The City of Windsor is one step closer to fixing traffic, cycling and pedestrian flow in the area known to some as the "Dougall deathtrap".
The Central Box Study Area Environmental Assessment is now complete and includes $51-million of improvements to the area bounded by Eugenie Ave, Howard Ave., West Grand Blvd. and Dominion Blvd.
Michael Mastronardi with Stantec Consulting says the area was broken down into four major projects, all that include improvements to traffic flow and active transportation infrastructure.
"Operational improvements in terms of traffic movements, in particular intersections where there are a lot of known accidents historically, every year, or just improving sight lines," says Mastronardi. Individual construction projects, budgets and plans will still go through the regular planning and approval processes. Priority could be given to the Dougall Ave. corridor which would include a multi-use active transportation tunnel under the CP rail overpass. The Environmental Assessment will now go through a 30 day review period giving the public an opportunity to make objections to the overall plan. It's estimated the entire project could take 20 years to complete. Currently there is no money in the 5-year capital budget for these projects. Many are looking forward to the improvements but are frustrated with the timelines. "I've been told to be patient. I've been looking at this for 18 years," says resident Patrick Redko. "This process has been long gone. We're talking 40,000 vehicles a day going through there and we have no pedestrian access." Full project details will be posted on the City of Windsor website prior to the 30 day review period which starts on July 25, 2016.
