MOUNT FOREST – Wellington North council voted to restrict traffic flow at a Tim Hortons in a reconstruction project following concerns from local residents.
The township is looking for additional feedback from residents on the updated designs proposed for the John Street and Fergus Street North reconstruction projects.
A new report on the modified designs was approved at a Wellington North council meeting Monday evening with highlights including reduced tree removals along Fergus St. N. and council voting to follow staff recommendations to restrict access to Tim Hortons to right-turn exits on John St. in response to concerns shared by residents at a public meeting last fall.
Discussing the John St. update during the meeting, a report on design alternatives said of the six options presented, all will have some impact on properties fronting John St. within the project limits which is "typical for any reconstruction project" and staff recommend option three because it's expected to "mitigate concerns from the local population" and is preferred "in terms of compromise between all stakeholder and township interests."
They then recommended an additional traffic count be conducted while the Tim Hortons John St. access is closed during construction to help staff understand impacts on traffic movement and volume on Main St. S. and potentially on the Tim Hortons property.
A traffic study conducted in the area in April found "the majority of traffic on John St. is a result of the Tim Hortons," specifically southbound traffic between Queen St. W. and the access on John Street, which "impacts the movement of vehicles" and "support the concerns from the public."
"This alternative is expected to impact the movement of vehicles to/from Tim Hortons in that traffic will only be able to exit Tim Hortons onto John St in the northbound direction," said staff in a report on the project. "The intent of this design is to mitigate overflow Tim Hortons drive thru traffic stacking onto John St."
Councillors also selected pursing option three with Mayor Andy Lennox arguing the council is responsible for making sure township streets are primarily used for what they're intended- not for drive-thru overflow.
"I think option three is a reasonable approach to this," said Lennox. "Just because Tim Hortons has had the ability to have their customers lining up doesn't imply a right for them to have their customers lining up there. I don't think there are any squatter's rights on our municipal roads."
Concerning the Fergus St. N. project, staff said the updated design minimizing tree removals means sanitary services will include bends to navigate around the trees which, while not prohibited by the Ontario Building Code (OBC), is considered "somewhat undesirable" as bends can encourage build-up and potential blockages.
Staff advised informing homeowners of the "trade off" for tree preservation and suggested they consider hiring a plumber to install clean-out access on their service if one does not already exist.
The revised design will also result in "more-than-typical excavation, pipe work and restoration" on private property to work around the trees which will increase costs, said the report.
A new survey will be posted for additional feedback and to confirm the placement of municipal services for residents living within the project limits on John St. and Fergus St. N.
The survey will be open Wednesday and comments will be received until Oct. 9. Once received, comments will be solidified and brought to council to finalize a preferred John St. reconstruction design.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program
