CORNWALL – A dead-end street that is going to be a major east-west Cornwall traffic artery in the near future won’t see a return of on-street parking.
Council voted 7-4 Monday night to continue with no parking along Lemay Street, east of Sydney Street, after receiving a petition in September.
The majority of councillors, like Todd Bennett, say the street – which already has bike lanes – is going to be busy in the future.
“Once we move forward in a few years time when we go all the way through the McConnell, that road’s probably going to be very busy. It’s going to have bike lanes and I think the last thing you want is bikes jutting out into traffic…or people walking out between cars trying to cross the street and you’re not going to be seen,” Coun. Todd Bennett told Cornwall Newswatch.
The $3.5 million road improvement and extension project will see Lemay punched through, east of St. Michel Avenue, and connect with the other section of Lemay that meets up with McConnell Avenue. The two main connections – Sydney Street and McConnell Avenue – will be connected with roundabouts.
The street should be completed in three to four years and Bennett believes it will take a lot of traffic pressure off Ninth Street.
Coun. Justin Towndale says it was a tough choice.
“I understand the desire for people to have a neighbourhood where they can park (but) it’s going to be a major artery that’s also used by municipal works so the amount of traffic that’s going to be on that street…it’s just not plausible anymore,” Towndale said.
The municipal works yard is in the middle of a $32 million redevelopment.
For area residents, there are four side streets off Lemay Street that offer on-street parking.