For many years the residents at 19, 21 and 23 Woodlawn Road have had difficulties accessing Woodlawn Road safely. Poor initial lane design, numerous entrances into the Canadian Tire plaza and a huge increase in traffic from the new Wal-Mart, have made the situation even worse. Staff are working to help resolve this and a report is forthcoming. Below is a notification sent to local residents.
RE: 19-21-23 Woodlawn Road – Traffic Follow-up
In October 2006, City staff presented a report to Guelph City Council in response to a petition from residents of 19-21-23 Woodlawn Road requesting safer access to and from their properties. In response to staffs report, City Council passed the following resolutions;
‘That the following be referred back to staff and come back to the Planning, Environment and Transportation committee in March 2007;
That staff assess traffic pattern changes on Woodlawn Road, immediately east of Woolwich Street, upon opening of the commercial development on the north-west corner of the intersection of Woodlawn Road and Woolwich Street in early 2007;
And that staff investigate how best to provide access to the street network via an alternate roadway (Marilyn Drive) from these apartment buildings with associated costs;
And that staff review the placement of the bus stop located between the entrance of 19 and 23 Woodlawn Road East.”
As of November 2006, a new commercial plaza housing a new Wal-Mart retail store opened on the north-west comer of Woodlawn Road and Woolwich Street, and as requested by City Council, staff have completed a review measuring the impact of this new development on traffic patterns as well as provide further information on providing alternative access to the properties of 19-21-23 Woodlawn Read via Marilyn Drive.
Staff’s report will be presented to the Emergency Services Community Services and Operations Services Committee (ECOS) at their meeting on Wednesday May 9, 2007. The meeting will be held in the City Hall Council Chambers beginning at 5:00 p.m. Copies of staff’s report will be made available through the City Clerk’s Department as of Friday, May 4, 2007 and can be obtained by contacting the City Clerk’s Department. Staff~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last week I wrote to you about a letter dated April 12th from the City of Guelph re the above titled subject with my strong concerns about the paragraph that read:
“And that staff investigate how best to provide access to the street network via an alternate roadway (Marilyn Drive) from these apartment buildings with associated costs”This suggestion had initially been made to a meeting with City staff and residents from 19-23 Woodlawn and 22 and 24 Marilyn Drive back in June 2006 as a result of petitions from the residents of 19-23 Woodlawn requesting safer access and exit to and from the driveways on Woodlawn. At that meeting, city staff suggested, as reported to residents of 24 Marilyn, an extension of Marilyn Drive through Riverside Park. In my opinion, such an alternative flies in the face of any kind of environmental and community services concerns.
The full report of the Emergency Services Community Services and Operations Services was available on Friday of last week and it would appear that the current strategy is to maintain the status quo as the “new commercial development on the north-west corner of Woodlawn Road at Woolwich Street has had negligible impact on traffic volumes.”
However the report authors do say “The provision of access via Riverside Park to Marilyn Drive has significant implications for both the City and property owners of 19-21-23 Woodlawn Road. Initial consultation with property representatives in June 2006 indicated that they had little interest in pursuing access to Marilyn Drive further.
That being said, should council wish to pursue this matter, staff recommend a working committee be established involving various stakeholders including property representatives of 19-21-23 Woodlawn Road and appropriate City staff.”In my opinion, access via Riverside Park to Marilyn Drive involves far more than the residents of 19-23 Woodlawn. The residents of 20-22-24 Marilyn are immediately impacted and must be included in any such “stakeholder” consultation. However, those who use Riverside Park extend far beyond the residents of Woodlawn and Marilyn and in my opinion any consultation should be open to all residents of Guelph who are interested in maintaining what was only one year ago the jewel in the Royal City.
Would the current council really want to pursue this alternative? A question certainly worth asking. DK