Petition calls for closed roads to reopen

Lengthy detours because of Parkhill Road bridge work have drivers upset

Local residents have a new online petition asking the city to consider reopening Old Norwood Road, Maniece Avenue and McFarlane Street — councillors have asked city staff to communicate with those who’ve organized the effort.

In a decision made by city staff, the three roads were closed to through traffic at the start of October when the Warsaw Swing Bridge on Parkhill Road East was closed by the Trent-Severn Waterway for repairs.

City staff have said the swing bridge takes10,000 vehicles daily and that Old Norwood Road, Maniece Avenue and McFarlane Street cannot handle that traffic safely. But the detours are lengthy, with cars being redirected far out of their way along Lansdowne Street.

Peterborough County council wants the city to consider reopening the roads. And at a committee meeting at City Hall on Monday, Coun. Keith Riel said councillors have been “inundated with phone calls” from city residents about the road closures.

A group of citizens have let him know they expect an explanation about how the decisions were made to close the roads, he said, and he asked staff to supply that explanation.

“Maybe we haven’t done a good job of explaining — not only to these people (who posted the petition), but to the residents of the city and the county — about why these decisions were made,” Riel said. “I don’t think that information came out.”

Riel said he’s also heard from downtown business owners who feel the road closures have made their businesses more difficult to access, which he said poses an added challenge in a time of COVID-19 pandemic.

City commissioner of planning and infrastructure Cynthia Fletcher said on Monday that city staff appreciates the questions and concerns it receives.

“It is our intention to communicate that information more broadly,” she said. “I will start that process tomorrow.”