City council yields to roundabout

North Bay City Council has it's fingers crossed that it's work 'roundabout' Giroux Street and Trout Lake Road will be accepted with go ahead funds from the Province.

During Monday's regular meeting, council gave it's consent for a 2012 capital expenditure project that involves the reconstruction of Trout Lake Road from Connaught to the Trout Lake Overpass.

Also included in the project is the full reconstruction of the Giroux Street intersection that is intended to provide a second access point into a new subdivision.

Above-ground and under-ground municipal services are included in the phase of the works.

The project's $2.7 million price tag was laid out before council, leaving $675,000 as the City's share of the project.

Manager of Engineering and Public Works Allan Korell says that the City is ready to begin with the reconstruction process but is waiting for word (and a cheque) from the province.

"The MTO (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario) is heavily involved because they're going to be paying 75 percent of the project," says Korell.

Korell says that City staff is usually informed of the status of government infrastructure funding by the end of March.

"If we get $2 million, we'll go ahead with the project, and if we don't, then we won't," he says.

The project was originally researched to be a roundabout similar to that at the entrance of the North Bay Hospital but was ruled out in favour of the current plan.

Chair of Engineering and Public Works Councillor Tanya Vrebosch says that the City's decision was based upon public consultations and the idea that the area has become a residential hot spot for seniors.

"There's a lot of senior's buildings and that was one of the biggest factors," says Vrebosch.

The design of the new intersection now calls for a road widening and moving of the lights in order to facilitate traffic and pedestrians in a safer manner.

"If you look at the intersection now, it sort of lines up with a building right across the street and that wouldn't work so we're moving the whole intersection back about 70, 80 feet," says Korell.

This will allow for better development in the area of lots for multi-residential buildings and of course, snow removal.

The double lights which are located near the North Bay Detention Centre will remain.
 
At one time, the city was looking at taking out one of the lights in front of the Twin Pine's mall to free up the flow of traffic.
 
However, getting a total sign off from numerous property owners in the area proved too difficult.

"They thought that it would impact them too much," says Korell.

"The legal opinion was to leave them there and we've done that."