Jameson Pickard of the Wellington County Planning Department, updated council on the Highway 6 streetscape strategy in Morriston on Aug. 14.
Pickard said the report was created to help mitigate traffic concerns and improve the pedestrian environment.
The strategy includes five new planting areas, fourteen lighting and banner installations and two new entrance signs into the community.
Pickard noted that, given the location of Morriston along Highway 6, all of the proposed streetscape improvements would require Ministry of Transportation approval.
While Pickard felt the MTO was willing to consider the improvements, there are certain criteria which would need to be met before approval is given.
Pickard noted the improvements are the result of consultation with local businesses, MTO representatives, the township’s consulting ecologist and numerous site meetings.
The plan would build upon recent initiatives in Morriston which include larger speed signs, zebra striping of the main intersection at Highway 6 and Badnoch Street and a proposed community safety zone.
Council received the report and moved that staff proceed to retain McKinnon and Associates to prepare a landscape plan for the village of Morriston and that funds set aside in the 2013 capital budget (traffic calming) be used to fund this work.
McKinnon and Associates would also provide cost estimates for construction and ongoing maintenance.
Councillor Susan Fielding noted the current report included a number of cost estimates as well. She asked whether those estimates were for council information only, or whether those numbers would be used as the project went to tender.
CAO Karen Landry clarified the county is leading the project, but the idea was to provide a rough estimate of what the costs might be. She added this particular resolution from council also requests ongoing operating and maintenance costs – “should we move forward with this.”
Fielding said while most of estimates were from within the county, she wanted to ensure local people/businesses had the opportunity to participate.
Mayor Dennis Lever suggested it would be part of the municipality’s regular tendering process.
Councillor Wayne Stokley said that in looking at the costs – he wondered if it might be possible to ask local residents for help in fundraising efforts.
“When we initially talked about this, there were a number of businessmen, women and community groups who were interested.”
He wanted to be assured that was still the case both with ideas and funding.
Lever noted a recent meeting with Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott and business owner Bill Knetsch to look at the plan and what could be accomplished with the amount of money set aside for 2013.
“If there were sufficient funds we would be able to take on this year.”
Lever agreed the project “is going to cost a lot of money..
He said alternative funding strategies were being looked at to share some of the expense.
“It is an investment in the community – even though it is a transportation corridor along a provincial road.,
Stokley agreed.
“This is going to affect the whole hamlet.”
Councillor Ken Roth cautioned council to be careful the work does not have to be redone if and when the bypass ever happens.
This needs to tie in with the Morriston community he said.
While Roth agreed the township’s environmental consultant might have a better answer, “I would hate to spent a lot of money on trees only to have them killed by salt in the first winter.”
He said the trees would have to be species which are resistant to salt/sand spray because they are close to the traffic.
