The Maley Drive extension: to build or not to build
Proposed east-west commuter and truck route has been on the books since the 1980s
Debate over the proposed Maley Drive extension is expected to heat up when citizens getting a chance to speak up at a public meeting tonight.
It will be one of the first debates in the project's long history in which the public will get to have their say.
Extending Maley Drive to help get truck and commuter traffic off of Lasalle Boulevard is an idea that dates back to the 1980s.
The project was passed up several times by city council over the years, including in favour of the Brady Street extension in the 1990s.
The plans were revived following amalgamation and came the closest to becoming reality in 2008, when the Maley extension was among a $205 million "legacy projects" package that also included a new four-pad arena complex and a performing arts centre, which was ultimately voted down by city council.
The subsequent term of council repeatedly counted it as its top priority and pushed the federal and provincial governments for funding.
Ontario committed its third of the $80 million price tag for phase one of the project (running from College Boreal to Barrydowne Road) during the 2014 election, but the federal government has yet to follow suit.
While the feds have been deliberating, a new city council was elected in 2014, with several councillors saying they weren't sure the road should be the city's top infrastructure priority, but wondering what that would mean for the dollars already committed by the province.
A video was presented to council in 2009, but is more or less what the plans for Maley Drive look like today, with the exception of a roundabout now planned for the intersection with Barrydowne.