when this report proceeds to Council for their consideration.
  Carried.

Report Number: S 56/2020

Clerk’s File: ST2020

8.2. Wyandotte Street East Road Narrowing - Environmental Assessment Requirements - Ward 6

Councillor Costante inquires as to what administration would recommend at this juncture moving forward. Mr. Hagan indicates that for any prime projects or higher, they do recommend that some sort of consultation or notification process occurs that is fitting for the impact of the project. Mr. Hagan adds that there are some concerns that need to be reviewed through a traffic analysis. Details related to traffic shifting as a result of the Riverside Drive Vista Improvement Environmental Assessment are identified. Mr. Hagan adds that some traffic forecasts, current traffic flows and expectant growth will require review. Mr. Hagan comments that this will be the first step towards identifying what sort of road diet would be possible for this area. Mr. Hagan states that in the Active Transportation Master Plan this section of Wyandotte is identified as a multi-modal corridor, so in these corridors, it is important to do a detailed review to identify the best solution that accommodates all of the different road issues.

Councillor Costante comments that if this report is received for information, it essentially means that the City won’t move forward with an EA, but will move forward with the ATMP process. Mark Winterton, City Engineer appears before the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee via video conference and indicates that the Environmental Assessment is a provincially legislated requirement for a public process and whether an EA is required legislatively or not, does not preclude the city from doing anything on the right-of-way. Mr. Winterton adds that due to the impact on infrastructure and the use of capital funds, the impact on Riverside Drive Vista and the traffic flow on an arterial road that would be impacted, the City would want to carry out due diligence before proceeding with a project of this sort. Mr. Winterton adds that there are two parallel processes to undertake prior to making the physical changes to the road which are to review the impacts to the commuters as well as the impact to the adjacent businesses and residents along the way.

Councillor Costante inquires whether the process prescribed in the Active Transportation Master Plan is sufficient to review these implications. Mr. Winterton indicates that there is Council direction to proceed with the implementation of the ATMP and there are capital dollars associated with that.