Push on to fix traffic woes at Dominion-Northwood
Coun. Borelli thinks it’s time to put money into improving vehicle flow
Traffic woes at Dominion Boulevard and Northwood Street have grown so bad that Sherry Sauve schedules when to leave her house around peak times.
“If I’m on days, I start earlier so that I don’t have to deal with the traffic,” said Sauve, who lives on Dominion just south of Northwood. “Getting out of my driveway is a real problem. Often I have to turn the wrong way then find a place to turn around.”
Sauve said at peak times, largely when the nearby Windsor Mosque or area schools let out, traffic will back up from Northwood almost to E.C. Row Expressway — and prove just about as congested in other directions as well.
Coun. Paul Borrelli, who represents Ward 10 where the gnarled intersection is located, thinks it’s time to finally put some real money into improving traffic flow.
“It’s a huge problem,” he said. “I get calls every day. Every single day.”
Borrelli made a successful motion at last week’s city council meeting, referring the longtime traffic woes to budget talks in December — opening the door to the potential for finally committing some cash for street work in the area.
Of course, other councillors will push for priorities in their wards, as well, but Borrelli feels his motion will at least kick-start the discussion.
“Even if I could get a nominal amount just to get the process started, I would be pleased with that,” Borrelli said. “The people who are affected directly want it done tomorrow. The problem is we still have to find the funds. But if you don’t get things started, it’ll never get done.”
A previous council approved $450,000 for an environmental assessment of the entire Central Box, which includes the Dougall pedestrian-cyclist tunnel, the Dominion corridor, and a couple of other projects.
The environmental assessment, which was completed by Stantec Consulting in late July, was followed shortly thereafter by a 30day public comment period.
With the public period over, Borrelli feels it now makes sense to push for actual work.
Of course, what exactly should be done with Dominion has yet to be decided. A couple of proposals made in the environmental assessment report include removing the ditches on both sides of Dominion and adding a middle turning lane, as well as sidewalks and bike lanes.
Also, Borrelli likes the idea of extending Alexandra Avenue — parallel to Dominion and two blocks to the east — which would mean cutting through wooded land mostly owned by the city, to create another area collector road.
It’s hard to say how much all that would cost.
Borrelli estimates widening a few blocks of Dominion would require $8 million or more — but would be well worth it.
“The lineups are incredible,” Borrelli said of rush hour. “This is absolutely a bigger problem than the Dougall tunnel. That tunnel is going to connect South Windsor to downtown for pedestrians and cyclists, so it’s important.
“But the Dominion corridor affects everyone.”
Borrelli said he has heard complaints from LaSalle and downtown Windsor, given that so many people use the route.
“It’s a concern,” said Dr. Abdalla Shamisa, president of the Windsor Islamic Association which runs the Windsor Mosque.
“But it’s not just a concern for us. It’s a problem for the whole community, especially on Friday afternoons when we have prayers.”
Shamisa said 1,000 to 2,000 people can sometimes show up for services at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Friday. That’s on top of the traffic heading to and from four area schools, including Holy Names Catholic High School and Northwood Public School.
Shamisa said members of his mosque, as well as other area residents, recently considered starting a petition calling for change, though instead they met with Mayor Drew Dilkens to see if they could help get the political ball rolling again.
“It’s not a new problem, but it’s an ongoing one,” Shamisa said. “We are very concerned with the safety of everyone in the area.”
The people who are affected directly want it done tomorrow. The problem is we still have to find the funds.