By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Last week, the County of Essex hosted three Public Information Centres (PICs) to connect with residents – and gather feedback – as the Transportation Master Plan is updated.
One such event was held at the McGregor Community Centre last Wednesday evening.
Last week’s open house-style events were the second round of PICs hosted as part of this process.
It is a strategic document that will provide guidance for how people will move about the County over the next 30-years, Alvaro Almuina, Vice President of Municipal Transportation Planning for R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd, said. He is the consultant Project Manager on the Transportation Master Plan.
That will take into account the growth that is anticipated to happen in the County.
Through the recently adopted County Official Plan, growth is expected to increase headed towards 2051.
The Growth Management Report projects the current 199,100 population of the County could rise to between 268,100 – 315,000 individuals. In addition, the current 71,000 households could increase to between 101,2000-124,200, and the current 72,300 jobs could increase to between 107,900-124,200.
He called the Transportation Master Plan a strategic and dynamic document that will be completed by the end of the year. It is also a “live” document, that will be updated over time as things change across the County.
The goal of updating the Transportation Master Plan is to ensure safety and efficiency of the movement of people and goods among communities and significant destinations within the County; facilitate strategic planning for transportation infrastructure improvements and enhancements, considering future growth and evolving needs; and to identify interventions required to accommodate expected growth, while managing the road network effectively, information from the County highlights.
The first round of public consultations took place a year ago, which had residents highlight concerns about transportation and growth.
Some of the feedback heard then included the need to address traffic congestion on County roads, implement traffic calming measures, reduce speed limits and the need of car dependency, increase inter-municipality connectivity, improve traffic management in school zones, and improve infrastructure, such as potholes, narrow lanes, and paved shoulders, information provided at the open house notes.
Almuina added Essex County is a farming community, and he heard how farming equipment is typically used on roads at a slower speed, and the need to accommodate both types of users safely.
That feedback was coupled with research with how the County will grow, the type of growth, and what is happening in communities.
In addition, residents have voiced the desire for the County to increase frequency and reliability of the transit service, expand its route, increase accessibility options, adding stops at key destinations, provide transit for students, offer improved costs, and have requested service to underserviced areas.
In putting all that together, Almuina said opportunities were seen for road improvements, such as widening of some roads.
“We have to recognize, in this community, we need to move goods,” he said. That includes products from the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The community is also focused on active transportation, which also needs to be considered. The County needs to ensure the facilities and network is available to users. There also needs to be transit routing, so residents are provided options.
Three alternatives were presented at the open house, which Almuina said are feasible and viable for the 2051 scenario.
“At the end of the day [we are] trying to find some balance and some equity in the system, so that not everything is about cars and not everything is about cycling,” Almuina said, noting everyone has different mobility needs.
“We have come up with what we feel is our preferred scenario for 2051, but we are not locking it in yet. We want to hear from you,” Almuina said to those who attended the McGregor-based open house.
Almuina said they will use the feedback heard at the second round of public open houses, and return in the fall with a final plan. At that point, a third PIC will be held, where the preferred alternative, or vision, will be presented. After gathering additional feedback, the report will be finalized, then presented to County Council for consideration for adoption.
Once adopted, a phase-in strategy can be used, where the County can chip away at the recommendations over time.
Essex Free Press files note a Report to County Council presented in November of 2024 outlined that as part of the 2024 budget, $225,300 from the Rate Stabilization Reserve was approved to update the County’s most recent Transportation Master Plan. The previous document was adopted in 2005, which was completed in partnership with the City of Windsor. The idea was to develop a comprehensive Regional Transportation Master Plan for the region with recommended policies and an implementation strategy until 2021.
For more information about this project, log onto https://www.countyofessex.ca/resident-services/county-roads/transportationmasterplan/
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