Thunder Bay city council looks to other reports on Red River Road closure question
Will use report on event centre, transit master plan and a transportation study to determine best options
City councillors in Thunder Bay have decided to hold off on ordering a report into closing Red River Road to traffic until upcoming transportation studies are complete.
Councillor Trevor Giertuga tabled a motion on Monday, asking for administration to look into the feasibility of closing a section of the road from Court to Cumberland Streets to make it more attractive to pedestrians.
Council voted to use upcoming reports on the event centre, the transit master plan and a transportation study to determine the best options for Red River Road.
Councillor Andrew Foulds told his colleagues that voting for the proposal would only mean considering the possibility of closure.
"It's sort of at a concept level and I think that that's what Councillor Giertuga was asking for was a report on some information on what this might look like, to see what might work in that area," Foulds said.
Businesses concerned
Some on council worried about the impact on the business community, after councillors said they had already heard complaints about consultation from merchants on Red River Road.
Councillor Trevor Giertuga reiterated that this report would only examine options.
"One option could be status quo. Or seasonal, or partial, or, I just wanted this to be looked at from an open mind and see what potentially could work down there, because other communities have it and it works," he said.
"I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, it's just something that we need to look at and put our mind to. And now, if it's referred there, it won't get lost in the shuffle here. At least we'll deal with it somewhere down the line."
Now that council has decided to use other reports to determine the future of Red River Road, there is no timeline on when any change could take place.