THUNDER BAY — The long-discussed possibility of a designating a truck route through the city is coming back to council.
Kayla Dixon, director of engineering and operations, told Newswatch that city staff council will recommend council approve the establishment of a designated truck route running from the Harbour Expressway to Main Street to the Port of Thunder Bay leading to the bulk fuelling station on McKellar Island.
City staff held a non-business meeting on Monday to bring some of the newer councillors up to speed on the designated truck route.
Administration will present a full report to city council on in June.
If passed, the proposed route would restrict heavy truck traffic on city roads such as Dawson Road and Arthur Street effectively forcing transport drivers to use the TransCanada instead.
A traffic study conducted over the last two years shows a high cluster of heavy truck collisions along Highway 102, or Dawson Road, said Arcadis Professional Services consultant Margaret Parkhill.
“Looking at the physical characteristics of this road, it is reasonable to conclude that contributing factors to the truck involved collisions include both the number of horizontal curves and the presence of driveways and signage at intersections along off the road,” said Parkhill.
Parkhill noted that approximately 1,300 transport trucks use Dawson Road daily compared to 300 transport trucks using Arthur Street based on the data collected from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO).
“Rerouting the heavy trucks to the highway is expected to improve the safety performance on both Dawson Road and Arthur Street. It is important to note that with the resulting added traffic volume to Highway 17, there is an associated increase predicted in collisions (there),” said Parkhill.
Inside city limits, along the Thunder Bay Expressway, data prediction shows there could be an increase of five collisions at intersections over 20 years, said Parkhill.
Several councillors had questions about the possibility increasing safety measures such as warning lights at at intersections such as John Street and Oliver Road along the expressway,
Dixon said that the city is willing to work with the MTO and have those safety discussions, but “I don't think that we would be able to force the MTO. We do not have jurisdiction there, but certainly, we are willing to have those discussions and see what options might be available on the MTO's side.”
The city has been talking about the creation of a designated truck route for over 20 years, when city council in 2001 petitioned the province to construct the Highway 11/17 from the Harbour Expressway towards Kakabeka Falls, skirting Arthur Street.
That extension was completed in 2007 and city staff began recommending a designated truck route within the city limits in 2014.
Administration tried to get bylaws passed in 2018, 2019, and 2020, but they were defeated by council. The matter came to council in most recently in 2022 but no resolution was tabled before the October municipal election.
The next step, said Dixon, is to present a bylaw proposal to council in June and if approved and ratified, the city will begin the process of setting fines, which will take up to three months for approval by the Ministry of the Attorney General.
After that, the enforcement of the designated truck route could start in the fall.
