City of Greater Sudbury wants feedback on transportation plan

Morning North6:04Sudbury's transportation plan

What should the road network in Greater Sudbury look like 20 years from now? The city is trying to figure that out right now. And you can have your say. CBC Reporter Megan Thomas joined us in studio to talk about what's in the plan at this point.From cars to bikes to buses, city staff in Sudbury want know how people see themselves getting around over the next two decades.

The draft for the Transportation Master Plan, released last month, takes into account current traffic congestion, including familiar rush hour problems such as the Four Corners, the Kingsway and Municipal Road 80 in the Valley.

But the plan also also looks at how things such as broken bike path links and trends for transit ridership factor into how people move around the city.

That information has been compiled into a hefty report that also tries to look into the future to determine growth areas where more people might chose to live and work two decades from now.

The result is a set of recommendations for the kind of "complete streets" network the city should work towards to support cars and alternative modes of transportation. 

The city is holding a public meeting Wednesday at Tom Davies Square to take public feedback on the plan. An information centre will be open starting at 4 p.m. The public comment session will start after a presentation at 7 p.m.

The city is also accepting feedback online.

Recommended changes to the road network in the draft plan include:

Short Term (about the next five years):

• Maley Drive extension and widening  
• Ramsey Lake Road widening (pending results of Environmental Assessment)
• MR 35 widening
• Notre Dame Avenue (MR 80) widening
• The Kingsway widening
• Second Avenue widening Intersection improvements

Medium Term (about the next six to 10 years)

• Maley Drive widening
• Barry Downe Road widening
• Howey Drive widening

Long Term (about 11 or more years)

• Falconbridge Highway widening
• Maley Drive East By-pass construction
• Ste. Anne Road extension  

Development-driven Roads (Roughly by 2031)

• Montrose Avenue North extension
• Montrose Avenue South extension
• Silver Hills Drive road construction
• Remington Road extension
• Martilla Drive extension
• John Street extension

The report also makes a number of recommended changes to city policy to support alternative forms of transportation including transit, biking and walking, but does not include many specifics on where improvements should be made.

Read the full draft Transportation Master Plan