LaSalle mayor urges patience as traffic jams at a town intersection cause 'quite a headache' for residents

LaSalle Mayor Crystal Meloche is asking for patience from residents as the town searches for a solution to traffic jams at a major intersection during peak times.

Kevin O'Neil, a resident of the town, said the Sprucewood Avenue and Matchett Road intersection "fails at peak traffic times," adding that the situation has been more prevalent lately because of construction on Ojibway Parkway. 

O'Neil said people have been using the Sprucewood-Matchett area as their alternate way in and out of LaSalle from the expressway because of the construction. 

"At rush hour, it could take 15 to 20 minutes to clear the intersection," he told CBC News.

"I have seen cars lined up all the way to Ojibway Park where the municipal nature centre is, going southbound."

The issue of who should foot the bill to fix the problem has come up because three-quarters of property on which the intersection is located in Windsor — just one is in LaSalle.

As for the roadway itself, he said two legs are in LaSalle and two legs are in Windsor, because Matchett Road, south of Sprucewood, belongs to the Town of LaSalle, even though the adjacent subdivision is in the City of Windsor.

"That dates back historically to the boundaries of the Old Town of Ojibway, and when that town ceased to exist, it was amalgamated into Windsor even though it was mostly surrounded by the old Sandwich West Township, so there's a real jagged boundary there," he said.

Windsor 'not interested' in improving intersection

The mayor said she has been hearing people's "frustration" for a few years now, adding that for right now, it's become "quite a headache" for residents.

According to her, a four-way stop is hard enough as it is, but adding in the additional traffic from the construction on Ojibway Parkway "those things do create more of an issue somewhere else and we're seeing that in that Matchett-Sprucewood area, so it's making those wait times quite a bit longer."

Meloche said there was a plan in place at one point to upgrade the intersection, but it relied heavily on the development of the racetrack lands, which never happened. CBC News has reached out to the developer and has not received a response. 

"We've had those conversations with the City of Windsor, who for them, they're not interested in improving the intersection at this time," Meloche said. 

"I understand fully why it's not a priority for them. It doesn't impact them the way some of their other intersections that need repairs does, so I do understand what they're saying, but that's not going to stop me from asking."

In a statement earlier this month, the Town of LaSalle also said it had reviewed the timing of traffic lights and found they were functioning as intended. 

Council awaiting report

The mayor said eight months ago council approved funding for a study of both the Sprucewood Avenue and Matchett Road intersection, and the Morton and Matchett intersection "because we want to look at a solution for both of them."

She said council is still waiting for that report, but she expects it should be coming back in the next month or two, and would recommend one of three options:

• The status quo, where it stays the same and people just deal with the traffic. 

• Make it a signalized intersection. This option would require buying additional lands for the infrastructure work.

• Putting a roundabout there. This would be a more costly option and would move the entire intersection into the City of Windsor on the raceway lands. 

"We know for sure it's not going to be a quick solution, it's not going to be an easy solution, and it's going to most likely be a costly solution," Meloche said.

"So, we have to decide as a Town of LaSalle, are our residents OK with footing that bill to pay for those improvements, knowing that we don't own that intersection, we're improving infrastructure that would technically be City of Windsor's but it does affect us the most."

'Several conversations with Mayor Dilkens'

The mayor said "there's going to be complications with each of the options" and but the town is just going to have to decide what makes the most sense.

"We know we want something done. We feel the frustration just like everyone else. We live here, we drive it all the time, so we want to see some sort of resolution, but we have to decide financially at the same time what makes the most sense," Meloche said.

"Also, we have to work with the City of Windsor, so I've had several conversations with Mayor [Drew] Dilkens and the city and he understands, he knows I'm not just going to let it go."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the City of Windsor said the city is aware that there are ancillary traffic impacts in the area that are associated with the ongoing upgrades to Ojibway Parkway.  

"The traffic in the area will continue to be heavy and we ask for the public to remain patient and leave plenty of time to arrive at their destination," Alena Sleziak wrote in an email to CBC News. 

"Construction is anticipated to be completed later this fall, weather permitting."