Wellington North council will look at possibly re-opening Wells Street as a truck bypass and an alternative route for traffic currently using Frederick Street.
A delegation of residents met with council requesting it consider the “timely and affordable” development of the Wells Street road allowance extending from Wellington Road 14 to the intersection of Domville Street.
Re-opening the street has been under discussion at different times over the past 10 years, with no plan developed.
However, engineering firm BM Ross has looked at a possible re-opening and found three options, according to township director of public works Deb Zehr. She had given a copy of the report to resident and economic development committee member Shep (Gerald) Shepetunko, but failed to provide council with a copy when requested by several councillors at the April 28 meeting.
Zehr also couldn’t recall any financial figures involved in the report to give council an indication of the cost of opening Wells Street.
“It’s in the file I provided to Shep, but I don’t remember the numbers,” Zehr told council.
Mayor Ray Tout told the Advertiser the report would have been beneficial for councillors and requested that Zehr send copies to council members.
“I don’t know what it’s going to cost us,” Tout told council. “We’ve got to find out what they’re talking about in dollars.”
Councillor Dan Yake was surprised to hear the township engineer had already done a study on re-opening the street.
“It can’t be difficult to contact an engineer to find out what it would cost,” he said.
Councillor Andy Lennox, who is supporting the group, said council needs to get any financial information available.
The group interested in looking at a potential re-opening of Wells Street was formed in response to a Wellington County proposal for a roundabout as part of its plan to reconstruct Frederick Street from Highway 6 to Wellington Road 14. The roundabout idea has been met with stiff opposition from residents and was recently rejected by township council. The county has not made a final decision on the roundabout.
The county is spending about $2.2 million for Frederick Street reconstruction and Wellington North will spend about $1.6 million to replace water and sewer lines.
The main concern raised by the delegation as part of its reasoning to re-open Wells was traffic hazards at the Frederick Street and Highway 6 intersection where Sussmans is located.
John Raftis, of Armstrong Trucking, said the company has had concerns about the Highway 6 intersection, where trucks turning onto Frederick have to move to the extreme left to avoid driving into vehicles waiting to make the turn onto the highway or over the sidewalk at Sussmans.
“We run our company to the highest safety standards,” he said of the intersection. “This is also a pedestrian hazard. To open up Wells Street would eliminate this problem.”
Dave Stack, a member of the village betterment committee, said the group has been looking at the Wells Street option.
“For the last few years we’ve been advocating that Wells Street be re-opened,” said Stack. He added the intersection where the county plans to build the roundabout is busy with children crossing to get to two schools, the community centre and swimming pool.
Delegate Steve McCabe suggested funding for re-opening of the street could come from development charges.
Tout said municipal and county officials watched traffic flows at the proposed roundabout location and found trucks slowed down, while cars sped up. County officials believe the roundabout will slow all traffic.
A story in last week’s Advertiser reported Lennox suggested the township could take over ownership of Frederick Street in exchange for the county taking over ownership of a re-opened Wells Street.
That scenario won’t work, according to the mayor.
“The county is not interested in acquiring Wells Street and certainly they’re not going to put in $2.2 million and then turn it over,” Tout said of a potential road swap.
Tout also said the county is considering moving the stop sign for traffic coming down Frederick to Highway 6 further back to allow for more room for turning trucks.
The mayor said the township is also facing a $12-million bill to upgrade its sewage treatment plant, meaning council will have to set priorities on where it spends money.
The sewage treatment plant upgrade option, approved by council on Monday evening, is designed to accommodate further development in the community, including an expansion of Golden Valley and its meat processing plant in the village.
“I want to concentrate our money on Golden Valley and the sewage treatment plant,” said Tout.
Council decided to turn the Wells Street issue over to its roads committee for consideration.
