Sudbury city council supports Maley Drive extension

Morning North5:33Sudbury city council says yes yet again to Maley Drive Extension

The last council repeatedly voted the $80M road as its top priority and now the new council has reaffirmed its support with a 12-1 vote, aimed at securing federal funding. Here's what it sounded like in council chambers.

Sudbury city councillors voted Tuesday night to support the Maley Drive extension, by an overwhelming majority.

The first phase of the project will cost $80 million, and the price tag will be split three-ways between the city, the province, and the federal government. 

The route will provide an additional east-west thoroughfare to the north of Sudbury.

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Before the vote, city councillors spent more than half an hour giving their reasons for supporting the project.

"It's not just about ore trucks, about jobs, about connectivity. It's about those and many other things," councillor Mike Jakubo said.

"It's a project that's been on the books likely longer than I've been alive. But one thing that doesn't change is over the course of many years...the Maley Drive extension has been recommended as the top new roads priority."

Councillors say they listened to the public

Councilllor Joscelyne Landry-Altmann said councillors had spent hours talking with community members about the project over the last few weeks.

It's a project that's been on the books likely longer than I've been alive.- city councillor Mike Jakubo 

"I read the submitted comments...the comments of 'get some brains', 'shake your head'...we heard all of that," she said. 

"But the best comment I heard was from a resident who said to me, 'why have we done all this work for the past years if we're not serious about the project? Why are we beating our heads against the wall advancing a project if we're not going to follow through with it?" she said.

"This has been years, and years, and years of work. The stars have finally aligned."

The stars have finally aligned.- city councillor Joscelyne Landry-Altmann

Landry-Altmann said the development wasn't in the best interest of some people in her ward, but was in the best interest of all of Sudbury.

Councillor Deb McIntosh summed up her support with one statement: "It's time to fish, or cut bait."

"The fact is we have a vast geography within our border with limited road options to travel across our city," McIntosh said. "We will never catch up on the roads and pipes, never mind build the fun stuff, unless we grow the economy."

Vagnini only councillor opposed

Only councillor Michael Vagnini voted against the project.

It's time to fish, or cut bait.- city councillor Deb McIntosh

"I do agree we have to do what's best for the city," Vagnini told the other councillors.

"In addition to that I do represent my ward... out of the 3,600 km in Greater Sudbury, we have 800 km in the ward," Vagnini said. 

"Every time there is heavy rain we end up with 14 roads underwater. I have roads that are crumbling out there."

The provincial government has already committed to its portion of the money. The next step is to secure funding from the federal government, which Mayor Brian Bigger said he hopes will happen in the next few months.