Councillors here are hoping a university study will help clarify the impact of Highway 6 through Morriston and Puslinch Township.
On Jan. 9, councillors here briefly reviewed a proposal for the estimation of the traffic impacts.
That work is being spearheaded by Dr. Clarence Woudsma, director of the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo.
Woudsma submitted the proposal as a follow up to conversations with Mayor Dennis Lever late last year.
Woudsma established a project course within the planning program consisting of a team of five fourth-year planning students.
At this stage, the proposal is preliminary as the team will revisit the specifics in January when they are underway for the term.
However, Woudsma stated the team is excited at the opportunity, but its ultimate success is, in part, contingent on timely access to the quality work that has already been undertaken by various public bodies.
“It’s an exciting opportunity and one that represents the best of what we aspire to in the School of Planning – applying our passion, expertise and skills to real world challenges in our communities and working with them to achieve the most effective outcomes.”
The introduction of the study noted that a Highway 6 bypass around the village of Morriston has been proposed for decades.
The report also noted considerable work has been undertaken to move the project forward, including engineering studies on the proposed route and a related environmental assessment. There have also been various studies, policy implementations, and other analysis conducted by a variety of stakeholders.
There is consensus on the need for the bypass, but there remain contentious questions on the level of urgency and timing for initiation. To date, various efforts to quantify the traffic levels and related safety, environmental, and societal impacts have been undertaken. This proposal represents an effort to consolidate the understanding captured in these efforts and to provide a comprehensive economic evaluation of costs related to the current traffic context and forecasts over future time horizons.
The primary goal of this project is to estimate the comprehensive economic impact of the present Highway 6 (Freelton to City of Guelph section) infrastructure and traffic levels based on current and forecasted corridor conditions
In order to address this goal, the intent is to work with the best available secondary data sources and employ a methodology that is consistent with engineering projects of this magnitude within the Province of Ontario. There will be limited scope to undertake primary data collection, although discussions with stakeholders will be an important element of our approach.
Lever said the group is still gathering information and anticipated more information would be coming to council.
