Councillor Matthew Bulmer does not believe the City of Guelph has considered the long-term impact to its neighbours as it moves forward on a proposal to upgrade the Niska Road bridge from one to two lanes.
On Nov. 4, Puslinch councillors received further comment from Guelph regarding its Municipal Class Environmental Assessment for Niska Road.
Don Kudo, deputy city engineer/manager, infrastructure services engineering and capital infrastructure services, offered further clarifications in a letter which states “Niska Road is a two-lane collector road as designated in the city’s official plan."
The replacement of the Niska Road bridge has been part of the city’s budget forecast since at least 2004.
Kudo said the EA study confirmed there is no need to widen Niska Road beyond the current two-lane collector road.
The analysis for Niska Road took into account future development and growth in the city, including possible development in the Niska Road area.
Kudo agreed the traffic volume on Niska Road is already significant and will grow with or without a new bridge as it has been growing over the past 20 years.
Bulmer spoke on how he believed city decisions were made up to this point.
He said that back when the city curved Kortright Road into Downey Road, he saw it as a signal that Niska was a lesser interest to develop into an arterial road.
“But when I look at the response received from the city, the short-term concerns of council were addressed, but I think they really didn’t take into consideration the long-term costs to our municipality.”
Bulmer anticipated staff will continue working on the matter and he believed there are still some items which need to be addressed.
The resolution before council was to receive the correspondence and direct staff to report on the potential impact to township roads as a result of increased traffic and that the Puslinch Heritage Committee be made aware of the project.
Staff were also asked to report back on the steps involved to designate the area as a heritage landscape.
Bulmer also wanted to determine the potential impact to Pioneer Trail.
While he saw potential benefits to upgrading Niska Road bridge to two lanes, he also wanted to see the involvement of other groups such as the Guelph Hiking Club and the Puslinch Heritage Committee.
