PUSLINCH – Puslinch council is concerned closing a popular Highway 6 access point could lead to new safety issues on nearby roads.
While the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is supportive of closing Concession 1 at Highway 6, its decision not to install a traffic light at the Leslie Road and Highway 6 intersection until the other access is closed and a subsequent traffic count is completed had councillors scratching their heads at a Puslinch council meeting Wednesday afternoon.
According to a staff report, the MTO would install a traffic light if the traffic count determines one is needed.
Councillor Jessica Goyda originally suggested closing the access point late last year as a way to force drivers to take the Leslie Road intersection instead while improving traffic flow and safety.
"I would hate to see us close it and not meet the criteria and not get a light because then where we're trying to improve safety at Concession 1, now we're just going to make it worse at Leslie," said Goyda, at Wednesday's meeting. "I'm hoping that we can convey to them (the MTO) that we need assurances because otherwise, we're just creating more safety issues."
Mayor James Seeley said while the light issue is worrying, it's also a concern that people are coming north on Highway 6 and turning left onto Concession 1 when there's a protected left turn a few hundred metres up the road at Leslie Road.
"To me, that warrants closing the road for that component," said Seeley. "But if we're going to combine two entrances to Highway 6 ... it (Leslie Road) needs a light."
Suggesting the township reach out to the MTO again for a new meeting to advocate for the traffic counts pre-closure, Seeley asked public works director Mike Fowler how much it would cost to get a traffic counter installed at both locations and whether they could use Black Cats to conduct their own traffic count.
A bylaw to stop up and close the roadway section is planned for the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026. Construction is planned for spring 2026.
Fowler said while the MTO is willing to conduct the traffic count, they indicated they have "hundreds of other priorities" and didn't provide a specific timeline to when it would be conducted.
"I would hate to see council spend money on a traffic count only for the MTO to say Highway 6 and Leslie Road is not a high priority for traffic light installation," said Fowler.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
