Rehabilitation work proposed for Lorne Street in Sudbury
Greater Sudbury to hold public consultation on Wednesday to give more details on plans for Lorne St.
One of Sudbury's bumpiest roads is up for rehabilitation, but residents and business owners in the area are worried about the inconvenience the work may cause over the next two years.
The city is proposing infrastructure improvements on Lorne Street — a road notorious for its potholes — between Martindale Road to Logan Avenue, and on Gutcher Avenue between Lorne to Mary Streets.
Businesses worry about traffic delays
The job is expected to start this summer and last until October 2017.
That sounds too long for Richard Tarini, who works at Tarini Brothers Meat Market in the scheduled construction area.
"My clients need to come to the store and be able to get in and shop," said Tarini.
His relative, Kyle Tarini, works at Cara's Convenience next door. Both said Lorne Street needs to be redone, but they are worried about how their operations could be affected.
"People wouldn't be coming down here if it was going to take too long to get here," said Tarini.
"They only have 30 minutes for lunch, some people. So if it's going to take more than 30 minutes to get here, they're just not going to come, right?"
More than just potholes to fix
The chair of the area's Community Action Network, Robert Marcolini, sympathizes with businesses.
"Hopefully the delays don't cause too much of a hassle, but if we want to get the work done it has to be done," said Marcolini.
The work will include asphalt rehabilitation, sidewalk, water main and sewer replacements.
But Marcolini said residents want cycling infrastructure and additional sidewalk lighting to be included in the plan.
"I think anytime you can invest in cycling infrastructure, I think that's a step in the right direction," he said.
"That's the way that a lot of communities are going and people have to realize that cycling is a viable option for transportation in this city."
Marcolini said this is the first step in the rehabilitation of Lorne Street. He said he's heard that the entire road will be eventually redone from Copper Cliff to Elm Street.
A public consultation session to discuss the proposed work is being held at the Delki Dozzi Playground Building on Wednesday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.