Move on Parkway plan: Report
Mayor Daryl Bennett could ask Premier Kathleen Wynne for permission to start work on The Parkway as soon as possible if a staff report going before city council Monday is approved.
The report recommends that the city lift all development restrictions relating to transportation issues, authorize Bennett to submit a proposal to Wynne to allow the project to go ahead with scaledback versions of the north and south sections of The Parkway and add an individual environment assessment for the Jackson Park crossing.
Staff would then prepare a new report to update council on the next steps to resolve the transportation planning issues.
This would bypass the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, which earlier blocked the plan based on environmental concerns raised by Parkway opponents.
“The order issued by the MOECC has placed restrictions on wellplanned and phased growth in the City of Peterborough and challenges with respect to the city’s transportation planning,” the staff report states. “In essence, satisfying the order issued by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (Glen Murray at the time) will cost the city upwards of $50 million extra over the next 10 to 15 years.”
The Parkway, which has been proposed at different times since the mid-20th century, would link Highway 115 with the north end of the city via a corridor – much of which has already been cleared – running across the middle of the city. Sections of it, including Medical Drive, have already been completed.
One controversial element is a proposed new bridge over Jackson Park. The Parkway would run from Medical Drive, over the park, across Chemong Road parallel to Highland Rd. and Barnardo Avenue, then to Cumberland Drive near the Riverview Park and Zoo.
The plan has met with opposition for decades and was the subject of a referendum in 2003.
Council approved a 20-year, $78.9-million plan in 2013.
The studies could cost $500,000 to $6 million and take one to seven years, the report states.
The first environmental study report for The Parkway went to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in 2014. The ministry later told the city to carry out more studies, citing environmental and noise concerns.
“There is no straightforward solution to the order that will allow the city to continue planning and allow growth to continue in an organized and effective manner,” states the staff report.
“The result will be extensive costs to the community both in capital dollars and environmental costs. Based on the assessment of options it is recommended that Parkway transportation related development constraints be lifted and that approval be sought for portions of The Parkway. If that fails, a further report (s) will be necessary to provide guidance on the best path forward.”
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall. Visit www. peterboroughexaminer.com for live coverage, including video streaming of the meeting and live blogging from Examiner reporter Joelle Kovach.