Highway 85 ramps at Lancaster will remain open after all
The final decision ended in a tied vote, meaning the motion to permanently close the ramps failed
After regional council discussed the issue at a council meeting on Wednesday, the Highway 85 ramps at Lancaster will remain open after all.
A majority of regional council had showed support for the closure during a planning and works committee meeting on April 4, but the final decision last night ended in a tied vote, meaning the motion to permanently close the ramps failed.
During the council meeting, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic asked council to vote down the closure of the ramps, citing the region's growth and ongoing development in the area, as well as the negative impact it could have on area businesses.
"Taking a decision such as this, which is counter intuitive to the work that needs to be done, is actually going to, in my view and in our city council's view, going to be harmful to our community," he told council last night.
Kitchener city councillors had opposed the region's plan to close the Highway 85 ramps at Lancaster Street during a city council meeting April 3.
"We've heard from many businesses that this will cause challenges to an area that continues to have manufacturing, retail that's trying to rejuvenate itself and so on," Vrbanovic added.
Staff with the region had recommended the ramps be closed to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians in the area and noted Ontario Ministry of Transportation was prepared to pay the construction costs to close the ramps during a planned rehabilitation project on Highway 85.
Waterloo mayor wants ramps closed
Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe pushed back against keeping the ramps open during last night's meeting saying there had been plenty of consultation with the community, pointed to the safety risks in and around the ramp, as well as the impact keeping the ramp open will have on the City of Waterloo.
"This project has had City of Waterloo staff involved in the consultation and on the project team as well as City of Kitchener staff on the project team, so this project is really important to the City of Waterloo in the redevelopment of Erb Street and Bridgeport Street," she told council.
"City of Waterloo is very much in favour [of the closure] and just keep in mind the impacts that we all know municipal decisions have in one municipality reflect out beyond the borders of each municipality."
Vote breakdown to close Highway 85 at Lancaster ramps:
- Regional chair, Karen Redman: In favour.
- Coun. Doug Craig: Opposed.
- Coun. Robert Deutschmann: In favour.
- Coun. Jim Erb: In favour.
- Coun Sue Foxton: Opposed.
- Coun. Mike Harris: Opposed.
- Coun. Chantal Huinink: In favour.
- Coun. Colleen James: In favour.
- Coun. Jan Liggett: Opposed.
- Coun. Dorothy McCabe: In favour.
- Coun. Joe Nowak: Opposed.
- Coun. Natasha Salonen: Opposed.
- Coun. Sandy Shantz: Opposed.
- Coun. Berry Vrbanovic: Opposed.
- Coun. Kari Williams: In favour.
- Coun. Pam Wolf: In favour.